Thailand was among the first countries in Asia to ratify ILO Convention Number 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour in 2001. Thailand has also ratified ILO Convention 138 on the Minimum Age for Admission to Work in 2004. Upon ratification of the ILO Convention Number 182, the Cabinet of the Royal Thai Government (RTG) adopted a resolution on 20 February 2006 endorsing the Ministry of Labour to establish a National Committee on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. The National Committee comprises of representatives from governmental organizations, private sector, employers’ and workers’ organizations, non-governmental organizations, and academics. The committee was instrumental in the adoption of the current National Policy and Plan (NPP) on the Worst Forms of Child Labour in effect for 2009-2014. The NPP is a significant benchmark in the efforts of the RTG to combat child labour.

The ILO-IPEC Thailand together with the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare (DLPW) which acts as a secretariat to the National Committee on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour opened up a new chapter in this work by co-organizing a three and a half day technical workshop on National Plan and Policy on Child Labour, 5-8 September 2013 at The Buddy Oriental Riverside Pakkared Hotel in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

The workshop aimed at providing a platform to review the experience of implementation of the current NPP, to assess the situation of child labour in Thailand, effectiveness of current policies and their application and to consider Thai, Regional and Global experiences in addressing worst forms of child labour for the benefit of developing a NPP II for 2010-2015.

The meeting was opened by Mr. Waranon Pitiwan, Inspector from DLPW and by Mr Maurizio Bussi, Director of ILO Thailand, Lao PDR and Cambodia.

Mr Bussi emphasized in his opening the need to consider in particular the following:

1. The pressing need for robust data and analysis on the nature and extent of child labour in Thailand. A national survey, would assist policy makers and practitioners to develop and deliver tailor made solutions to child labor. Solid national data would also allow for improved costing of the next NPP.

2. Second, enforcement mechanisms that effectively respond to violations of laws must be in place to protect children from child labour are essential. Enforcement, including prosecution of offenders, demonstrate true action and signal that child labour abuse is simply not tolerated.

3. Third, monitoring systems that routinely monitor child labour incidence with a view to responding to the needs of these children, such as through referral to services (education, counselling, healthcare), are important to show that a country has an effective and responsive system in place to help all children in need.

4. Fourth, continuous multi-stakeholder engagement and partnership is key to the quality of child labour elimination efforts as child labour is not an isolated phenomenon that any one Ministry can tackle effectively.

5. And fifth, transparent and routine measurement of progress against NPP performance indicators is important to make an NPP most relevant and responsive in situations that are constantly evolving.

The experiences generated from the current major ILO-IPEC Thailand initiative (2010-2014) “Combating the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Shrimp and Seafood Processing Areas in Thailand” are used in the discussions. The project focuses on selected geographical hubs for shrimp and seafood processing such as Samut Sakhon, Samut Prakan, Surat Thani, Nakhon si Thammarat and Songkhla. The project is funded by the United States Department of Labor to the level of US$ 9 million.
The NPP workshop enhanced the understanding of the challenges and successes in the implementation of the NPP one and to help map out a process to develop the NPP II in 2014.