News from Thailand – March 13, 2013

Netherlands Embassy in Bangkok

The Thai Labor Solidarity Committee is demonstrating today at the embassies of the US, Australia and the Netherlands against layoffs and alleged unfair practices by companies that employ Thais. Those companies would have changed working conditions and laid off staff after the minimum daily wage was raised to 1 baht on January 300.

After the protest at the embassies, the protesters head to Government House to ask the Minister of Employment to reinstate the dismissed workers. [As if that were possible, but it really is.]

One of the companies under fire is the Dutch electronics company NXP Manufacturing. The company would have shortened the working week from 6 to 4 days, but now requires four hours of overtime per day. The employees now work 12 hours a day, but earn less.

NXP spokesman Pieter van Nuenen says the new working hours are in accordance with the International Energy Conservation Code. He says the changes will benefit employees, but the company is willing to negotiate working hours. The changes would have nothing to do with the increase in the minimum wage.

– Suvarnabhumi airport has the most beautiful toilets in Thailand and judging by the photo, that is not an exaggerated claim. The new toilets (because in English it means 'loose') are a reflection of Thai art and lifestyle. Unfortunately, the photo is not available so my dear readers cannot verify the claim. But maybe someone wants to take a picture and send it to the editors of Thailandblog.

– Government party Pheu Thai is a sore loser. She did not manage to get her own candidate elected as governor of Bangkok, but now she is trying to get the elected Democrat Sukhumbhand Paribatra through legal channels.

The Bangkok Electoral Commission yesterday considered a complaint from a senator and a voter about a Democratic lawmaker and a media expert who posted photos and comments on their Facebook page during the election campaign about the arson attacks in Bangkok in May 2010. They would thereby have been guilty of defamation [of Pheu Thai].

The Electoral Commission sees no reason in the complaint to give Sukhumbhand a red card and has passed the matter on to the (national) Electoral Council. It could declare the election result invalid, but according to opposition leader Abhisit, the Electoral Council cannot do so because the local committee has not requested it.

Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung expects the Electoral Council to suspend or even disqualify Sukhumbhand, but Democratic deputy leader Korn Chatikavanij says his party has not violated any election regulations.

– China, the main buyer of rosewood, yesterday did not oppose the inclusion of this precious wood species on Appendix II of CITES. That proposal was made by Vietnam and Thailand. But Appendix II also means that trading is still possible, provided it is regulated.

The placement is an important boost for Thailand, because a lot of rosewood is illegally felled and smuggled across the border. Over the past six years, rosewood acreage has declined by two-thirds. Without proper control, the tree, which grows extremely slowly, disappears. Vietnam is also struggling with illegal logging. The number of trees there has decreased by 10 percent in the past 60 years.

CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The member countries will meet in Bangkok until March 14 to discuss measures against the illegal wildlife trade.

– The construction of the Orange metro line, which will form the connection between east and west Bangkok, requires the demolition of 300 houses in two places, including 80 retail properties. Demolition is required due to the construction of Ratchaprarop station on Ratchaprasop Road, which will be connected to Makkasan Airport Rail Link station by a 50m footbridge. There will probably be a row of commercial buildings along that bridge. The owners of the 80 retail properties to be demolished will be given 'rental priority'.

Land expropriation can also be avoided in Pracha Songkhro 21 (Ding Daeng ) otherwise the track would have to make a curve that is too sharp for the trains. Even if Pracha Songkhro station is no longer in use, a tunnel will have to go under the neighbourhood, which cannot be done without land expropriation.

The article also mentions the 'cut and cover' tunneling method to minimize nuisance, but that is not clear to me.

Our technical employee Jacques Koppert notes the following: The cut and cover method is used in the Netherlands under the name walls-roof method. Especially suitable for narrow tunnels. Dig a trench, make walls, put a roof on it. The tunnel is then finished from the inside, while work can continue on top of the roof. This is how the orange metro line is apparently being built.

– PCC Development and Construction Co, the contractor under investigation for the aborted construction of 396 police stations, has asked the Department of Special Investigation (DSI, the Thai FBI) ​​to lift the attachment on its bank accounts. The contractor is suspected of fraud because he subcontracted work, but did not pay the subcontractors. As a result, they stopped work last year. The DSI will decide on the request today.

– Army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha and opposition leader Abhisit have called on the government to step out of the shadow of former Prime Minister Thaksin. Their call is in response to the message that Thaksin has called on ruling party Pheu Thai to be adamant and to continue with its policy intentions, such as amnesty.

Prayuth says the government should better listen to the people and make decisions based on the constitution and the law. According to an army source, Prayuth is said to be uneasy about Prime Minister Yingluck's leadership. Abhisit says the more Thaksin tries to pull the strings, the more conflicts he causes.

Prime Minister Yingluck denied yesterday that Thaksin is pressuring the government to grant amnesty. According to Pheu Thai MP Somkid Khogchua, Thaksin has only given 'advice' on how to deal with the amnesty issue. And then we have the red shirt leader and PT MP Worachai Hema, who submitted the eighth amnesty proposal on behalf of 42 colleagues. He finds the amnesty issue urgent and calls for a speedy parliamentary consideration of their proposal.

In News from Thailand of 9 March is an overview of the eight amnesty proposals.

– The police are looking for three groups of poachers, who are suspected of killing an elephant in Kaeng Krachan National Park (Phetchaburi). One group consists of three men, who are already under warrant for killing elephants, the other groups consist of villagers and 'men in uniform'.

The female elephant who was 7 to 10 years old was found near a creek on Friday with several bullet wounds. Two men have already been arrested. The park chief suspects that the poachers killed the mother and took her calf. Park staff came across another injured elephant, aged 8 to 9, yesterday. One of the legs was swollen and the animal is not eating. A plan to treat the animal is being worked on.

– The navy has formed a new unit with 2.000 rangers to strengthen the naval units in the South. The new unit is stationed in Narathiwat province, where it is deployed in Muang, Bacho, Rueso and Tak Bai districts. [Familiar names for those who follow the news about the South.]

On February 13, a Marine base in Bacho was attacked by insurgents. The attack failed and 16 insurgents were killed by the Marines. Militants are expected to avenge the deaths of their comrades. Insurgents have already been spotted at night near various naval installations in Bacho.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post