Mitsubishi forced union leaders and 400 locked-out union members to attend a four-day camp at a military base to “learn discipline and order.”
Mitsubishi Electric, an official partner of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, is contravening the Fundamental Principles of the Games’ Sustainable Sourcing Code, through violations of core ILO Labor Standards at its subsidiary, Mitsubishi Electric Consumer Products Thailand, according to IndustriALL.
“Mitsubishi Electric’s Thai subsidiary has subjected workers to degrading and humiliating treatment, locked-out union members, forced workers to sign a document denouncing their union, and disobeyed a ruling by Thailand’s Labor Relation Committee (LRC) to reinstate union members, the international union said today.
The LRC described Mitsubishi Electric Consumer Products behavior as “vengeful” towards the union and found that the Mitsubishi violated Thai labor legislation on anti-union discrimination.
Mitsubishi Electric Labor Union Thailand, which represents the workers intimidated and harassed by the company, is affiliated to IndustriALL through the Confederation of Thai Electric Appliances, Electronics, Automotive, and Metal Workers (TEAM) and the Thailand Electronics and Electrical Appliances Workers’ Federation (TEEF).
Twenty-three of the union’s members have been laid off at the plant in Chonburi province, including the former union president Cherd and vice president, Thanaphat, while 27 others have been illegally locked out.
Among several violations, the company forced union leaders and 400 locked-out union members to: attend a four-day camp at a military base to “learn discipline and order”; undergo five days of training by an external human resources firm, where they were expected to “reflect on their wrong doing”; perform one day of cleaning old people’s homes to “earn merit”; and spend three days at a Buddhist temple, with no regard for their religious beliefs. The workers were also made to post apologies to the company on their personal social media accounts.
IndustriALL has written to Mitsubishi Electric Consumer Products three times since the dispute began in December 2017, urging the company to reinstate and call back the locked-out workers, but has received no response.
“Mitsubishi has a responsibility to intervene and stop the violation of workers’ rights at its Thai subsidiary, and immediately end acts of intimidation and harassment aimed at weakening the power of the union,” said IndustriALL general secretary, Valter Sanches. “We expect the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to develop an appropriate solution with Mitsubishi to end the contravention of the fundamental principles of the Sourcing Code at Mitsubishi Electric Consumer Products in Thailand.”
“IndustriALL wishes the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 to be a real celebration of global diversity, tolerance and peace, that also reward real champions of corporate social responsibility and respect for workers’ rights.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
IndustriALL Makes Rights Abuses Complaint about Mitsubishi Electric with Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Organizing Committee
Mitsubishi forced union leaders and 400 locked-out union members to attend a four-day camp at a military base to “learn discipline and order.”
Mitsubishi Electric, an official partner of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, is contravening the Fundamental Principles of the Games’ Sustainable Sourcing Code, through violations of core ILO Labor Standards at its subsidiary, Mitsubishi Electric Consumer Products Thailand, according to IndustriALL.
“Mitsubishi Electric’s Thai subsidiary has subjected workers to degrading and humiliating treatment, locked-out union members, forced workers to sign a document denouncing their union, and disobeyed a ruling by Thailand’s Labor Relation Committee (LRC) to reinstate union members, the international union said today.
The LRC described Mitsubishi Electric Consumer Products behavior as “vengeful” towards the union and found that the Mitsubishi violated Thai labor legislation on anti-union discrimination.
Mitsubishi Electric Labor Union Thailand, which represents the workers intimidated and harassed by the company, is affiliated to IndustriALL through the Confederation of Thai Electric Appliances, Electronics, Automotive, and Metal Workers (TEAM) and the Thailand Electronics and Electrical Appliances Workers’ Federation (TEEF).
Twenty-three of the union’s members have been laid off at the plant in Chonburi province, including the former union president Cherd and vice president, Thanaphat, while 27 others have been illegally locked out.
Among several violations, the company forced union leaders and 400 locked-out union members to: attend a four-day camp at a military base to “learn discipline and order”; undergo five days of training by an external human resources firm, where they were expected to “reflect on their wrong doing”; perform one day of cleaning old people’s homes to “earn merit”; and spend three days at a Buddhist temple, with no regard for their religious beliefs. The workers were also made to post apologies to the company on their personal social media accounts.
IndustriALL has written to Mitsubishi Electric Consumer Products three times since the dispute began in December 2017, urging the company to reinstate and call back the locked-out workers, but has received no response.
“Mitsubishi has a responsibility to intervene and stop the violation of workers’ rights at its Thai subsidiary, and immediately end acts of intimidation and harassment aimed at weakening the power of the union,” said IndustriALL general secretary, Valter Sanches. “We expect the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to develop an appropriate solution with Mitsubishi to end the contravention of the fundamental principles of the Sourcing Code at Mitsubishi Electric Consumer Products in Thailand.”
“IndustriALL wishes the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 to be a real celebration of global diversity, tolerance and peace, that also reward real champions of corporate social responsibility and respect for workers’ rights.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.