RLUG secured significant workplace improvements while developing young leaders and building cross-cultural solidarity.
Key achievements
Concrete victories included:
- Elected young leaders:
- RLUG president under 40
- Thai Suzuki president aged 35
- Secured specific workplace improvements:
- Thai Rayon: 9% pay rise and additional paternity leave day
- Kawasumi: Conversion from 26-day daily wage to full monthly salary
- IRC Rubber: 3% wage increase plus 50 Baht cost of living allowance
- Successfully lobbied Minister of Labour for pregnant workers’ COVID vaccination priority
- Trained 700 members in digital organising through:
- Zoom meeting facilitation
- Online campaign tools
- Digital communication strategies
- Built Thai-Burmese worker solidarity through:
- Joint meetings
- Shared campaigns
- Language support
- 18 unions successfully transitioned to online meetings
Challenges faced
- COVID-19 continued to impact:
- In-person organising
- Factory access
- Cross-border solidarity work
- Digital divide among workers
- Language barriers in mixed workplaces
- Balancing online and offline organising methods
- Maintaining momentum during restrictions
Project impact
The project demonstrated:
- Young leaders could win significant improvements through strategic campaigns
- Digital tools could strengthen rather than weaken organising
- Cross-cultural solidarity could overcome language and cultural barriers
- Worker education directly led to workplace gains
- Union adaptation during crisis strengthened rather than weakened power
