Rangsit and Area Labour Union
(RLUG)
Thailand
The Rangsit and Area Labour Union Group (RLUG) was established over 40 years ago and is a collective of enterprise level trade unions based in Rangist, an industrial area just north of Bangkok.
Thailand has mandatory retirement at 55, and an aging union leadership threatens the union group. RLUG approached UnionAID in 2018 with a partnership proposal to develop young union leaders, unionise more factories
RLUG has identified serious challenges facing workers and the Rangsit and Area community including social issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, debt and family breakdowns. They also identified a struggle organising migrant workers and refugees from Myanmar, who are isolated from the broader community, face language barriers and are paid lower wages.
Thailand has not ratified ILO conventions 87 & 98 on Freedom of Association and Right to Organise and Bargain Collectively. It is also illegal for workers to protest or take industrial action in support of claims or in defence of their rights.
Since receiving funding from UnionAID, RLUG have held seminars and study group sessions covering a range of difference topics for union members. One result of this was an increase in the number of young members, particularly women being elected to union committees and taking on leadership roles.
Rallies and campaigns are held to highlight workers’ rights during the year and in addition the RLUG staff actively participate in pro-democracy actions, instigating the formation of a wider Labour Network for Human Rights group.
The RLUG have undertaken to reach migrant workers from Myanmar and Cambodia who are stuck in Thailand without work or social welfare the union group provide them with food supplies, medicines, and other support.
Read More here...

#TheBigShoutOut: John Maynard
“For 40 years, I have been actively involved in international workers’ solidarity especially through maintaining close ties with Thai workers. As a member of the UnionAID Action Committee, I work

Victory for all-women union committee in Thailand
When their employer tried to undermine the legal status of the bargaining team by including non-union workers from a sister factory in another province, the Rangsit Labour Unions Group (RLUG)

Thailand’s Political Tides Shift: Worker-Backed Reform Parties Triumph
The progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) and the populist Pheu Thai Party have secured a significant victory in Thailand’s general election, winning about 286 seats in the 500-member House of

UnionAID Project in Thailand Cultivates New Generation of Union Leaders
A new generation of young union leaders for some of the 20 unions of the Rangsit Labour Union Group (RLUG) has emerged from a UnionAID project in Thailand. At age

Migrant workers’ rights championed in Thailand
Our partners in Thailand, the Rangsit and Area Labour Union Group (RLUG), have been championing the rights of migrant and informal workers, like food delivery bike riders and home workers.

Thailand: Government officials attending union meetings
Government officials in Thailand have been attending union meetings, increasingly since the military coup in in 2014. At a Rangsit Labour Unions Group (RLUG) AGM in November, three officials from Thailand’s Department

UnionAID supports democratic, worker-led organisations that help empower working people to improve their work and livelihoods through collective action.
Find out more about what we do and how to get involved here or become a Kiwi Solidarity Member now.