SO M O Workers producing components for hard disk drives in Thailand are working between six and seven days per week, on 12 hours shifts, struggling to reach impossibly high targets without proper protection in a situation that endangers their health. Workers Hard Disk Labour are increasingly employed through labour agencies , which makes organising efforts even more difficult and puts workers in a precarious employment position. This report concentrates on Thai hard disk drive component suppliers of global PC Research Report on Labour Conditions brands. The research shows that, although the PC brands have signed codes of conduct that address supply chain responsibility for the entire production chain, second and in the Thai Electronics Sector third-tier suppliers often escape the attention of the brand companies. Thus far, the brands have concentrated their efforts on improving conditions only among their first-tier suppliers. After being presented with the field research results, the PC brands reviewed the reports and asked their suppliers to explain the research findings. It is striking that May 2007 none of the suppliers researched referred to the brand companies’ code of conduct, but only reference Thai labour law and local regulations, which are not sufficient to protect workers. Most of the suppliers deny that the often harsh labour conditions described in the report exist, but could only offer their policy as proof. The limited number of hard disk drive manufacturers worldwide means that global PC brands share a common supply chain. These companies should cooperate to improve the poor working conditions in the industry and involve local labour organisations in their efforts. Irene Schipper & Esther de Haan SO M O Workers producing components for hard disk drives in Thailand are working between six and seven days per week, on 12 hours shifts, struggling to reach impossibly high targets without proper protection in a situation that endangers their health. Workers Hard Disk Labour are increasingly employed through labour agencies , which makes organising efforts even more difficult and puts workers in a precarious employment position. This report concentrates on Thai hard disk drive component suppliers of global PC Research Report on Labour Conditions brands. The research shows that, although the PC brands have signed codes of conduct that address supply chain responsibility for the entire production chain, second and in the Thai Electronics Sector third-tier suppliers often escape the attention of the brand companies. Thus far, the brands have concentrated their efforts on improving conditions only among their first-tier suppliers. After being presented with the field research results, the PC brands reviewed the reports and asked their suppliers to explain the research findings. It is striking that May 2007 none of the suppliers researched referred to the brand companies’ code of conduct, but only reference Thai labour law and local regulations, which are not sufficient to protect workers. Most of the suppliers deny that the often harsh labour conditions described in the report exist, but could only offer their policy as proof. The limited number of hard disk drive manufacturers worldwide means that global PC brands share a common supply chain. These companies should cooperate to improve the poor working conditions in the industry and involve local labour organisations in their efforts. Irene Schipper & Esther de Haan Hard (Disk) Labour Research Report on Labour Conditions in the Thai Electronics Sector Irene Schipper & Esther de Haan Amsterdam, May 2007 Colo ph on Hard (Disk) Labour Research Report on Labour Conditions in the Thai Electronics Sector Amsterdam, May 2007 By: Irene Schipper & Esther de Haan Published by: Stichting Onderzoek Multinationale Ondernemingen (SOMO) Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations ISBN: 978-90-71284-18-2 This document is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivateWorks 2.5 License. To view a copy of this license visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5 This report is financed by: Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs Additional copies are available from: SOMO Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations Sarphatistraat 30 1018 GL Amsterdam The Netherlands Tel: + 31 (20) 6391291 Fax: + 31 (20) 6391321 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.somo.nl Subscribe here to the SOMO quarterly newsletter to keep informed of SOMO news and activities. Contents 1. Introduction to the report.............................................................................................. 4 2. Methodology .................................................................................................................. 5 2.1. The selection of the Thai suppliers. ................................................................................. 5 2.2. Methodology of field research.......................................................................................... 10 3.1. Consolidation among HDD manufacturers....................................................................... 12 3.2. Ranking worldwide HDD companies................................................................................ 13 3.3. HDD manufacturers in Thailand....................................................................................... 13 3.4. Thai Board of Investment (BOI) incentives for HDD investments .................................... 14 3.5. General promotion and support by the BOI under Special Economic Zones................... 15 4. Thai provisions to protect workers rights ................................................................... 17 4.1. TLS 8001 ......................................................................................................................... 17 4.2. ILO core conventions....................................................................................................... 17 4.3. The Labour Protection Act, 1998 ..................................................................................... 18 5. The research results: Labour conditions at Thai suppliers ....................................... 22 5.1. Code of Conduct and buyer monitoring ........................................................................... 22 5.2. Labour Relations.............................................................................................................. 24 5.3. Discrimination .................................................................................................................. 26 5.4. Restriction of movement .................................................................................................. 28 5.5. Contracts and job security ............................................................................................... 28 5.6. Wages.............................................................................................................................. 29 5.7. Health and Safety ............................................................................................................ 36 5.8. Work pace........................................................................................................................ 43 6.1. Code of Conduct and buyer monitoring ........................................................................... 47 6.2. Labour Relations.............................................................................................................. 47 6.3. Discrimination .................................................................................................................. 48 6.4. Wages.............................................................................................................................. 49 6.5. Working hours.................................................................................................................. 49 6.6. Targets explained by suppliers ........................................................................................ 50 6.7. Health and Safety ............................................................................................................ 50 6.8. Work pace........................................................................................................................ 51 7. Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 52 Hard (Disk) Labour 1. Introduction to the report In 2006, SOMO approached a number of Thai labour organisations to research labour conditions in the Thai electronics sector. This research is part of a broader program of SOMO to improve labour, environmental and social conditions in the electronics sector with the ultimate objective of poverty eradication and sustainable development. The program is financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands, European Consumer organisations 1 and European development organisations 2. The results of this research, along with similar research carried out in China and The Philippines for SOMO, is already being used in campaigning material 3, and has been published in the magazines of 11 European consumer organisations to raise awareness. These publications have reached millions of people, and this is putting pressure on the electronic companies to take seriously the problems identified in the area of labour conditions in Thailand. SOMO wants to use this report to share the main findings with the organisations involved. The report will discuss the