Isuzu Motors Co.

ILO violation 87 : The management at Yan Siam, a company in the Isuzu (Thailand) group that transports cars and trucks to showrooms throughout the country, fought a continuous battle to destroy the Logistics Relations Workers Union (LRWU) during the year. First, the Yan Siam owner refused to bargain in good faith with the union. Management then employed a series of tactics discriminating against the union, including forcing drivers to resign from the union to get more lucrative routes; paying salaries late to union members; and putting union members at the end of the assignment queue so that often they did not have work (and therefore did not receive additional ‘road pay’). In order to further undermine the union, persons in Yan Siam management set up a non-union trucking firm to receive sub-contracts to drive routes for Yan Siam. Workers who were union activists were targeted for harassment, and among these activists one was fired and more than ten resigned. Management launched four separate petition drives among workers, intimidating workers into signing a letter expressing no confidence in union leaders and Worker Committee members, and those petitions were sent to the Ministry of Labour. Finally, in December, the LRWU President, Namkraduang Muanglang, and Vice-President, Kitti Baithong, had their truck keys taken away by management, preventing them from receiving driving assignments. The two leaders were then suspended without pay for violating management orders to drive routes, and Yan Siam sought an order seeking permission to fire them which was pending at the Labour Court at year end.: Thailand

38000