Developing a Home Worker Protection Law

Main Article Content

Chaninat Leeds

Abstract

The objectives of this research on Developing a Home Worker Protection Law are: first to analyze the law of home worker protection, second to analyze and compare the ILO Conventions and Recommendations on Home Worker Protection with Thai and foreign Laws, and third to analyze and synthesize the results of the research in order to develop of the Act on Home Worker Protection, 2010 as would be appropriate. This research is a qualitative research which studies and researches relevant documents, including electronic documents both in Thai and English. This research also includes in-depth interviews with responsible governmental agencies, employers and home-based workers, as well as obtaining information and insights from seminars. Therefore this research includes both formal documents regarding relevant law and formal studies and informal feedback from the people involved.


The study found that; first, there are some provisions in the Thai Home Worker Protection Act that are still lacking in detail and specific provisions for enforcement of the Act; second, the provisions of the law also have some shortcomings in regard to the protection of home workers, fairness to hirer and weaknesses in the dispute resolution process between home workers and hirers; third, law enforcement currently has some practical problems; and finally, the restricted provisions of the Social Security law obstruct some home workers from receiving the benefits they should be lawfully entitled to. This research has resulted in several recommendations for improvement of the Thai Home Worker Protection as follows; first, provisions which are still incomplete should be corrected by the promulgation of secondary legislation as provided for by law; second, the Thai Home Worker Protection Act should be amended to increase the protection of home workers, to make the treatment of hirers more fair and reasonable, and to provide opportunities for local mediation in labour disputes; third, to solve the law enforcement problem, the Thai Home Worker Protection Act should be amended to allow the Labour Inspector to assist with labour volunteers, and a system of information about the protection of home workers in all departments of the Ministry of Labour should be implemented; and finally the criteria of being an insurer as an independent professional should be extended.

Article Details

Section
Research Articles
Author Biography

Chaninat Leeds, School of Law, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University

Associate Professor, School of Law, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University