Child Labor and Forced Labor Reports

Thailand

Fish
Fish
Forced Labor Icon
Garments
Garments
Child Labor Icon
Forced Child Labor Icon
Forced Labor Icon
Pornography
Pornography
Child Labor Icon
Shrimp
Shrimp
Child Labor Icon
Forced Child Labor Icon
Forced Labor Icon
Sugarcane
Sugarcane
Child Labor Icon
Thailand
2021 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor:

Moderate Advancement

In 2021, Thailand made moderate advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. During the reporting period, the Government of Thailand approved the third National Policy and Plan to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor Phase III (2021–2022), which included the Ministry of Labor signing a memorandum of understanding with 13 business associations to prevent child and forced labor in the shrimp, fishing, sugarcane, and garment industries. The government also published statistics on the number of investigations conducted, violations found, and convictions secured for crimes related to the worst forms of child labor. Moreover, the Ministry of Education implemented a program in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor, the Office of the Ombudsman, and other related government agencies to provide education on labor rights, assist with vocational training, and share job vacancies to 1,127 student trainees. However, children in Thailand are subjected to the worst forms of child labor, including in commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking. Children, some as young as age 12, also participate for remuneration in Muay Thai competitions, an area of hazardous work in which there is evidence of serious head injuries. Thailand does not meet the international standard for the minimum age for work because the law does not grant protections to children working outside of formal employment relationships. Lastly, child labor law enforcement remains a challenge due to an insufficient number of inspectors and resources to physically inspect remote workplaces.

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