***‘I’d never run’: Labor activist won’t flee Thailand defamation charges
Andy Hall faces questions at a police station in Bangna, Bangkok last year. Image courtesy of Andy Hall.
Activist Andy Hall is a man of principle. He’ll tell you that himself, especially when questioned about the mounting legal woes facing him in Thailand.
“I have no intention of leaving the country and I have no intention of stopping the work I’m doing,” Hall said in an interview this week. He spoke by phone from Bangkok, where he was preparing to board a plane to Burma. It’s surprising that the trip was happening at all, considering that Hall’s passport had recently been revoked by a Bangkok court.
Hall faces defamation charges and prosecution under the Computer Crimes Act for research he did on factory conditions in Thailand. A longtime activist working on migrant workers’ rights, Hall conducted research for a report published by Finnwatch, a Finnish NGO, on conditions in Thai factories that produced goods sold internationally. The report, titled Cheap has a high price, included interviews with workers at three companies: Thai Union Manufacturing, Unicord, and Natural Fruit. The report quoted workers describing subpar working conditions and abuses. Thai Union Manufacturing and Unicord responded to the report, but Natural Union did not, Hall said.
The company did, however, take legal action against Hall. A hearing is scheduled today for charges under the Computer Crimes Act, as well as defamation claims. On Sept. 2, he will stand trial for criminal defamation charges related to an interview he gave to Al Jazeera about the report. Hall also spoke publicly in Thailand about Finnwatch’s findings, which prompted Natural Fruit’s defamation charge.
Hall said he hopes the court will realize he did not intend to harm Natural Fruit, but wanted to speak out on behalf of the workers interviewed. He said Finnwatch gave Natural Fruit many opportunities to respond, but because they did not, he felt he needed to go public with the information.
“I don’t have any negative intentions toward this company. I didn’t even know them before I did the research,” he said. “We hope that it will be a fair trial and the judge will make their decision based on the facts. We gave the company the opportunity to respond many, many times. It wasn’t the intention to destroy the company… [the intention was to] improve conditions for the workers. There was no intention to defame the company.”
Hall’s passport was confiscated following his Sept. 2 trial date being set, but he was granted permission to leave the country to meet with witnesses in Burma this week. He said that although he could have fled once outside of Thailand, he will do no such thing.
“I’m not a flight risk, you know,” he said. “I came back to Thailand [from the U.K.] to fight this case. I would never run away, I’m a principled person.”
Among Hall’s prospective witnesses is Aung San Suu Kyi, who he met while working with the Burmese government.
Steve Cotton, acting general secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), condemned the case against Hall in a statement released July 17.
“This legal case attempts to shoot the messenger and leave the true offender untouched,” Cotton said. “Thailand must address the unforgiveable abuses being allowed to take place on its lands and waters, and also ensure the right to freedom of opinion.”
Cotton also said Hall should be “praised, not prosecuted,” for his work exposing worker abuses.
If convicted, Hall faces up to 15 years in prison and three million baht in damages. Though one might expect Hall to leave Thailand behind should be declared not guilty, or should Natural Fruit drop the charges, he says he isn’t going anywhere.
“It’s a time of reform. I want to work with the government to support them, to help them. I’m not an enemy of Thailand, I’m there to help Thailand,” he said.
Hall said he is optimistic about the military junta’s actions on migrant workers rights, and expressed confidence about the government’s promise to address these issues. Thailand was recently downgraded to a Tier 3 country in the U.S.’ Trafficking in Persons (TiP) report, in part because of alleged abuses against migrant workers. The junta has said it is working to address the migrant worker questions and other issues raised in the TiP.
“In terms of migration, I think it’s incredibly positive,” Hall said. “All the signals they’re giving so far, it’s positive.” He added that he hopes the junta will also address defamation laws, which he believes need to be reformed.
Hall said the outcome of his case could be huge for other activists looking to expose subpar work conditions. If he is convicted, the case could have a chilling effect on others doing humanitarian work, he said.
“I’ve committed my life to this work. I want to work with the government to solve these issues,” he said. “I have no intention of leaving the country and I have no intention of stopping the work I’m doing.”
For more information on Hall’s case, see andyjhall.wordpress.com
FROM FAIRPLAY:
***Australia open for offshore guest workers
Zoe Reynolds
22 July 2014
Unions have this week threatened to mount a legal challenge against a move by the Australian government to bypass parliament and reopen the door to guest workers in the offshore industry.
Chair of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) offshore taskforce Norrie McVicar said the move risked opening a skilled, regulated and nationally important industry up to “a laissez fair scramble to cut costs.”
Last week the Senate voted down the legislation allowing for the use of a maritime crew visa.
A Maritime Union of Australia spokesperson was unable to verify to IHS Maritime whether workers were already being flown into the country.
“The numbers would be small at this stage as the new visa regime only came into effect on July 1,” he said.
It brings back the rules which existed before the Allseas legislation loophole was fixed under the previous government.
The Maritime Crew (subclass 988) Visa requires no labour market testing and can be used to hire foreign workers on greatly reduced pay and conditions.
The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association welcomed the government move, saying the Senate decision had the potential to ‘ shut down operations and put at risk Australia’s international investment reputation.”
“Australia’s oil and gas industry is too important to be held to ransom by the militant Maritime Union of Australia” it said.
FROM INDUSTRIALL:
***Take action to release Iranian trade union leader
Jul 21, 2014
IndustriALL Global Union is calling on affiliates to support the campaign by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) to release jailed Iranian trade union leader Reza Shahabi.
Concern for Shahabi, who has been in prison for trade union activities since 2010, has heightened since his health drastically deteriorates due to his hunger strike lasting more than six weeks.
Shahabi, who is Treasurer of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company Workers’ Union in Iran, went on hunger strike on 1 June 2014 after being transferred to from Evin Prison in Tehran to the even more brutal Raja’i Shahr Prison in Karaj.
He has since been hospitalized and is very weak, suffering from serious health issues as he risks his life for his demands.
Shahabi, an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, is appealing for sick leave for medical treatment for a back condition; a return to Evin prison when he leaves hospital; implementation of article 134 of the new Islamic Penal Code; and his conditional release.
In a letter to ITF acting general secretary, Stephen Cotton, IndustriALL offered its full support to the ITF in its campaigning and demanded “the immediate and unconditional release of Brother Reza Shahabi and proper medical treatment for securing his life. The IndustriALL family strongly feels that global unions should work together to mobilize solidarity for making sure that Iran respects human and trade union rights.”
IndustriALL also calls on all affiliates to support ITF’s LabourStart campaign in support of Reza Shahabi.