Most
43. According to this study, Goverment estimates had put the number of working children in Thailand in the 11-14 years age group at just under one million; unofficial estimates, however, indicated a much higher figure of 3.5 million. of these children worked on farms with their parents. While the children working in rural areas, in spite of extreme poverty, at least received parental care and attention, most of those working in the cities were at the mercy of their employers. There were at least 5,000 unregistered small factories and workshops employing children illegally, but those managed to escape detection and conviction under the law. Referring to the role played by private employment agencies in the exploitation of children (already referred to in section B above), the report indicated that the Government of Thailand had recognized that a large number of these agencies were illegally established and considered children only as a source of profit, without being concerned about their welfare.
44.
Children in Thailand were employed in industries producing glass, canned food, confectionery, garments, torch-lights, ornaments and toys. Many of the factories employing children were registered and though the children were not ill-treated as in the unregistered "sweatshops", they were nevertheless discriminated against in many ways, in particular in wage scales. An additional problem was the insufficiency of the labour inspection system.
45. In unregistered factories children suffered the worst conditions. Even when known, these factories were not by law subject to supervision. Working hours were very long, ranging from nine to twelve hours a day; the children were confined to the workshop premises, all sleeping in the same room where they worked during the day.
Because of the cramped, unsafe and unhygienic working conditions, many children were reported to have become crippled and even to have died.
46. In its conclusions, the Anti-Slavery Society pointed out that public opinion in Thailand was conditioned to regard the severe exploitation of child labour as, at best, a necessary evil and that prohibition of child labour would at present only bring the law into disrepute. The Society also expressed the view that exploitation could be significantly reduced only by remedying its basic cause, namely, the poverty of north-eastern Thailand. On those premises, it recommended that the Government of Thailand be urged to request UNDP assistance in providing programmes for the development of that area; to invite the ILO to advise on the most effective measures to prevent recruitment and exploitation of child labour by unregistered factories; and to invite ILO and UNESCO jointly to consider and recommend an education policy which would commend itself to the people of Thailand and be enforceable.
47. Emphasizing the importance and urgency of the concrete situations submitted to the Working Group by the non-governmental organizations, one member of the Working Group pointed out that the Sub-Commission, as well as several United Nations agencies, were paying increasing attention to the problem of child labour, which was linked to the socio-economic conditions of the countries concerned and violated basic human rights of children such as the rights to education, health and a minimum standard of living. He stated that the reports received by the Working Group should be made available to the Sub-Commission as a whole and its Special Rapporteur on Child Labour, Mr. A. Bouhdiba.