Introducing Union Representation and Its Complexities – A Case Study of the Royal Thai Civil Service

This paper deals with the result of the recognition under the ILO Conventions 87 and 98 of the freedom of association and subsequent introduction of union representation in the Royal Thai civil service. As a consequence, the Royal Thai Government has changed the Constitution to allow for union representation in its civil service. A decree has been drafted and focus groups have been interviewed to establish the views of a cross-section of civil servants on their expectations and desires in being allowed to form and join a union. The paper discusses the approach taken to union representation in terms of collective bargaining versus joint consultation and centralization versus decentralization and the discourse that has surfaced as a result of the interviews between the policy makers and civil servants, particularly with regard to its context of a high power distance culture. The analysis provides the best practice and effective approach to the introduction of union representation within the Thai Civil Service.