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from ,worker Indpendence, - 28.05.2004 03:35

received this message of support from from Khalil Vermezyari on behalf of Radio Sedaye Krgaran in Iran.


I received this message of support from from Khalil Vermezyari on behalf of Radio Sedaye Krgaran in Iran.

"Radio Voice of Iranian workers supports union protests in defiance of the Thaksin administration's plan to privatise the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) .

Like Thai workers, Iranian workers have been the victim of privatisation and astronomic job losses over the last few years and as In Thailand this May Day tens of thousands of workers throughout Iran joined the protests against privatisation, job losses and capsulation."





EGAT union members contend that the government's privatization policy would hurt the people with higher costs, poor service and would allow ruling politicians, their families and cronies to grab a majority of shares, as was the case with the privatization of the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) last year. PTT shares were sold in just a few minutes through pre-arranged buying to which fewer than 2,000 people had access.



The lack of transparency in the proposed EGAT privatization is a cause of concern to the unions and the public. From the beginning the unions have demanded that the prime minister hold open forums that will allow people to air their opinions about EGAT's privatization, a demand supported by an increasing majority of the public.

EGAT labour union head Sirichai Maingam stated that the union would defer to the will of the public, and that if the public supports privatisation in a referendum, the protests would end. The Thai government has offered many incentives to the EGAt labour union to end the protest, but they’ve all been denied.

This is the first major mass protest against the Thaksin elite, and the unions are now letting the government know that the world is behind them in their call to stop privatisation, promote transparency and democracy, and above all else, to listen to the voice of the people. As the call to the Thaksin government for basic democracy enters its fourth month, the workers of Thailand are requesting solidarity support from their brothers and sisters in the international community.