| Thais ask: is globalization really worth it? By Agence France Presse May 17, 2002, Philippine Daily Inquirer BANGKOK � As Western governments tout the benefits of globalization, many of Asia�s developing countries are showing signs of resistance to world trade rules that they believe are selling them short. Thailand, which embraced free trade as a means of exporting its way out of economic collapse five years ago, is hearing citizens and government officials voice opposition to the belief that free trade turns poor countries into rich ones. �The issue of free trade is a myth,� argues Junya Yimprasert, founder of the Thai Labor Campaign and the self-proclaimed �No. 1 enemy of every factory in Bangkok� for her efforts to educate workers on their rights. The cost of globalization has hit Thailand hard, she says. In the race for cheap labor, the daily minimum wage for factory workers has been stuck at 133 baht ($3.10) for the past eight years and millions of farmers earn even less. One of those workers, �Pim,� was sacked last year from the foreign-owned factory in Bangkok where she had made undergarments and lingerie for the past 15 years. The factory claimed insubordination, but Pim said the factory�s union-busting tactics had seen 400 people dismissed since labor organizers threatened a strike last year���. Like many Thai workers, she believes globalization is partly to blame for the mounting pressure on organized labor, the virtual freeze on Thailand�s minimum wage and the plight of millions of impoverished farmers. ***** |
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