Government asked to ensure basic rights for women

BANGKOK, March 8 (TNA) - As part of nationwide observation of the International Women’s Day on March 8, some 500 campaigners of Thailand’s female labour networks, led by the Women Workers' Unity Group (WWUG), on Friday partook in a marching parade from the United Nations regional headquarter in Bangkok to nearby Government House to submit a three-point demand to the government. WWUG vice chairperson Nilaimon Montrikanont told journalists that the three-point demand includes a call on the Thai government to increase more childcare centers at workplaces and in communities where services, based on international standards, are provided to working women and to implement the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Maternity Protection Convention No.183, under which the basic rights of maternity and paternity through legal leaves to take care of their newborns are enforced. Nilaimon said her group also demanded that the Thai government expand social security rights to cover all groups of workers, including welfare services on free cancer screenings for all female workers and a permit of women to be members of the social security committee, for the first time, in an equal proportion of male members to ensure social security rights for women. According to the WWUG's vice chairperson, the three-point demand is generally aimed at promoting gender equality and improving quality of life of female workers in Thailand. (TNA)