Happy New Year from the JELI team! We are looking forward to all of the work we have to do in this upcoming year.
Media Projects
JELI x Freedom Rider Union #RiderRights Cartoon Series: Part 4
This part of our special cartoon collaboration with the Freedom Riders Union "#RightsRider" draws attention to the disparity in rider pay across the country. The platform company continues to cite its research, claiming that “the cost of living varies by region.” As a result, they believe riders are not entitled to the same wage, leading to a significant wage gap between Bangkok and the rest of the country, despite the fact that gas, food, and utilities often cost the same across the country.
JELI x Way Magazine Media Production Project
Since last year, we have been working on a media project with Way Magazine, which explores topics from JELI's 2020 research publication “New Forms of Platform Mediated Work for On-demand Food Delivery.” Way Magazine has published a variety of articles, infographics, and video clips about workers in the platform economy. The latest interview explores a life of Benjawan Puangsatit or Kukkik, a single mother who works as a rider, putting that “They tried to present the career’s flexibility and freedom of time, which resulted in the smiles of the mother rider and her little child as shown in the commercial. However, whether a single mother rider or a regular rider, we all suffer the same risks, including car accidents, pay cuts, and sexual harassment.”
Keep up with new releases by following Way Magazine or JELI on Facebook!
Workshops and Trainings
Collective Bargaining Workshop for Female Platform Labor
This month, the JELI team started an online workshop on "Collective Bargaining for Female Platform Labor," which will be held every Thursdays until March. We brought together female labor from various fields, like massage workers, cleaning staff, and food delivery riders, to learn about their labor rights, democracy at work, and workplace justice. Many workers shared stories about injustices at work. For example, a massage worker told us that the company would progressively raise the platform fee to the point where the more they worked, the less they earned. This workshop aims to offer the female platform workers ways to demand justice from their work and to encourage their collective ability to form a union.
"Organizational Leadership and Capacity Building" training course
At the end of January, the JELI team participated in an "Organizational Leadership and Capacity Building" training course held by the Social Activist for Health Justice Association. The amount of information packed into this five-day course was intense and incredible. Our team has developed the skills necessary to be effective facilitators, which is essential when conducting our workshops with workers.
Changes in JELI
New Media Staff
Katekanok Wongsapakdee is a recent graduate of Political Science from Chulalongkorn University who will be our media staff. She is also a political activist who has been involved in democracy movements since 2020. Her translated books have been published by Nisit Samyan Press, which is run by student activists.
JELI 2021 RECAP
Academic
January Bricks in The Hands of The People
Kriangsak Theerakovitkajorn, founder and director of JELI wrote “Bricks in The Hands of The People” [ก้อนอิฐในมือสามัญชน]” on Decode to promote workers’ rights, digital inequality, just economy for the workers, etc.
March “Workers in Platform Economy” Seminar
JELI joined the labor committee of the House of Representatives, CU institute of Asian Studies, and FES foundation to host a national seminar on “Workers in Platform Economy: how to determine the future of employment to increase worker participation.” The seminar aimed to understand challenges and situations of work in the platform economy through research and to seek sustainable solutions by forming a worker-led working group to promote and protect platform workers’ rights.
June - October JELI x The Active
We collaborated with The Active to create an eight-episode podcast series titled “We Are NOT Robots” on The Active's website to examine the issues faced by workers in the platform economy and to offer solutions to improve workers' well-being.
July - October “Women in the Platform Economy” Study Group In the study group on “Women in the Platform Economy,” JELI brought together female platform workers from different fields to discuss working conditions, risks from work, expectations of women to do housework and take care of their families, and worker cooperative, etc.
Worker Leadership Training Project The Worker Leadership Training Project joined the Labor Network for People’s Rights to host a training which covered communication, labor laws and politics, protesters’ rights under the constitution and guidelines when getting charged, and gender (in)equality in the movement.
JELI x Way Magazine Media Production Project JELI launched a media project with Way Magazine to explore topics from JELI’s 2020 research publication “New Forms of Platform Mediated Work for On-demand Food Delivery.” The project is a collaboration between JELI, WAY Magazine, and FES to make our research paper more accessible to the public through articles, photos, infographics, and video clips.
September “Participation of Female Workers Under Platform Capitalism in Asia” Webinar JELI joined the online webinar held by Asia Monitor Resource Centre titled “Participation of Female Workers Under Platform Capitalism in Asia,” to discuss about female platform worker issues on the care work in Thailand.
Changes in JELI
July – December
JELI hired a paid intern and welcomed a volunteer from Thai Volunteer Service.
December
JELI announced the recruitment of a media staff.
Advocacy Labor Rights and Democracy
January
JELI, on behalf of Labor Network for People’s Rights, announced the call for the state to compensate all people affected by Covid-19, particularly workers enrolled in the Social Security system.
February JELI co-founded “La La Union” (later renamed “Freedom Rider Union”) and assisted them in filing a complaint about unfair working conditions to the labor committee of the House of Representatives.
March Our team observed and promoted Lineman rider gatherings at T-one building, Bangkok, calling the company to cancel pay cuts and pay the same wage of 62 Baht.
April We joined the online campaign opposing the inclusion of platform workers in the informal labor draft bill because it would allow platform companies to escape responsibility for workers’ welfare.
June Our team organized a protest titled “Vaccines for Frontline Workers (in The Platform Economy),” calling the government to provide quality COVID-19 vaccines to platform workers who are unable to stop working or work from home during the pandemic. These are also essential workers on the frontline.
JELI observed and promoted Lineman riders from outside Bangkok to stage a rally at T-one building, calling the company to cancel pay cuts and pay the same wage of 40 Baht.
July JELI handed out pamphlets about “Platform Workers are Workers” in a protest with Workers’ Union and Freedom Rider Union to remind the government and the capitalists to know that platform workers are not partners as they believe.
The Government Subcommittee on Labor Welfare and Platform Work appointed JELI to be the working group on policy solutions to improve working conditions for platform workers.
August JELI released a joint statement with 52 labor organizations in Asia and across the world condemning the state harassment and SLAPP charges against Thai labor activists such as JELI’s staff Suthila Leunkam, Thanapond Vichan, Sriprai Nonsri, and Sia Champathong.
October - December JELI launched a new project in collaboration with Freedom Rider Union: biweekly cartoons titled “Riders’ Rights [ไรเดอร์Rightsเด้อ].” Through Sukhumvit_dangerous’ artworks, the project explored the situation of food delivery riders in Thailand and advocated for riders’ labor rights.
Gender Equality
“Single Mom Riders: Job, Food, and The Needs of Rider Moms” Seminar
On the International Women’s Day, JELI hosted a seminar on “Single Mom Riders: Job, Food, and The Needs of Rider Moms,” inviting single mom riders to share their stories, challenges, and suggestions for improving single mom’s welfare.
Urgent COVID Recovery
During the third wave of pandemic, many platform workers were unemployed. Therefore, JELI took the opportunity to share food from the Citizen Volunteer Project under Thai Volunteer Service with platform workers such as massage therapists, house keepers, and food delivery riders. We also hired Freedom Rider Union members who lost income to help share the food to other workers, building a solidarity economy which is an alternative to capitalism.
Goodbye 2021
HELLO 2022!
Thank you for your support! You can keep up with our work by following JELI on social media or visiting our website:
