Thai labor unions threaten to strike

2008-09-01 13:46:06 GMT2008-09-01 21:46:06 (Beijing Time) Xinhua English

A pro-government protester walks with a Thai flag in front of riot police blocking a street during a demonstration in Bangkok on September 2. Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has said that protesters must leave the main government complex they occupied one week ago, citing a state of emergency he has imposed in the Thai capital.

A group of Thai anti-government protestors fighting in a street on September 2 near Government House in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has said that protesters must leave the main government complex they occupied one week ago, citing a state of emergency he has imposed in the Thai capital

BANGKOK, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- In an attempt to pressure Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his cabinet to quit their posts, 43 state enterprise labor unions will stop work from Wednesday, the official Thai News Agency reported.

Sawit Kaewwan, secretary-general of the State Enterprise Labor Relations Confederation, and Sirichai Mai-ngam, chief of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) labor union, jointly told a press conference on Monday that more than 200,000 members of the 43 state enterprise labor unions nationwide had jointly agreed to stop work which involves public utilities such as tap water, electricity supplies and transportation systems starting from 9 a.m. Wednesday.

The joint agreement by the state enterprise workers was made with the intention to "end the political problems" created by the government of Samak, according to Sawit.

He said the more than 200,000 state enterprise workers would stay away from their works and suspend utility supplies to government agencies which had used force against protesters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) last Friday.

Police stations in Bangkok and the private residence of Samak are expected to be hit by the work stoppage.

Last Friday, hundreds of anti-riot policemen collided with the PAD protesters who have illegally occupied the Government House since Aug. 26, several protesters were injured in the clash. Gao

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