Industrial Democracy and Best Practice in Thailand

A central issue in industrial democracy (ID) in Thailand is the nexus between Western and Thai cultures. The concept of ID was originated in Western society under the Western culture. European Union (EU) has prescribed, as a rule for all member countries to follow, the application of ID in their industries, and European Works Council Directives (1994 & 1997) require the establishment of a European Works Council in larger, multinational enterprises. In practice, Western based companies operating in other countries normally apply human resource and industrial relations policies that originate from their Headquarters based in Europe or America. The implementation is done mostly in a wholesale manner without adaptation to the local culture. This is true in Thailand and other ASEAN countries where cultural values much different from the West are in conflict with the ID ideology. This book presents the results of a study of ID in Thailand. A Thai cultural based ID model is presented to be a guideline for those who want to implement their ID policies in Thailand successfully. This model could be adapted for other countries with similar culture.