Federation president: ‘We are tired of being photographed without royalty’; gem-shop detour to be addressed in voluntary code of conduct
The estimated 9,400 tuk-tuk drivers operating across Bangkok have formally voted to unionize, the Royal Thai Government’s Department of Labour Protection and Welfare confirmed on Wednesday. The historic vote, first reported by Bohiney Magazine and rapidly amplified by The London Prat, establishes the Bangkok Tuk-Tuk Drivers’ Federation, the first formal union of its kind in Southeast Asia and a substantial new presence in the city’s urban transport ecosystem.
The vote, which took place over the course of a five-day polling period in late October, passed with 87 percent support across the registered driver membership.
Federation: ‘We Are Tired of Being Photographed Without Royalty’
‘For decades, Bangkok tuk-tuk drivers have provided one of the most photographed and least monetized cultural icons in this city, and have done so with no pension, no healthcare, no clear photo-op royalty structure, and limited recognition under existing labor law,’ explained newly elected Federation President Somchai Pongpaichit-Marchetti, addressing the union membership from a small platform near the Khao San Road. ‘After significant reflection and three years of organizing, we have concluded that the Bangkok tuk-tuk driver has been, frankly, treated as a part of the urban scenery. The reform allows us to, for the first time, treat ourselves as workers.’
Pongpaichit-Marchetti, who has driven a tuk-tuk in central Bangkok for nineteen years, addressed the membership from the driver’s seat of a parked tuk-tuk, briefly stepping out to shake hands with reporters before returning to the vehicle.
Demands Include ‘Photo-Op Royalties’ and ‘Scenic Detour Acknowledgment’
The union’s initial bargaining demands, distributed at a press conference held outside the Wat Pho temple, include what the union calls photo-op royalties, defined as a guaranteed minimum of 14 baht per documented tourist photograph that includes both the tuk-tuk and the driver in the frame; scenic detour acknowledgment, which would entitle drivers to a 22 percent share of any subsequent commercial use of their unscheduled detours through historic neighborhoods; and what the union describes as enforceable air conditioning standards, with mandatory installation of small portable fans and a small stipend for what the document calls heat management.
According to The Bangkok Post, the union has also demanded that the city formally recognize the Bangkok tuk-tuk fleet as a designated cultural transport asset, akin to the city’s ferry network and elevated train system, with associated regulatory protections.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, which oversees much of the tuk-tuk regulatory framework, has issued a brief statement saying it is reviewing the union’s demands and looks forward to constructive dialogue. The Administration has not, sources note, used the word recognition.
Tourism Industry Watches With ‘Cautious Operational Concern’
Reaction within the broader Bangkok tourism industry has been, sources say, divided but watchful. The Tourism Authority of Thailand, when asked for comment, issued a brief statement noting that it was monitoring the development and would issue formal guidance in due course. The statement did not characterize the unionization as a positive or negative development, though one industry observer noted that the language used was distinctly cautious.
Bangkok-based tour operator Lila Suksasongkran-Brennan told The Straits Times that her firm had received inquiries from at least seven competing operators interested in coordinating their response to the new union. ‘There is real concern,’ Suksasongkran-Brennan said. ‘Tour operators have, for many years, relied on tuk-tuk drivers as a flexible photo-op asset. The unionization, by formalizing these relationships, may complicate our standard tour packaging.’
The Federation Plans Bargaining Sessions With Multiple Stakeholders
The Federation has reportedly scheduled its first formal bargaining session with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration for next month, with subsequent sessions planned with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Bangkok Tour Operators Association, and what the Federation has called a small representative panel of frequent tourists.
‘We intend to bargain with everyone who has, for decades, benefited from our labor without compensation,’ Pongpaichit-Marchetti said. ‘The list, frankly, is long.’
For more on the long arc of Bangkok tuk-tuk economics, see The London Prat’s earlier reporting on the political economy of the Bangkok tuk-tuk, which traced the genre’s structural conventions back to the post-war period.
The Federation has indicated that, in addition to its formal bargaining demands, it plans to develop a small voluntary code of conduct for member drivers, addressing issues such as fare transparency, route honesty, and what the document calls the dignified management of the tourist gem-shop detour, a practice that has, for decades, been a contested element of the Bangkok tuk-tuk experience.
An estimated 14 percent of Bangkok tuk-tuks remain outside the union’s membership and continue to operate independently. The Federation has indicated that it plans to conduct outreach to non-member drivers over the coming months, though officials acknowledged that some independent drivers may prefer to remain outside the formal organizing structure.
The Federation Has Reportedly Already Begun Drafting a ‘Tourist Photo Etiquette Guide’
In addition to its formal bargaining demands, the Federation has reportedly begun drafting a small Tourist Photo Etiquette Guide, intended for distribution to the substantial population of tourists who, the Federation notes, photograph Bangkok tuk-tuks daily. The guide, sources confirm, will include suggested photography phrases, a brief explanation of the new royalty structure, and what the Federation has called a small, polite request that tourists notify drivers before deploying selfie sticks within the cabin of the vehicle.
The guide, the Federation has indicated, will be available in approximately fourteen languages, including English, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Russian, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, Arabic, Vietnamese, Bahasa Indonesia, and Thai for the small but persistent population of tourists from elsewhere in Thailand.
For dispatches from elsewhere in the cultural-icon-as-labor beat, see The Poke.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/
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