Tailandia - Yum Restaurant International dismissed three union leaders (2013)

Yum Restaurant International (Thailand) employs over 10,000 workers in the food and service industry. On May 9, 2011, the company dismissed three union leaders after they successfully registered a trade union and tried to propose their demands. The company then threatened union members by calling them into small group meetings or individual meetings in order to pressure them to resign from the union. Under financial distress, two of the union leaders accepted the company’s offer and resigned. The other union leader refused and took her case to the courts, where she won reinstatement. Although she was reinstated, the judge pressured her to be more conciliatory by accepting the money and dropping the case. She still returned to work and since then, the employer has isolated her to prevent her from talking with or representing her union members and has given her no work since June 2012 to demoralize her. The company continues to pressure her to take a payout and leave by putting her under video surveillance.