Following the coup the NCPO placed significant restrictions on freedom of speech and press. The NCPO issued broad orders prohibiting criticism of its actions, shut down numerous media outlets, blocked access to internet sites, and summoned members of the media to report to authorities for questioning. In addition to official restrictions on speech and censorship, the NCPO’s actions resulted in a significant increase in self-censorship among the public and the media. The NCPO prohibited political figures, analysts, and others from providing interviews or comments to the media and banned the dissemination of information that could threaten the NCPO or “create conflict” within the country. These prohibitions remained in effect at year’s end.

Prior to the coup, the international and independent media operated relatively freely, except in coverage of matters deemed a threat to national security or offensive to the monarchy. By law the government could restrict freedom of expression to preserve national security, maintain public order, preserve the rights of others, protect public morals, and prevent insults to Buddhism. The law also allows police with a court order to restrict or confiscate publications and other materials that disturb the peace, interfere with public safety, or offend public morals.

Freedom of Speech: Article 112 of the criminal code, the so-called lese majeste law, makes it a crime--punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment for each offense--to criticize, insult, or threaten the king, queen, royal heir apparent, or regent. The law also allows citizens to initiate lese majeste complaints against each other, which they did on several occasions. The government may conduct trials in secret and prohibit public disclosure of the content of the alleged offenses. International and domestic human rights organizations and academics expressed concern over the chilling effect on freedom of expression.

Official statistics varied by agency, but compared with recent years, the number of new lese majeste cases reportedly increased following the May 22 coup. According to the well-respected local NGO Internet Dialogue on Law Reform (iLaw), the number of new lese majeste cases was 15, as of September. In some of these cases, the accused committed the alleged offense prior to the May 22 coup, but authorities did not bring charges until after the coup. According to iLaw the government detained 20 persons under lese majeste laws as of September.

On June 16, a criminal court issued an arrest warrant for Chatvadee Amornpat, a British citizen who resided in the United Kingdom, for posting allegedly antimonarchy videos on Facebook. On July 31, a criminal court sentenced a musician from Ubon Ratchathani province to 30 years in prison for violation of the lese majeste law and the Computer Crimes Act by posting antimonarchy messages on Facebook. After he confessed to the crimes, the court subsequently reduced the sentences for violations of the two laws to 13 years and 22 months, respectively.

Authorities arrested two students, Patiwat Saraiyim and Porntip Munkong, on August 14 and 15, respectively, and charged them with committing lese majeste for their roles in the performance of the play Chao-Sao-Ma-Pa (Wolf Bride) in 2013 at Bangkok’s Thammasat University to commemorate the 40th anniversary of a student-led uprising. According to a human rights lawyers’ organization, a court denied their bail request, and they remained in detention as of September.

Citizens initiated complaints against each other. For example, on June 2, a passenger filed charges against taxi driver Yuthasak Kangwanwongsakul for purportedly insulting the monarchy during a discussion of the political situation. On August 14, the Bangkok Criminal Court found the taxi driver guilty of lese majeste and sentenced him to 30 months in jail.

Press Freedoms: Government entities owned and controlled most radio and broadcast television stations, including the 524 officially registered “regular” AM and FM stations. The armed forces and police owned another 244 radio stations, ostensibly for national security purposes. Other owners of national broadcast media included the government’s Public Relations Department and the Mass Communication Organization of Thailand Public Company Limited, a former state enterprise in which the government maintained a majority share. Government entities leased nearly all stations to commercial companies that provided commercial content to the stations.

The law provides for the regulation of radio and television frequencies and three categories of broadcast licenses (public service, community service, and commercial). The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) allocates broadcast frequencies and regulates broadcast media. Radio stations must renew their licenses every seven years. Government transmitters broadcast radio signals. Stations are required by law to broadcast 30-minute, government-produced newscasts twice daily and to register with the NBTC. Several thousand small community radio stations nationwide also operate under a separate licensing system. The NBTC approved licenses for 24 new digital television channels.

Violence and Harassment: During antigovernment demonstrations leading up to the May 22 coup, members of protest groups subjected journalists to intimidation and accused various media outlets of political bias. Following the coup the NCPO ordered hundreds of individuals, including journalists, to report to military authorities or face prison and confiscation of assets.

For instance, military authorities summoned and detained Pravit Rojanaphruk, a reporter at The Nation newspaper, for several days. On May 26, following coup leader General Prayut’s first speech after his seizure of power, journalists Wassana Nanuam and Suparirk Thongchairit questioned him about the scheduling of elections and if he would appoint a new prime minister. The following day military authorities summoned the two reporters and told them to “not ask questions in such a manner again” and that “such a forceful style of questioning is not appropriate,” because the press should, instead, “cheer on” General Prayut.

In July authorities arrested two journalists affiliated with the Burmese Bi-Midday Sun newspaper; both resided in Mae Sot. Officials subsequently handed the journalists over to Burmese Police Special Branch on the Burmese side of the border, where the journalists were charged under Burma’s Emergency Provisions Act for publishing a story that falsely announced that Aung Sang Suu Kyi had established an interim government.

Censorship or Content Restrictions: Following the coup the NCPO restricted content deemed critical of or threatening to it, and the media widely practiced self-censorship. Immediately after seizing power, the NCPO shut down all television channels for more than 24 hours and ordered all radio and television stations--satellite, broadcast, and cable--to stop normal programming and broadcast only army-provided content. Although all free television stations resumed broadcasting on May 23, they refrained from reporting news critical of the NCPO. The NCPO ordered the media not to interview former government officials, academics, judges, or other members of independent organizations in a way that might “create conflict or confusion” among the public. On June 3, the NBTC and the NCPO announced that the majority of television channels could resume operations; however, 13 satellite channels and a digital channel remained banned by an NCPO order. On August 26, the NCPO gave final approval for the remaining satellite television channels to resume broadcasts under strict conditions, but only after the stations signed a memorandum of understanding with the NBTC that required them to change their channel names and agree not to broadcast content deemed “politically divisive.” The NCPO prohibited 4,300 community radio stations and 3,000 illegal radio stations operating without licenses from operating.

On June 25, the NCPO announced the establishment of panels to monitor media content in all branches of the media, including international press. The NCPO assigned the NBTC to monitor broadcast media, the Special Branch Police to oversee print media, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology to observe online media, and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to supervise monitoring of foreign media.

On July 18, the NCPO issued an order that prohibited any criticism of military authorities and directed print media, as well as television, radio, cable, and online media operators, not to publish or broadcast any information critical of the military’s actions. In addition the NCPO instructed print media, television, and radio programs not to carry any critical commentaries or invite as guests on their programs anyone who might make negative comments against the NCPO. Military authorities also banned any information they considered distorted or likely to cause public misunderstanding in broadcasts and printed publications or on social media and websites. Following criticism from the media and human rights groups, the NCPO amended its order on July 21 to clarify that the ban on all forms of criticism targeted only criticism made with malice and false information that aimed to discredit the NCPO. A contemporaneous NCPO order also stated that rather than face a forcible shutdown as originally ordered, a media outlet that violated the ban would face an ethics inquiry conducted by relevant media associations.

The emergency decree, which remained in effect in the conflict-affected three southernmost provinces, empowers the government “to prohibit publication and distribution of news and information that may cause the people to panic or with an intention to distort information.” It also authorizes the government to censor news considered a threat to national security.

Libel Laws/National Security: Defamation is a criminal offense, punishable by a fine of up to 200,000 baht ($6,000) and two years’ imprisonment. Criminal courts made several rulings on defamation and libel cases against political activists and politicians. On April 17, authorities charged two reporters, Alan Morrison and Chutima Sidasathien, from the English-language news website Phuketwan, with defamation and other offenses for publishing excerpts of a Pulitzer Prize-awarded Reuters report that alleged navy complicity in the trafficking of ethnic Rohingya. Officials released both journalists on bail. The first hearing in the case was scheduled for May 2015 (see section 5).

Prior to the coup, the constitution provided for the right of some workers freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively. The interim constitution promulgated on July 22 lacked such provisions. Nevertheless, labor laws, including the Labor Relations Act, remained in effect. The laws allow private sector workers to form and join trade unions of their choosing without prior authorization, bargain collectively, and conduct legal strikes with a number of restrictions. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination. Although the law does not require reinstatement of workers fired for involvement in trade union activity, a court decision may grant employee reinstatement and compensation of salary for losses while absent from work for various types of unfair termination, including antiunion discrimination.

Separate laws allow government-owned enterprise workers to form unions. The law does not allow civil servants, including teachers at public and private schools, university professors, soldiers, and police, to form or register a union. Civil servants may form and register associations, but these associations do not have the right to bargain collectively. Noncitizen migrant workers, whether registered or working illegally, do not have the right to form unions or serve as union officials. Registered migrants may be members of unions organized and led by citizens.

The law restricts affiliations between government-owned enterprise unions and private sector unions since they are governed under two separate laws. The legal requirement that only employees “working for the same employer” or “in the same description of work” may form a union limits the ability of contract workers to join unions formed by regular employees. In addition the law allows employees in private enterprise with more than 50 workers to establish “employee committees” to represent workers’ collective requests and to negotiate with employers and “welfare committees” to represent workers’ collective requests on welfare problems.

Legal protection from antiunion actions by employers does not apply until the union is registered. To register a union, at least 10 workers must submit their names to the Department of Labor Protection and Welfare, which verifies the names and employment status with the employer, potentially exposing the workers to retaliation before registration is complete. Additionally, the law requires that union officials be full-time employees of the company or government enterprise and prohibits permanent union staff. A union is entitled to no more than two advisors, who must register with the Ministry of Labor. Employers may dismiss workers for any reason, provided the employer pays severance. A union leader who loses his or her job for any reason may not continue to represent union members.

The law requires employers to begin negotiating within three days from the time a union submits its demands. If an agreement cannot be reached, the government considers it a labor dispute and begins conciliation. The law permits workers to strike after an employee has submitted a demand resulting in a deadlock between the employer and employee. Workers must submit a letter of notification at least 24 hours in advance of strike action. The government has the authority to restrict private sector strikes that would affect national security or cause severe negative repercussions for the population at large, but it did not invoke this provision during the year. Employers can charge union leaders with libel for statements made during collective bargaining and strike action if they “[harm] the employer’s reputation.”

The law forbids strikes and lockouts in the public sector, government-owned enterprises, and “essential services,” which are defined more broadly than they are under international standards and include sectors such as telecommunications and public transportation. The law prohibits the termination of employment of legal strikers, but employers are permitted to hire workers to replace strikers. Strike action in the private sector was constrained by the legal requirement to call a general meeting of trade union members and obtain strike approval by at least 50 percent of all union members. The law provides for penalties, including imprisonment and possible compulsory labor, for strikers in government-owned enterprises.

Labor law enforcement was inconsistent and in some instances ineffective in protecting workers who participated in union activities. For example, even when labor courts ordered employee reinstatement when dismissal resulted from union activity, the process was lengthy and costly for the employee. Most cases were settled out of court through severance payments to the employee with no effective punishment of the employer. Although penalties under law for violations include up to six months’ imprisonment and 10,000 baht ($300) fines or both, they were rarely applied. A system of labor courts exercised judicial review over most aspects of labor law for the private sector. The Ministry of Labor reported that most conflicts referred to the Central Labor Court continued to involve dismissals and other violations of labor law and working condition agreements.

The tripartite Labor Relations Board adjudicated problems of collective labor relations, and its decisions were subject to labor court review. Workers may also seek redress through the NHRC. The Ministry of Labor may refer private sector labor disputes that cannot be resolved through negotiation or voluntary arbitration and may affect the national economy or public order to the Labor Relations Board for settlement. The State Enterprise Relations Committee handled redress of grievances for government enterprise workers. During 2013, the latest year for which such data were available, the Department of Labor Protection and Welfare reported 146 informal conflicts between employers and employees involving 68,715 employees, a decline from 2012 (177 informal conflicts involving 94,124 employees). Of these, 124 conflicts were resolved without walkouts, 10 were referred to a labor court, and nine continued under the department’s process. Most cases referred to a labor court fell under the categories of violations of labor protection laws, breaches of working condition agreements, and wrongful acts by employers and employees.

Employers continued to discriminate against workers who sought to organize unions. There were cases reported of employers dismissing workers engaging in union activities from their jobs, both before and after union registration. In some cases the labor courts ordered workers reinstated if they proved that the grounds for their dismissal were unlawful. In 2013 the Labor Relations Committee ruled that General Motors Thailand had unfairly dismissed 296 workers who refused to sign individual agreements regarding changes of their work schedules. GM agreed to reinstate dismissed workers if they would accept the new work schedule agreement and offered a severance package for those who no longer wanted to continue employment with the company. Some workers accepted the severance package and left, while other workers who did not accept the package remained locked out of the workplace as of October. The dispute was referred to the labor court.

There were also reports that after the reinstatement of striking workers at Michelin Siam, employers transferred workers to different positions to prevent further collective action.

Employers used various techniques to stop workers’ strikes, including replacing striking workers with subcontractors, threatening union leaders, and inciting violence in order to get a court warrant to prohibit protests. There were reports that some employers supported setting up competing unions to circumvent established unions that refused to accept the terms of agreement proposed by employers.

The Thai Labor Solidarity Committee condemned the September 4 attack against the president of the Thai Sobhi Workers’ Union and believed the attack was linked to his union activities based on previous threats received. An investigation continued as of October.

Legal definitions of who may join a union (“employees working for the same employer” or “employees in the same description of work”) and requirements that the union represent at least one-fifth of the workforce hampered collective bargaining efforts if contract workers, who made up a substantial portion of the workforce, were not considered part of the potential bargaining unit. Because the law classifies contract workers as working in the “service industry,” as opposed to the “manufacturing industry,” they may not join an industrial union. This restriction on joining with full-time employees of industries often diminished the ability to bargain collectively as a larger group. In a small number of cases, documented migrants joined unions run by citizens, but language barriers and the segregation of Thai and migrant workers by industry and by zones (particularly in the border area) limited the impact of these unions on the migrant labor force.

Labor activists claimed the requirement to get agreement from 50 percent of union members set a high barrier for conducting a legal strike. Some employers used unfavorable work assignments and reductions in work hours and bonuses to punish strikers.

All 13 railways workers (except one who reached retirement age), dismissed in response to a union-led work stoppage protesting unsafe locomotives after a crash in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province in 2009 resulted in seven fatalities, were reinstated in July. Despite the reinstatement, the State Railways of Thailand did not ask the court to drop the court order requiring dismissed workers to pay a 15 million baht ($450,000) fine.