President responds to letter of clarification by AIT labor union president
5 September 2006
Dear members of the AIT community,
Many of you may have seen two short stories and a news brief published in early August in Matichon and The Nation newspapers concerning the termination of employees at AIT. Some of the information reported was factually inaccurate, and I would like to set the record straight. The stories contained statements by Mr. Yuthana Jittiyapol, president of the AIT Labor Union. As the attached letter from Mr. Yuthana indicates, some of these statements were reported incorrectly, taken out of context or made in error.
In addition to the 167 unreplaced retirements and resignations, as well as non-renewal of employments carried out during the period from July 2005 to May 2006, the institute is leaner by 30 administrative and support staff (of which 17 were resignations) in July 2006 all unreplaced. By the end of the year, there will be 10 staff retirements/resignations and 26 non-renewal of staff employments that will not be replaced. AIT did, in fact, terminate 13 Thai employees in June. This was part of a yearlong effort to reduce a workforce that had grown too large over the years for the institute to remain competitive and financially secure. The terminations, regrettable though they may have been for the individuals affected, were part of a necessary larger process that included a hiring freeze, non-renewal of contracts, early retirements and budget cuts across the board. This difficult decision came as a result of what was best for the long-term sustainability of the institute.
Some comments attributed to Mr. Yuthana were made in what may have been understandable error. AIT recognizes that such a time can be emotional and can lead to statements that could be misconstrued or based elsewhere than in fact. It is my hope the attached letter will rectify that. Furthermore, it is my sincere hope that we all can put this matter behind us and concentrate on strengthening the institute together.
AIT remains loyal to its host country and its Thai staff, which comprise 65 percent of the 951-strong workforce. At the same time it remains committed to the international composition of its entire workforce, which consists of employees from 34 countries. It is this character that makes AIT a unique international institution of higher learning of which all of us can be proud.
Sincerely,
Said Irandoust
President
Letter in Thai:
pres.pdf
(TRANSLATION)
22 August 2006
SUBJECT: Inaccurate statement in the newspapers
TO: President, Asian Institute of Technology
REFERENCE: News published in Matichon and The Nation newspapers
Matichon and The Nation newpapers, on 7 August 2006, published news stories referring to my interview accusing the institute of forcing Thai employees to resign due to the institute's policy of hiring international employees and ignoring the welfare of the Thai employees. In the news, I stated that the AIT Labor Union submitted demands on these matters for improvement, but it came out that some members of the AIT Labor Union were terminated. The news also mentioned my statement accusing the institute of hiring Filipinos to work at AIT since the institute does not want Thai employees to communicate in Thai in the institute, etc.
I would like to inform the president that the news published in these two newspapers was inaccurate, partly caused from my misunderstanding. The inaccuracy also stemmed from the confusion of several different statements made by AIT employees to the press during my interview, causing the news content to differ from fact on this matter. However, as the person who was mentioned in the news, I do not want to put the blame on any person, and I would like to take responsibility for this inaccurate published news. The fact is the institute is faced with a financial crisis and needs to terminate some employees for the institute's stability. The institute does not have the policy of terminating Thai employees to be replaced by foreign employees. The institute does not have the policy of terminating some Thai staff members because they submitted demands to the institute. The demands submitted by the AIT Labor Union and the termination of employees are not related. As for the international staff, particularly Filipinos who have been working here for a long time, they were not hired to replace Thai employees. Nor does the institute have a policy of not allowing Thai employees to communicate in the Thai language in the institute, as mentioned in the news.
I realize very well the damages caused from these two newspapers, so I would like to correct my statements for the reputation of the institute, for which I have long been working.
Sincerely,
(Mr. Yuthana Jittyapol)
President, AIT Labor Union
Translated by: PSSU
Letter in Thai:
pres02.pdf