Hoya Glass Disk Company's management yielded on 3 more of the workers' demands. The remaining demands are tabled for the next round of negotiations early next year.

On Dec 26, Hoya workers gathered again in front of the factory after work to hear the results of the latest round of negotiations between their representatives and the company management, who had started meeting at 2 pm. There were 2,000 workers including the day shift who skipped overtime, and the night shift who were due to work from 8.30 pm. They have had earlier gatherings on Dec 11, 13, and 18.

At 7 pm, the representatives came out to report on the results. Srithon Pruangwichathorn told the workers that the management had accepted the demands for an extension of health care coverage to include workers' parents, wives and children, for an increase in the petrol allowance from 25 baht to 35 baht to reflect higher oil prices, and an increase in workers' vacation time to 15 days; other demands for increased bonuses and wages were not yet negotiated.

The workers dispersed at around 8 pm, with the night shift going to work as usual. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for Jan 9 or 10, 2008.

Hoya Glass Disk (Thailand) Ltd is located in the Northern Industrial Estate in Lamphun province, manufacturing glass disks for export as components of electronics appliances, computers and cameras, with a production capacity of over 60 million pieces per year. The company was registered in 1990 with a capital of 1,220 million baht, and now has total assets worth more than 5,848 million baht. In 2006, its revenue was over 11,510 million baht, with a net profit of 4,737 million baht, an increase from 3,488 million baht in 2005. It was ranked eighth in the list of Thailand's most profitable limited companies in 2006.

In October this year, Lamphun's daily minimum wage was increased from 149 to 152 baht. However, the company recently cut special pay for workers required to stand at work from 7 baht to 5 baht per day; workers therefore gained only a 1 baht increase in daily income instead of 3 baht. The level of bonuses is also not satisfactory to the workers, considering the soaring cost of living and petrol prices.

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