Union demands halt to foreign retail expansion
The Opposition to Multinational Business Union has called on the Interior Ministry to implement city planning laws to stop multinational retailers opening new branches before the country's first-ever Retail Business Act becomes law.
Union president Panthep Suleesatira said thousands of retailers among the union's members did not agree with the draft of the new Act, drawn up by the Commerce Ministry. They believe it will benefit foreign investors rather than local retailers.A senior Commerce Ministry official yesterday said the long-awaited draft of the Retail Business Act would be presented for Cabinet approval next week. If approved, it will go to the National Legislative Assembly. However, the union said that without any legal restrictions, multinational retail operators were stepping up their expansion by opening new branches in local communities in Bangkok and upcountry. Panthep said city planning laws were already in place to protect communities and residential areas by restricting the establishment of retail outlets to more than 15 kilometres from the centre of a community. He said the Commerce and Interior ministries should join forces to stop the expansion of the retail giants immediately. Moreover, the Interior Ministry should formulate laws to control building design, in order to facilitate legal action against retailers whose construction raises traffic or environmental problems. "The implementation of the Retail Business Act will directly hit small retailers, which now total more than 6 million operators," he said. "They have small capital investments compared with the retail giants." The union also pointed out that rapid expansion by retail giants would cause a domino effect that would be felt by Thai farmers, who - because they are unable to enter the supply chain of the big retailers - would lose bargaining power for the sale of farm products.
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