The Finance Ministry says that unless an effective stimulus package is put in place to persuade people to start spending again, the country's economic growth will drop below 4 per cent, at which point the labour market will start to be affected and perhaps even contract. With too little or no job growth, many of the 300,000-400,000 graduates entering the labour market for the first time this year will find it difficult, if not impossible, to land a job.

In other words, workers in most industrial, agricultural and services sectors will find little to celebrate on National Labour Day.

As is customary, there will be demonstrations by trade unions representing mostly blue-collar workers, as well as speeches by government leaders praising workers' contributions to the country's economic and social development and promising to improve workers' welfare. Organised labour groups can be expected to renew their calls for an increase in the minimum wage and stricter enforcement to ensure that employers honour the basic requirements of the labour laws.

Everyone knows that an increase in the minimum daily wage in this economically difficult time is out of the question.

This year, labour unions, divided by their different ideologies or reactions to the Surayud government's policies, will hold separate rallies. This reflects the fragmentation and weakening of organised labour, which has been ongoing since the 1997 economic crisis. The number of trade unions in the private sector is slowing. At present, there are slightly more than 1,000 private-sector trade unions and some 40 state-enterprise unions.

On the one hand, that explains the diminished influence of organised labour in this country. On the other, many foreign investors who build industrial plants in Thailand and many Thai entrepreneurs have been providing better working conditions, benefits and salaries that equal or exceed the minimum standard required by law. Thus, it has become unnecessary for workers to resort to collective bargaining or seek membership in a union.

However, for every responsible, law-abiding company that treats its workers well, there are many unscrupulous employers bent on taking unfair advantage of their employees, many of them migrant workers from neighbouring countries. The government as well as Thai labour unions and the general public must pay greater attention to the problems that migrant workers face. These workers make an important contribution to the country's economy by doing jobs that are considered too physically demanding or too dangerous and are therefore unwanted by most Thais.

The great improvements in working conditions and quality of life that Thai workers are now enjoying is a big departure from the gross exploitation that previous generations of Thai workers endured, however much migrant workers continue to suffer from these conditions. On Labour Day, Thai workers must spare a thought for their migrant counterparts, foster a sense of solidarity with them and do everything they can to help them improve their lot.

This must start with all of Thai society - from government agencies to organised labour and individual citizens - becoming organised to try to eradicate the worst form of exploitation: human trafficking involving the smuggling in of foreign workers, particularly women and children, to be used as bonded labour under appalling conditions.

It used to be that Labour Day was an occasion for workers the world over to develop a sense of fellowship and solidarity, in order to improve their lives no matter where they were. Perhaps instead of complaining about their own self-interests, Thai workers should think of how to help their migrant brethren, who are less fortunate than they are.