ILO Mentors Help Thai Firms Put Human Rights Policies into Practice

The four-day programme is being delivered through the ILO’s Advancing Responsible Supply Chains and Decent Work in Asia project with support from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Company representatives from Thailand's automotive and electronics industries are being trained to become workplace mentors who can help colleagues and suppliers turn human rights policies into practical changes across businesses employing more than one million workers.

The International Labour Organization initiative focuses on human rights due diligence, or HRDD, which helps companies identify, prevent and address human rights risks connected to their operations and supply chains. Rather than keeping those responsibilities within corporate policies or specialist teams, the mentorship programme gives participants the skills to explain the process to colleagues, guide workplace discussions and support improvements within supplier networks.

The four-day programme is being delivered through the ILO's Advancing Responsible Supply Chains and Decent Work in Asia project with support from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. It builds on an HRDD training programme launched in June 2026 that has already reached more than 50 companies in Thailand's automotive, auto-parts and electronics supply chains.

Workplace mentors take human rights training further

Participants enter the mentorship programme with an existing understanding of HRDD and social dialogue, gained through previous ILO training, other programmes or professional experience. Their next task is learning how to pass that knowledge on and help businesses apply it in everyday decisions.

Representatives from seven automotive and electronics companies joined mentoring sessions during July and August 2026, including multinational businesses as well as large and small Thai manufacturers and suppliers.

Managers and worker representatives participated together, reflecting the ILO's emphasis on cooperation between both sides when identifying workplace problems and finding solutions that can remain effective after a training programme ends.

Kanlaya Paul, International Supply Chain Manager at AutoAlliance (Thailand) Co., Ltd., said her company already has labour and social auditing processes covering hundreds of suppliers, while the mentorship programme provides additional capacity to train colleagues and extend responsible practices further through the supply chain.

Companies develop plans around their own workplace needs

The programme comes as businesses face increasing expectations from customers, regulators and international markets to understand human rights risks connected with the way products are manufactured and sourced.

Participating companies will create their own HRDD improvement plans instead of working only from general training material, giving each business a chance to identify gaps in existing processes and decide where practical changes are needed. Tailored follow-up support will help participants continue applying what they have learned.

Narissara Simmarkum, Corporate Social Responsibility Administrator at QMB Co., Ltd., or Quanta Thailand, said the company already receives an HRDD policy developed by its headquarters for plants around the world. The mentoring programme helps local staff translate that policy into workplace practices, share knowledge internally and support its use across supply-chain relationships.

This focus can be particularly important when large companies work with extensive networks of smaller suppliers that may have different levels of experience, staffing and resources for managing human rights issues.

Thailand's major export industries face rapid change

Thailand is a major global producer and exporter of automotive and electronics products, with the industries employing more than one million people and connecting multinational companies with a large network of mainly domestic suppliers.

Those businesses are dealing with technological changes, the expansion of electric vehicles, the shift towards lower-carbon transport and increasing scrutiny of working conditions and human rights risks across international supply chains.

Lessons from the Thai mentorship programme will be shared at the UN Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum from September 14-17, 2026. Training and mentoring modules will also be included in HRDD in Motion, a new guide being developed through the ILO project for wider use by industry.

ILO Project Technical Officer Mattie Milliken said effective due diligence depends on people capable of turning written policies into action through dialogue and shared solutions. Building those skills inside companies could give Thailand's manufacturers a practical way to strengthen worker protections while meeting changing expectations in the global markets they depend on.