Labor Day in Thailand celebrates the achievements of laborers from Thailand (sort of) and falls on the same day as its international cousin, International Labor Day. Unfortunately, Labor Day in Thailand doesn’t carry much weight as of yet and that’s understandable since only 2% of Thailand’s 40 million workforce belong to labor unions. And as labor issues grow, e.g., instances of child labor, migrant worker, low-wage long-hour abuse and unsafe working conditions; hopefully so will awareness for the need to protect workers rights. How fast awareness grows among Thai laborers is hard to know and this may be attributed to a cultural class structure that could inhibit laborers from speaking out and organizing and strengthening current labor laws. It’s also important to know that I’m only a casual observer, and I do not claim to have a deep understanding of the current labor issues or Thai culture for that matter. But when your theme for the day’s festivities is “Don’t Do Drugs,” which in it’s own right is commendable, but misses the point of what Labor Day is all about, the celebration of workers and their efforts in overcoming unacceptable working conditions and achieving a fair pay for a fair day’s work.