Passion for pro bono: NUS and Thai student groups explore gig worker protections, community service and cultural exchange
How different is pro-bono work in Thailand compared to Singapore and how do laws in both countries impact such work? These were the questions that NUS Law undergraduates from the NUS Pro Bono Group (PBG) sought to answer on a five-day trip to Bangkok in January as part of the group’s annual pro-bono exchange project.
The NUS PBG is a student-run organisation dedicated to the promotion of pro bono services among NUS Law students. It aims to develop them into empathetic and understanding lawyers who are passionate about pro bono work and championing access to justice.
This year’s exchange project, Thai-Ed with Love 2024, was organised in collaboration with the Thammasat University Pro Bono Society (TU PBS) to enable out-of-classroom experiences and an exchange of ideas to enrich the learning and understanding of laws and pro bono cultures in Thailand and Singapore. This project was made possible by the RHTLAW Asia Subhas Anandan Pro Bono Grant Award.
Developments in protection of gig economy workers
With the rise in the proportion of gig economy workers in both Thailand and Singapore, labour laws for the protection of gig workers, such as Grab drivers, in both countries were one of the key topics of discussion.
The budding lawyers had the opportunity to hear from academics and practitioners on developments in this area.
Representatives from legal firm Baker McKenzie Thailand, Mr Chanon Sriphiphattanakun and Mr Na-can Sermsook, shared with students the various laws protecting gig workers and the wider freelance worker demographic in Thailand. They also covered topics such as whether freelance workers are considered employees, and the laws that would apply to this group of workers.
Students then heard from NUS Business School Assistant Dean (Undergraduate Academic) and Associate Professor Chandran s/o Thiagarajah who shared about the current state of regulations for gig workers in Singapore as well as impending national initiatives such as changes to the Central Provident Fund contribution rate, work injury compensation and the formation of representative bodies akin to unions for better workers’ welfare.
Year 2 NUS Law undergraduate student Noleen Joy Marasigan found the session interesting as it delved into the laws protecting gig workers in Singapore and Thailand in greater detail. “For example, we found that the Thai government has passed other legislations such as the Homeworkers Protection Act which mandates that fair wages be paid to workers hired to complete work at home for an industrial enterprise,” she said.”
Kanthapa Chantananont (Fresh), the president of TU PBS as well as a Year 3 student of Thammasat University’s Faculty of Law, summed it up well. “It has been a memorable experience. We learned many things from the lecture and discussion sessions. We really got to know more about the differences between Thai and Singaporean laws regarding the protection of freelancers, got to expand our perspectives on ways to solve the same issue in different jurisdictions, and also learned how participants view Thai and Singaporean law,” she shared.
Community impact through pro-bono work
Aside from learning about current matters pertaining to the practice of law, students from NUS PBG and TU PBS also took turns to present the pro bono initiatives and the prospective projects their clubs were working on.
Like NUS PBG, TU PBS also has a project focused on volunteering at legal clinics. However, unlike NUS PBG, TU PBS students who have undergone a training programme, can serve as consultants to businesses run by students. This was eye-opening for the NUS students, given that in Singapore students are not permitted to provide legal advice, which is usually offered by volunteer lawyers.
Other projects run by TU PBS include IP Prism, a half-day workshop on intellectual property and a prospective project aimed at reaching out to the homeless. The project directors from NUS PBG also took turns to share about their initiatives such as Syariah Law Friends which provides volunteers an opportunity to learn about the practice of Syariah law in Singapore.
Students from NUS PBG also conducted a cultural sharing focusing on the different languages, festivals, cuisines and architecture that showcase the many ethnic groups in multi-cultural Singapore.
Ms Kitiarsa Rungnapa, Lecturer of Thai language at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences’ Centre for Language Studies who accompanied NUS PBG students for the trip took the opportunity to talk about her experiences living in Singapore, and in line with the pro bono spirit, spoke about her volunteering work as an advisor to the Friends of Thai Workers Association – a non-governmental organisation that looks after the interests of Thai migrant workers in Singapore.
Joshua Tan, Year 2 NUS Law undergraduate from NUS PBG who was one of the organisers of Thai-Ed with Love 2024 project shared, “A significant learning point for us arising from the activities is the realisation that there are even more different groups in society that we could reach out to, such as the homeless which are not any of the beneficiaries that our projects serve at the moment. This serves as a possible inspiration for future pro bono projects.”
Bonding through community service
In line with the project’s overarching aim to inspire students to give back to the community, participants spent an afternoon at Bangpu Nature Education Centre, a coastal and estuarine mangrove area, to learn about the diverse flora and fauna in the area, and plant mangrove trees to augment the Centre’s efforts to protect the coastline’s water quality and wildlife habitats there.
Added Hewie Tan, president of NUS PBG and a second year NUS Law undergraduate, “The trip exposed me to how other national legislations function, which adds a global perspective to the law that we learn in class. I had the incredible opportunity to learn from TU PBS and even forged new friendships with some of the Thai participants. This has been an amazing opportunity.”
By NUS Pro Bono Group
