Workers plead for help as socks company cheats them out of wages, benefits

[snoop1130]

Workers plead for help as socks company cheats them out of wages, benefits

By The Nation

 

 

Up to 180 workers gathered outside the Nakhonluang Nylon Socks Co factory in Nakhon Pathom to demand their dues, saying they have not been paid properly for more than two months and can afford no more than fish sauce and rice for their meals.

 

They have also been cheated out of their social security benefits because the company has not been contributing for the past seven months.

 

Surin Pimpa, president of the Metropolitan Textile Business Union, led the workers to hand a petition for immediate action to Apinya Sujarittanan, chief of the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare. She also said the company has been using the Covid-19 crisis as an excuse to hold back payments for more than 180 Thai and migrant workers.

 

Nakhonluang Nylon Socks Co had been facing financial problems even before the virus hit the country. It has been claiming for a while that it does not have capital to purchase raw materials and has sold many of its machines.

 

It was further hit by the lack of orders once the Covid-19 outbreak began, and decided to dissolve some departments. However, employees were only verbally informed, not in written form.

It also only paid employees Bt2,000 twice a month, instead of their full wages.

 

Employees were only told to stop working in some departments, but were given no advance notice in writing. The company also rescheduled shifts without advance notice. Also no clear compensation measures or reason behind the loss of their jobs was provided.

 

No social security payments were made from August 2019 to February 2020, resulting in employees losing their rights to seek assistance from the Social Security Office over the loss of jobs due to the Covid-19 crisis.

 

The company also disregarded employees’ savings and retirement schemes.

 

The union chief said she wants DLPW to mediate negotiations with the company and ensure the workers get paid as per the country’s labour laws.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30387794?utm_source=category&utm_medium=internal_referral

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-05-13

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[Relocated]

Sharing dishes without silvers has nothing to do with COVID.

As long as mask covers part of face, you are safe. 

[Gandtee]

Darn it!????

[steven100]

those damn sock companies always trying to cheat on paying their staff

[pineapple01]

 I had Potatoes in my Socks according to my Teachers.

[maxcorrigan]

40 minutes ago, steven100 said:

those damn sock companies always trying to cheat on paying their staff

I think the great man himself Khun Prayut should step in and sort this out. what do you think Steve?

[steven100]

2 minutes ago, maxcorrigan said:

I think the great man himself Khun Prayut should step in and sort this out. what do you think Steve?

well i'm sure they have checked with the labor department ... which is in turn the government, so if he can do something one would expect they would. Come on Khun Prayut ... 

[hotchilli]

47 minutes ago, steven100 said:

well i'm sure they have checked with the labor department ... which is in turn the government, so if he can do something one would expect they would. Come on Khun Prayut ... 

They will say "nothing in nothing out"... the company has been withholding payments to the employees and not paying benefits to the social security office [yet deductions were made from the wages] for pension social security etc?.

Also paying a total 4,000 baht per month is less than the minimum wage which is also illegal. 

Time to take this company to court... pronto

[Genmai]

Amazing. By comparison the scrutiny I am subjected to as a foreign business owner is not even in the same universe. How is it that after funding and organizing my company and then justifying to immigration why I need to be employed there (????) am I still having to go back and forth to immigration each year because "need more photos of you and staff standing together"? 4 Thai people need to have been on payroll for at least 3 months during time of visa extension. How am I supposed to do that when people quit regularly without any notice at the drop of a hat? 

 

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

they have not been paid properly for more than two months and can afford no more than fish sauce and rice for their meals.

 

They have also been cheated out of their social security benefits because the company has not been contributing for the past seven months.

 

Seven months? Christ mary joseph bubba wubba I'd have a knock on my door if I was late with my payments by 7 minutes.

[timendres]

15 minutes ago, Genmai said:

Amazing. By comparison the scrutiny I am subjected to as a foreign business owner is not even in the same universe. How is it that after funding and organizing my company and then justifying to immigration why I need to be employed there (????) am I still having to go back and forth to immigration each year because "need more photos of you and staff standing together"? 4 Thai people need to have been on payroll for at least 3 months during time of visa extension. How am I supposed to do that when people quit regularly without any notice at the drop of a hat? 

Ditto. One year they insisted that the company name on the mailbox "looks like paper, you must make plastic". Thirty minutes of discussion still did not convince them, so I had to go back and take a close up photo that clearly showed the strip was "of a plastic nature". This after having filed for 5 consecutive years with photos of the exact same strip of "looks like paper". This on top of the 90+ pages of absurd documentation, and dozens of photos of staff and office.

[Genmai]

14 minutes ago, timendres said:

Ditto. One year they insisted that the company name on the mailbox "looks like paper, you must make plastic". Thirty minutes of discussion still did not convince them, so I had to go back and take a close up photo that clearly showed the strip was "of a plastic nature". This after having filed for 5 consecutive years with photos of the exact same strip of "looks like paper". This on top of the 90+ pages of absurd documentation, and dozens of photos of staff and office.

 

It just gets harder every year. I'm already doing everything by the book, employing 4 Thais, paying everyone's social security, paying myself a mandated salary of 50,000 because I'm white, etc. Last year during my 3rd extension:

 

IO: "I see on your paper the taxation department has given you a number which indicates what category of industry you're involved in."

Me: "Yes"

IO: "The number is wrong. It says your business is in the category of cotton seed squeezing industrial machine production."
Me: "That's not even remotely close to what I'm doing."

IO: "Yes, you have to change it"

Me: "How? I didn't apply for that number, they automatically allocated it to me. It's not my fault it's wrong."

IO: "You write a letter, go to taxation department to tell them they made a mistake, wait for response and come back"

 

Next time at IO:

 

Me: "Ok, I've got your updated paper now"

IO: "Yes. Oh. Your staff. You need to have been paying all 4 staff for at least 3 months"

Me: "Yes, but Ploy's brother-in-law got drunk and stole her bike so she's had to go live with her sister in Lamphun. We got Gaew but she's been with us for 85 days, not 90 days yet."

IO: "You need to write a letter explaining your transgressions."

 

Next time at IO:

 

Me: "Ok, I've got the updated paper and the letter explaining Ploy's predicament".

IO: "Yes, but now I notice your photos. You have photo of everybody. But you need also each person at their desk doing their work. And also in front of your office, the sign has to be visible. Please be working at your computer in your photo"

 

Next time

 

Me: "Ok I've got the paper, letter and the photos"

IO: "Yes let me see. Oh, your TM30. It's from Chiang Mai. But you flew into the country 2 days before this report into Bangkok. Where is your Bangkok TM30?"

Me: "My father-in-law is a disabled 77 year old man and I'm not going to wheel him in the heat to the nearest police station so he can report that I'm staying at his place for 1 night. The app doesn't work and I haven't received my login."

IO: "You need to write a letter explaining your transgressions and possibly pay a fine"

 

Next time

 

Me: "Ok I've got the paper and the letter and the photos and the other letter explaining why I've been such a terrible human being"

IO: "Yes. Oh I forgot to tell you, we discovered a spelling mistake in our own forms which we require you to fill. We've amended the mistake. Unfortunately because of the change the form now is no longer #209789, it's #209790. Please fill out the new form and amend any mentions to it in your other documents. Sorry for your inconvenience"

 

Next time

 

Me: "Ok, I've got all the papers and forms and photos you could ever want, each page signed and each page photocopied and arranged in JUST the way you like and the dates changed to today"

IO: "Yes. Oh. Your printed photos of yourself. The size has changed. Your photo is 4.6 cm long. New size is 4.7 cm long. Go next door and print new size."

 

10 minutes later

 

Me: "Ok I've got everything"

IO: "Ok, pay your fee and you should hear from us in a month whether we let you stay and run your company with your money."

Me: "Can I travel during this time?"

IO: "No."

Me: "What happens if someone from my team quits again during this time and I no longer have 4 people?"

IO: "Make sure they don't quit"

 

???? Why am I here again?

[timendres]

1 hour ago, Genmai said:

It just gets harder every year. I'm already doing everything by the book, employing 4 Thais, paying everyone's social security, paying myself a mandated salary of 50,000 because I'm white, etc. Last year during my 3rd extension:

 

IO: "I see on your paper the taxation department has given you a number which indicates what category of industry you're involved in."

Me: "Yes"

IO: "The number is wrong. It says your business is in the category of cotton seed squeezing industrial machine production."
Me: "That's not even remotely close to what I'm doing."

IO: "Yes, you have to change it"

Me: "How? I didn't apply for that number, they automatically allocated it to me. It's not my fault it's wrong."

IO: "You write a letter, go to taxation department to tell them they made a mistake, wait for response and come back"

 

Next time at IO:

 

Me: "Ok, I've got your updated paper now"

IO: "Yes. Oh. Your staff. You need to have been paying all 4 staff for at least 3 months"

Me: "Yes, but Ploy's brother-in-law got drunk and stole her bike so she's had to go live with her sister in Lamphun. We got Gaew but she's been with us for 85 days, not 90 days yet."

IO: "You need to write a letter explaining your transgressions."

 

Next time at IO:

 

Me: "Ok, I've got the updated paper and the letter explaining Ploy's predicament".

IO: "Yes, but now I notice your photos. You have photo of everybody. But you need also each person at their desk doing their work. And also in front of your office, the sign has to be visible. Please be working at your computer in your photo"

 

Next time

 

Me: "Ok I've got the paper, letter and the photos"

IO: "Yes let me see. Oh, your TM30. It's from Chiang Mai. But you flew into the country 2 days before this report into Bangkok. Where is your Bangkok TM30?"

Me: "My father-in-law is a disabled 77 year old man and I'm not going to wheel him in the heat to the nearest police station so he can report that I'm staying at his place for 1 night. The app doesn't work and I haven't received my login."

IO: "You need to write a letter explaining your transgressions and possibly pay a fine"

 

Next time

 

Me: "Ok I've got the paper and the letter and the photos and the other letter explaining why I've been such a terrible human being"

IO: "Yes. Oh I forgot to tell you, we discovered a spelling mistake in our own forms which we require you to fill. We've amended the mistake. Unfortunately because of the change the form now is no longer #209789, it's #209790. Please fill out the new form and amend any mentions to it in your other documents. Sorry for your inconvenience"

 

Next time

 

Me: "Ok, I've got all the papers and forms and photos you could ever want, each page signed and each page photocopied and arranged in JUST the way you like and the dates changed to today"

IO: "Yes. Oh. Your printed photos of yourself. The size has changed. Your photo is 4.6 cm long. New size is 4.7 cm long. Go next door and print new size."

 

10 minutes later

 

Me: "Ok I've got everything"

IO: "Ok, pay your fee and you should hear from us in a month whether we let you stay and run your company with your money."

Me: "Can I travel during this time?"

IO: "No."

Me: "What happens if someone from my team quits again during this time and I no longer have 4 people?"

IO: "Make sure they don't quit"

 

???? Why am I here again?

Precisely why I pay my agent to deal with this C rap. 6 years she has made the process as smooth as silk, except that one time with the "no plastic" photo. Not cheap, but worth every baht. Even in the midst of the Corona debacle, she dealt with everything inside, as I waited comfortably outside. When my queue number came, up she called me, and I was in and out in 5 minutes.

[TooBigToFit]

The owners need to pay up right away or face 10 years in jail. Well, it's be nice. But no doubt, Thailand will protect the rich as it always does. When will the poor learn to get their own justice by making an example of the perpetrators.