Child Laborers Toil In Thai Seafood Factories

[Scott]

I wonder of this little tykes will get Labour Day off.

[egg6447]

it's as despicable as it is believable - for those who are acquainted with how heartless some Thai bosses can be in taking advantage of the very vulnerable and desperate among us. The only real pressure for cleaning up the exploitation will (as usual in humanitarian-abuse cases) come from outside Thailand.

Also: shrimp harvesting is very environmentally destructive regardless of whether it's harvested from the oceans or from farms. I'm not a vegetarian, but I refuse to ever eat shrimp - knowing how destructive it is to breed and harvest; if it's caught in the wild, it necessetates the killing of masses of other sea life and destruction of coral from trawling sea beds. If it's farmed, it necessitates the eradication of mangroves - which are an essential link for a healthy sea ecology.

you seem to be of the belief that your prawns are sea prawns. sorry , you may as well become a vegitarian as you sure dont know what your eating. i dont think ive ever gotten hold of a sea prawn in los regardless of price. they are all pond prawns and tast like wet cotton wool. kids working ??. well at what age do we see it as correct for a person to work. some of the yobs in europe could do with some serious work ethic. working insted of learning?? someone pionted out we go to school for the education to get a job. i suggest job done. abuse at the work place? same as abuse in any other place. to be stopped by law/force. working at any age , same as learning at any age, totaly natural, same as bodily functions. sorry addressing a few different posters here.

[astral]

I get rather fed up with this type of report.

As another poster said, these reports are motived by self interest, not the interest of the children.

Why is the author not doing more to improve the lot of the parents of the children?

Then there will be enough money for food on the table and other necessities, without the children working.

Over the last 25 years there has been a dramatic drop in the numbers of children working in Thailand,

as the general economic standard has improved, and schooling became compulsory up to Mor 3 (Grade 9).

Surely more can be done with the families involved here??

I do not advocate children in full time employment, but I wonder how many other members were out earning money at 13?

I know I was. I had a paper round to supplement my pocket money.

Fortunately I did not have to supplement the family income.

[KireB]

I get rather fed up with this type of report.

We can never have enough of these types of reports!

[thaigene2]

I get rather fed up with this type of report.

As another poster said, these reports are motived by self interest, not the interest of the children.

Why is the author not doing more to improve the lot of the parents of the children?

Then there will be enough money for food on the table and other necessities, without the children working.

Over the last 25 years there has been a dramatic drop in the numbers of children working in Thailand,

as the general economic standard has improved, and schooling became compulsory up to Mor 3 (Grade 9).

Surely more can be done with the families involved here??

I do not advocate children in full time employment, but I wonder how many other members were out earning money at 13?

I know I was. I had a paper round to supplement my pocket money.

Fortunately I did not have to supplement the family income.

Enjoy your shrimp sandwich then I guess.

[jstumbo]

Why is the author not doing more to improve the lot of the parents of the children?

Then there will be enough money for food on the table and other necessities, without the children working.

In this story, the girl was earning 8-9K per month. Living there with her parents and siblings. Probably all of them were working at the plant. If the girl can make that much, then her parents together should be able to make at least 10K+/month. There is no need to improve the lot of the parents. They are already making a good salary for rural Thailand. There is no reason for their daughter to work, except for greed, and the fact that she is illegally in the country and could not attend school anyway. So you would need to send them all back to Burma, and I am not sure that would be a better life for the girl.

[Tony Clifton]

Why is the author not doing more to improve the lot of the parents of the children?

Then there will be enough money for food on the table and other necessities, without the children working.

In this story, the girl was earning 8-9K per month. Living there with her parents and siblings. Probably all of them were working at the plant. If the girl can make that much, then her parents together should be able to make at least 10K+/month. There is no need to improve the lot of the parents. They are already making a good salary for rural Thailand. There is no reason for their daughter to work, except for greed, and the fact that she is illegally in the country and could not attend school anyway. So you would need to send them all back to Burma, and I am not sure that would be a better life for the girl.

And how much do you think the boys in brown come and collect every month?

From what we were told by a Burmese couple, no one escapes this monthly rip-off or else.

All three are probably left with the equivalent of the girls salary only after the cockroaches made their monthly visit.