7 factories in Samut Sakhon sealed until end of February, no staff allowed to leave

[Darkside Gray]

5 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Sealed into the facility,.

Sounds to me like they have made it a prison compound.  Way to go Thailand in treating your workers with a total disregard to health and human services, and treating them like they are trash.  I can not understand the need to lock people into a location such as this without any true housing necessities, food, water, and basic everyday necessities.  This government can go ------themselves in my view.  They do not care to treat people with respect or dignity. 

 

Slave labor is what it reminds me of:

"This measure means the seven factories can continue to operate as normal, but their employees must remain within the factory compound at all times, said Dr. Kiatipoom."

 

 

 

More like concentration camp!

[PatOngo]

3 hours ago, whaleboneman said:

Anyone know if this is legal?

Depends on who is interpreting the law!

[tomazbodner]

3 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

Really, you know that do you, can you provide some evidence? Yes throw a few pillows and a couple of mattresses in an unused area job done...........

 

You sound like one of the officials who made this negligent decision.

What would you do? Are you volunteering to pay all these thousands of workers 14 days in 5 star hotels? Thank you for your kindness. Please hand your bank account over to factory management. They'll be eternally grateful for your generous contribution.

[tomazbodner]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

You've obviously never set foot in a Thai fish canning factory!!!!

I actually did. And some other Thai factories as well. Have you?

[oldhippy]

I pitty my poor Myanmar fellow expats.

[Burma Bill]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

forbidding any worker to leave their factory compound until the end of February.

no staff allowed to leave

 

In my opinion, disgraceful. I wonder if "any worker" includes Thais - even the factory management!! I wonder what living conditions are like - not like this I hope:-

 

Edited February 3, 2021 by Burma Bill
additional information

[Bkk Brian]

16 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

What would you do? Are you volunteering to pay all these thousands of workers 14 days in 5 star hotels? 

Flippant and shows your true lack of empathy to the migrant workers who are now locked in the factories.

 

 

[Cake Monster]

One very sad aspect of this horrible situation that has occurred to me, is that there may be many children involved in these " Lock ins " . Children also being held in the Factories.

I sincerely hope not.

I  am sure UNHRC and other NGO will be keeping a very close Eye on the situation as it develops, and surely Thailand will have some explaining to do to the EU and US over Human Rights abuses in the Fish Canning Industry, which already has a very poor reputation in the West.

We all know that Covid has to be controlled in some way, but surely this is not the answer, the answer would be to lock out all the Workers and close the Factories, while locking down the entire province.

[Bkk Brian]

1 minute ago, Cake Monster said:

One very sad aspect of this horrible situation that has occurred to me, is that there may be many children involved in these " Lock ins " . Children also being held in the Factories.

I sincerely hope not.

I  am sure UNHRC and other NGO will be keeping a very close Eye on the situation as it develops, and surely Thailand will have some explaining to do to the EU and US over Human Rights abuses in the Fish Canning Industry, which already has a very poor reputation in the West.

We all know that Covid has to be controlled in some way, but surely this is not the answer, the answer would be to lock out all the Workers and close the Factories, while locking down the entire province.

That was one of my thoughts also, even if children are not locked in the factory their parents may be while the kids are stuck in the migrant camps? Overall its a dire situation that shows a complete lack of emotional and physical well being for fellow humans particularly the the vulnerable.

[RichardColeman]

3 hours ago, PGSan said:

Bit since this is not the proportion for the ‘all of the country’, your premise is, at best, misleading and unproven, or possibly worse! 

Prove me wrong - I'm happy to be proved wrong, But no, wait, it would make Thailand look bad if they tested them all.

 

I would have thought the mantra prepare for the worst hope for the best would first in the covid time - and that means testing, not limited testing.

[overt2016]

7 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Sealed into the facility,.

Sounds to me like they have made it a prison compound.  Way to go Thailand in treating your workers with a total disregard to health and human services, and treating them like they are trash.  I can not understand the need to lock people into a location such as this without any true housing necessities, food, water, and basic everyday necessities.  This government can go ------themselves in my view.  They do not care to treat people with respect or dignity. 

 

Slave labor is what it reminds me of:

"This measure means the seven factories can continue to operate as normal, but their employees must remain within the factory compound at all times, said Dr. Kiatipoom."

 

 

 

 

7 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Sealed into the facility,.

Sounds to me like they have made it a prison compound.  Way to go Thailand in treating your workers with a total disregard to health and human services, and treating them like they are trash.  I can not understand the need to lock people into a location such as this without any true housing necessities, food, water, and basic everyday necessities.  This government can go ------themselves in my view.  They do not care to treat people with respect or dignity. 

 

Slave labor is what it reminds me of:

"This measure means the seven factories can continue to operate as normal, but their employees must remain within the factory compound at all times, said Dr. Kiatipoom."

 

 

 

If the quarantine period [as generally accepted] is 14 days doesn't locking these workers

up for 25 days seem to be OTOP. In MHOP it stinks of dictatorship'

[seancbk]

7 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Sealed into the facility,.

Sounds to me like they have made it a prison compound.  Way to go Thailand in treating your workers with a total disregard to health and human services, and treating them like they are trash.  I can not understand the need to lock people into a location such as this without any true housing necessities, food, water, and basic everyday necessities.  This government can go ------themselves in my view.  They do not care to treat people with respect or dignity. 

 

Slave labor is what it reminds me of:

"This measure means the seven factories can continue to operate as normal, but their employees must remain within the factory compound at all times, said Dr. Kiatipoom."

 

 

 

 

 

These factories provide accommodation for the workers on-site.  The workers basically live there full time anyway.

 

[overt2016]

4 hours ago, Caldera said:

It sucks to be a migrant worker in Thailand. That's not a plight I'd wish on anyone!

 

As far as labour laws are adhered to it sucks to be a worker in Thailand.

[Bkk Brian]

21 minutes ago, seancbk said:

 

 

These factories provide accommodation for the workers on-site.  The workers basically live there full time anyway.

 

89% of migrant workers in Samut Sakhon live off site from the factories

Page 40 : http://un-act.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Trafficking_Estimates_Thailand.pdf

[ThailandRyan]

37 minutes ago, seancbk said:

 

 

These factories provide accommodation for the workers on-site.  The workers basically live there full time anyway.

 

Proof please.  My GF is from Myanmar, and many workers live off site in dormitory style condos while the factories are just that, a large warehouse with the machinery and work area's.  Many food carts go in and out daily to supply food to the workers on their breaks.  Tell me you know more than my GF who has friends working in some of those places.  She is trying to get in touch with a few now who have not been back to their dorm rooms they share since yesterday.  My GF went back to her shop cutting hair down in Bang Na, and today all they kept hearing was how the government was locking people inside the factories.

[DaLa]

52 minutes ago, seancbk said:

 

 

These factories provide accommodation for the workers on-site.  The workers basically live there full time anyway.

 

I do believe some on here must have thought they jumped on a bus at 4:30 pm and popped back home....only a 10 hour hop.  We had Myanmar builders on site for 9 months living in what I would consider awful conditions but they appeared content.

[oldhippy]

If a non infected person is locked up together with an infected person, there is a good chance that he will catch covid later on. Next he will be ready to pass on covid a few days later. And so on.

 

Will our fellow expats be locked up for life???

 

[Bkk Brian]

37 minutes ago, DaLa said:

I do believe some on here must have thought they jumped on a bus at 4:30 pm and popped back home....only a 10 hour hop.  We had Myanmar builders on site for 9 months living in what I would consider awful conditions but they appeared content.

You believe wrong. I live close to a number of large migrant camps, this is how they travel to the factories and nearby workplaces. As for you're experience of them appearing content, a monkey in a circus can appear content. Did you talk to the workers and ask how they are feeling?

Edited February 3, 2021 by Bkk Brian

[ThailandRyan]

56 minutes ago, DaLa said:

I do believe some on here must have thought they jumped on a bus at 4:30 pm and popped back home....only a 10 hour hop.  We had Myanmar builders on site for 9 months living in what I would consider awful conditions but they appeared content.

Working in a factory is a lot different than building your house.  Your house is a short term job, their factory job is long term. Many have worked in the same factory for years 

[oldhippy]

The fate of these Myanmar poor people is very much the same as the fate that a nobel prize winner bestowed on the Rohingya.

Something funny in the air in SE Asia?

[ftpjtm]

7 hours ago, jacko45k said:

 I would like to know......what legal premise to deny their basic human right of freedom. 

Isn't it the same for any of us in Thailand? Whether you're in ASQ at a 5 star hotel, flaged via contact tracing, or walk off the street into an ER, if you are diagnosed with COVID you are detained in a COVID Field Hospita, like it or not. Accommodations may vary, but your loss of freedom does not.

 

Probably not legal in most western countries, and probably responsible for Thailand's relatively low number of cases.

Edited February 3, 2021 by ftpjtm

[whaleboneman]

5 hours ago, ftpjtm said:

Isn't it the same for any of us in Thailand? Whether you're in ASQ at a 5 star hotel, flaged via contact tracing, or walk off the street into an ER, if you are diagnosed with COVID you are detained in a COVID Field Hospita, like it or not. Accommodations may vary, but your loss of freedom does not.

 

Probably not legal in most western countries, and probably responsible for Thailand's relatively low number of cases.

These people did not choose to stay in an ASQ and don't necessarily have covid. They are being detained in their place of work for a month. Looks like Thailand has found a way to bring slavery in the fishing industry ashore.

Suppose a bunch of western expats became infected. Then the government decides that ALL expats will remain inside their homes for a month. How would you feel about that?

[jacko45k]

8 hours ago, ftpjtm said:

Probably not legal in most western countries, and probably responsible for Thailand's relatively low number of cases.

So robbing people of their basic human rights works when combatting a pandemic! 

Although in this case I suspect whether they have tested positive or not they will be held against their will... and again I wonder about the conditions.

Edited February 3, 2021 by jacko45k

[ftpjtm]

4 hours ago, whaleboneman said:

These people did not choose to stay in an ASQ and don't necessarily have covid. They are being detained in their place of work for a month. Looks like Thailand has found a way to bring slavery in the fishing industry ashore.

Suppose a bunch of western expats became infected. Then the government decides that ALL expats will remain inside their homes for a month. How would you feel about that?

"Suppose a bunch of western expats became infected. Then the government decides that All expats will remain inside their homes for a month. How would you feel about that?".

 

Pretty much that exact scenario occurred in Phuket and Pattaya in April 2020. It didn't feel great at the time, but felt better as the cases subsided in Thailand while spiraling out of control in the west.

 

[ThailandRyan]

1 hour ago, ftpjtm said:

"Suppose a bunch of western expats became infected. Then the government decides that All expats will remain inside their homes for a month. How would you feel about that?".

 

Pretty much that exact scenario occurred in Phuket and Pattaya in April 2020. It didn't feel great at the time, but felt better as the cases subsided in Thailand while spiraling out of control in the west.

 

You were not kept sequestered and locked into your house.  You could move around, just could not leave the Island of Phuket or leave the Pattaya Area itself.  The same occurred here in Bangkok, and outside of curfew you could move around freely.  There is a big difference between what you were allowed and what these migrant workers are being forced to do.  Get a grip and realize that this amounts to no ore than imprisonment, and a hell of a lot longer than a 14 day quarantine would be.  Tus they are ensuring all of the workers end up exposed and come down with the virus as it spreads through the facilities, while still keeping the factories operating at full capacity.  Can you understand the difference?

Edited February 4, 2021 by ThailandRyan

[jacko45k]

1 hour ago, ftpjtm said:

Pretty much that exact scenario occurred in Phuket and Pattaya in April 2020.

I did not feel it was so bad at that time... but I actually volunteered to stay home mostly... nobody at the gate stopping me going out and the Mrs was off to the market daily. 

Needs must, and as the lockdown eased I was glad of the  way things were done. 

Edited February 4, 2021 by jacko45k

[ThailandRyan]

2 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

I did not feel it was so bad at that time... but I actually volunteered to stay home mostly... nobody at the gate stopping me going out and the Mrs was off to the market daily. 

Needs must, and as the lockdown eased I was glad of the  way thigs were done. 

Exactly you were able to move around and do things.  Thank you for helping address the issues another poster brought up saying it was the same as in Phuket and Pattaya.

[ftpjtm]

13 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

You were not kept sequestered and locked into your house.  You could move around, just could not leave the Island of Phuket or leave the Pattaya Area itself.  The same occurred here in Bangkok, and outside of curfew you could move around freely.  There is a big difference between what you were allowed and what these migrant workers are being forced to do.  Get a grip and realize that this amounts to no ore than imprisonment, and a hell of a lot longer than a 14 day quarantine would be.  Tus they are ensuring all of the workers end up exposed and come down with the virus as it spreads through the facilities, while still keeping the factories operating at full capacity.  Can you understand the difference?

My point is that by choosing to be in Thailand during this pandemic (and pretty much always) you are choosing to give up freedoms you had in the west. 

 

If you are diagnosed with COVID in the US, you are given recommendations of what to do. You can choose to be hospitalized if it's severe, or choose to "tough it out" at home. It is recommended that you self quarantine, and in some cases you can be penalized if you don't, but you are not forced to quarantine. 

 

In Thailand if diagnosed with COVID you are sent to a field hospital. It's not optional, it's mandatory. You are not released until you are diagnosed as symptom free. This would also be considered to be imprisonment by some.

 

It was also effective in reducing the spread of COVID in Thailand. And as a person with homes in both Thailand and the US I chose to be here, in spite of the reduced freedoms, throughout the COVID pandemic. 

[ThailandRyan]

13 minutes ago, ftpjtm said:

My point is that by choosing to be in Thailand during this pandemic (and pretty much always) you are choosing to give up freedoms you had in the west. 

 

If you are diagnosed with COVID in the US, you are given recommendations of what to do. You can choose to be hospitalized if it's severe, or choose to "tough it out" at home. It is recommended that you self quarantine, and in some cases you can be penalized if you don't, but you are not forced to quarantine. 

 

In Thailand if diagnosed with COVID you are sent to a field hospital. It's not optional, it's mandatory. You are not released until you are diagnosed as symptom free. This would also be considered to be imprisonment by some.

 

It was also effective in reducing the spread of COVID in Thailand. And as a person with homes in both Thailand and the US I chose to be here, in spite of the reduced freedoms, throughout the COVID pandemic. 

We are talking about Migrant workers not Expats.  Stay on OP, and review the initial OP story to understand that the Migrant workers are being sealed up until the end of February in the factory they work in.  They do not get to go back and forth to their homes nearby.  I live here in Bangkok and am fully aware of what the regulations are for hospitalization if you test positive for Covid, and it does not require me to be sealed up in a factory even if I have tested negative. 

[ftpjtm]

3 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

We are talking about Migrant workers not Expats.  Stay on OP, and review the initial OP story to understand that the Migrant workers are being sealed up until the end of February in the factory they work in.  They do not get to go back and forth to their homes nearby.

And my point is that expats and Thais can be subjected to similar circumstances. 

 

Expats and Thais on ASQ are sealed up in a facility and not allowed to go to their homes which may be nearby. 

 

Population centers with high COVID infection rates, inclusive of many expats, have had their movements severely restricted to minimize the spread of COVID. 

 

Segregating infected persons has not been carried out as forcefully in much of the western world, where infections are exponentially higher, and likely could not be because it would be illegal. 

 

Like it or not, that's the way the pandemic is being handled in Thailand. If you have a huge objection to it, you shouldn't be in Thailand.