Seasonal Migrants Fired From Thai Durian Factory

Dozens of undocumented Cambodian migrant workers have been dismissed from a Thai dried-durian factory after being brought there by job brokers, leaving them in a vulnerable state in an incident that underscores the risks of ongoing illegal migration. Illegal border crossings were on the rise until land borders reopened in May, and undocumented migrants in seasonal work are being left in a precarious state as jobs come and go.

Ruk Chanthy, 31, a Cambodian migrant, said he had paid almost $300 to be taken across the border at night through a forest and stream alongside about 20 others. He paid another 1,000 baht, or about $30, before he could start work at the Sunshine International durian factory in Thailand’s Chon Buri province, he said. Undocumented migrants worked only night shifts and were not allowed to leave the factory premises, he said.

Another worker, who asked to not be named out of safety concerns, said she had paid a similar to cross the border and work at Sunshine International in Chon Buri, but after three months she was fired and was warned about how she was undocumented.

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