Child Labor 'not A Big Problem' In Phuket

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Child labor 'not a big problem' in Phuket

A young child flower vendor sleeps on a sidewalk along Soi Bangla. File photo taken after the tsunami.

PHUKET CITY: Workplace inspections by the Phuket Provincial Labor Protection Office have found that minors make up a very small fraction of the Phuket workforce.

At a meeting at the Phuket Provincial Labor Protection Office chaired by Phuket Vice Governor Tri Augkaradacha yesterday morning, it was revealed that inspection tours in fiscal 2009 discovered 24 unregistered workers under the age of 18.

The Woman and Juvenile Workers Assistance Center inspected 571 businesses with a total of 16,255 workers: 7,682 adult males, 8,549 adult females and 24 unregistered minors.

The Woman and Juvenile Workers Assistance Center will try to get all 24 youths registered with the Labor Protection Office.

There are currently 62 firms employing 115 legally registered employees under 18, the meeting was told.

Inspections of 74 businesses during the first two months of fiscal 2010 found a total of 877 adult workers, but no minors.

Vice Governor Tri said the measure to protect women and child labor included working with related agencies, including the Phuket Social Development and Human Security Office and the Phuket Culture Office.

"We will give warnings to any businesses who violate labor laws. If they don't take action, they need to be closed. As our inspections have revealed, however, there are very few cases involving children in Phuket," he said.

"As for homeless people begging, both children and adults, foreigners will be repatriated and Thai nationals will be referred to the public welfare system, which will try to get them appropriate career training," he said.

"Another case is that of people who feign disabilities and ask people for money. The Phuket Provincial Office has already asked police to crack down on this, as it is a common source of complaints from tourists," he said.

-- Phuket Gazette 2009/12/24

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[TAWP]

'Child labor' has for some the same connotation as 'forced labor' or 'slave labor'.

In Thailand that is often very far from the truth, even if the economical reality 'forces' some to work more than we would like them to see.

And then you are left with a choice to help or ignore.

[dom samui]

"Another case is that of people who feign disabilities and ask people for money.'' ....another crackdown on bars?

[ScubaBuddha]

It seems to me that the "crackdowns" in the high profile areas like Patong have caused the handlers of the very little ones, aged 5-12, to move to other areas like Kata/Karon, where these very young flower children are seen out well past 2am every night. I wonder if the Labor Protection Inspectors checked there? Probably only when they are collecting their "protection" money I would guess.

Edited December 24, 2009 by ScubaBuddha

[moskito]

Workplace inspections by the Phuket Provincial Labor Protection Office have found that minors make up a very small fraction of the Phuket workforce

Every child younger than 16 which have to work is one too much.

Only two cases from my area.

An about 10-11 y.o. Burmese girl worked on a building site, carrying stones and cement buckets

and two little girls 12+9!!! years old HELP her mother work in a rubber plantation. They are carrying heavy buckets with rubber, and cut into the trees to make

the rubber latex run.

When I asked them why they dont go to school they ansered NO MONEY .....I always thought schools are free in Thailand for EVERY kid and poor people

get their uniforms and school materials provided too

[way2muchcoffee]

Workplace inspections by the Phuket Provincial Labor Protection Office have found that minors make up a very small fraction of the Phuket workforce

Every child younger than 16 which have to work is one too much.

Only two cases from my area.

An about 10-11 y.o. Burmese girl worked on a building site, carrying stones and cement buckets

and two little girls 12+9!!! years old HELP her mother work in a rubber plantation. They are carrying heavy buckets with rubber, and cut into the trees to make

the rubber latex run.

When I asked them why they dont go to school they ansered NO MONEY .....I always thought schools are free in Thailand for EVERY kid and poor people

get their uniforms and school materials provided too

I tend to agree, but not entirely. I have no problem with children helping dad at the construction site, mom at the salon, the corner store, or doing agricultural farm work. In fact I think it is good for them to help out in this way, so long as they are allowed to go to school, are not exploited, and are not doing excessively dangerous work.

[Valentine]

Workplace inspections by the Phuket Provincial Labor Protection Office have found that minors make up a very small fraction of the Phuket workforce

Every child younger than 16 which have to work is one too much.

Only two cases from my area.

An about 10-11 y.o. Burmese girl worked on a building site, carrying stones and cement buckets

and two little girls 12+9!!! years old HELP her mother work in a rubber plantation. They are carrying heavy buckets with rubber, and cut into the trees to make

the rubber latex run.

When I asked them why they dont go to school they ansered NO MONEY .....I always thought schools are free in Thailand for EVERY kid and poor people

get their uniforms and school materials provided too

My kids still had to pay school fees (not expensive) at a government school but at the beginning of the school year they were given an allowance towards uniforms & text books supplied for free with no discrimination between so called haves & have nots as this would be a beauracratic nightmare. They still had to buy their own exercise books & writing materials.

I agree there are still many children who do not go to school for economic reasons or their "parents/caregivers" are simply exploiting them. Then there are the children of the Burmese workers who's life revolves around a work camp & are denied education although I have heard of some camps where they have set up their own classes to give the kids some semblance of education. There are many worthy groups out there trying to assist the poor kids in getting an education but there are still far too many who fall through the cracks.

Edited December 25, 2009 by Valentine

[otherstuff1957]

Schooling is more or less free for Thai kids, but not for children of illegal immigrants. Unless their parents can get a valid visa or enroll their kids in a private school, there will be no education for the children of the Burmese migrant workers.

In addition, some parents simply think that their kids have more value as free labor now than as potentially educated and productive adults in the future.