Thai Work Permit Key To 14Year Slave Ordeal Of Ukrainian Man: DSI

[webfact]

Work permit key to 14year slave ordeal: DSI

By The Nation

Initial inquiries by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) suggest that an engineer who claims a Thai factory forced him to work as a slave for 14 years was paid just Bt300,000 for his labours because his work permit expired.

DSI chief Tharit Pengdit said yesterday that some Burmese workers at the factory in Rangsit industrial complex in Pathum Thani claimed Anatoli Vdovichenko, 57, was not held captive. They said the company stopped paying him after his work permit expired.

Khlong Luang police have already charged the factory with hiring a foreigner without permission and having him work without pay, Tharit said.

Investigators are questioning witnesses to establish if there is a case to be made of human trafficking, since the factory allegedly withheld his passport. If not, the DSI will conclude their findings and pass the case to Khlong Luang police, he said.

-- The Nation 2011-01-28

Related story:

Ukrainian men reportedly held hostage by Thai employer for 14 years

[pedro01]

Sometimes, it's hard to know whether to laugh or cry.

Just under 1,800 Baht a month isn't it?

[otherstuff1957]

So it's the foreigner's fault for working without at WP . Somehow I know that this would be the case.

[Thai at Heart]

So glad to see that they went to the forensic level of asking some of the Burmese workers if the man was actually held captive or not. I mean they must be the most impartial witnesses on hand. There are 100 different possible outcomes to this story from the guy was shackled to the floor, to him being a little bit loopy. But, no, in this case we will take the word of imported migrant workers as gospel, despite the fact that if they were to "snitch" on the company they themselves would be out of a job.

Sometimes the craziest stories arise in Thailand, and I must have been here to long, because I have to re-read the story 3 times to find anything that shocks me any more. You really couldn't make this stuff up, or is it the case, that most definitely, you can?

[Sydebolle]

I assume all the Burmese work legally, are paid minimum wages etc.

[Svante]

So it's the foreigner's fault for working without at WP . Somehow I know that this would be the case.

Of course it's the foreigner that have to get his documents in order before starting work! Some companies assist in getting the work permit, but it is certainly not their task to get a permit.

[hardy1943]

I assume all the Burmese work legally, are paid minimum wages etc.

After they charge them for rent and other things I would not be surprised that they get anything.

[TimeBandit2]

There is no way to get a Work Permit without the full cooperation of the employer.

You need tax recods, maps, letters from the director, endorsed statements from the owners or officers thereof, etc.

You also need to pay quite alot of money these days, since the price was increased last year.

Then if anything isn't right you need to acquire documents, in Thai, that pertain to whatever the problem is.

Unless you have access to those documents yourself then it's Visa runs to Vientiane for you.

[Mario2008]

Read again:

Khlong Luang police have already charged the factory with hiring a foreigner without permission and having him work without pay, Tharit said.

It is the factory that is being charged.

[khaowong1]

So it's the foreigner's fault for working without at WP . Somehow I know that this would be the case.

[dai ru55]

Read again:

Khlong Luang police have already charged the factory with hiring a foreigner without permission and having him work without pay, Tharit said.

It is the factory that is being charged.

LMAO... maybe the factory will appear in court

[Thaddeus]

So, withholding someones passport is not effectively keeping them captive is it

[lucjoker]

Sometimes, it's hard to know whether to laugh or cry.

Just under 1,800 Baht a month isn't it?

I think most members do not read the article,they just start commenting ?

This case is about:1/ a slave.....asked to show his workpermit????????

2/ a factory "employing"slaves without workpermits????

3/ un unpaid slave doing unpaid labor without WP?

4/ a slave factory allergique to WP and payouts??????????

5/ r u still here????????

[mortenaa]

So it's the foreigner's fault for working without at WP . Somehow I know that this would be the case.

Khlong Luang police have already charged the factory. As its stated, its the factory's fault, not the foreigner.

[seadoo]

I had to laugh when this advert by google appear on the same page as this story....

[silk]

So it's the foreigner's fault for working without at WP . Somehow I know that this would be the case.

Of course it's the foreigner that have to get his documents in order before starting work! Some companies assist in getting the work permit, but it is certainly not their task to get a permit.

The company has to provide the documents for work permit application first. With these documents the employee can get the work permit, with the work permit the employee can get a non-B visa. The question here is if these documents were provided by the employer, if yes, why did they not assist with the paper work, which is all in thai? If not, why did they let him, stay ?

[pedro01]

Sometimes, it's hard to know whether to laugh or cry.

Just under 1,800 Baht a month isn't it?

I think most members do not read the article,they just start commenting ?

This case is about:1/ a slave.....asked to show his workpermit????????

2/ a factory "employing"slaves without workpermits????

3/ un unpaid slave doing unpaid labor without WP?

4/ a slave factory allergique to WP and payouts??????????

5/ r u still here????????

No - I read it just fine thank you.

Like I say - hard to know whether to laugh or cry. At both the DSIs statements and yours.

I shall explain for those that cannot see where this is headed...

This is the start of the process to allow the factory owner to get off without as much as a slap on the wrist.

It'll end up being settled as a misunderstanding about work permits. More info will soon come out about salaries actually being held by the employer to give to their employee when the pesky WP issue got cleard up. Of course they weren't enslaving him, they needed his passport for the WP issue but they couldn't pay him as he didn't have his WP. They just held the money for him.

All charges will be dropped and we won't get news of that when it occurs.

[philhal2]

So, withholding someones passport is not effectively keeping them captive is it

In Thailand no passport is being held captive . Imagine the local coppers if you approached them and told them a yarn like this >

I have no passport a Thai took it .

I have no money , a Thai wont pay me

Now I can not pay the necessary FEE to the police to recover my passport or to take me seriously

I will be discovered 10 years later in a small cell in a Thai prison with no papers and no one will know how I got there

But I was never being held as a captive or against my will . It was all a sad mistake because I did not have any money or a passport .

[animatic]

There is no way to get a Work Permit without the full cooperation of the employer.

You need tax recods, maps, letters from the director, endorsed statements from the owners or officers thereof, etc.

You also need to pay quite alot of money these days, since the price was increased last year.

Then if anything isn't right you need to acquire documents, in Thai, that pertain to whatever the problem is.

Unless you have access to those documents yourself then it's Visa runs to Vientiane for you.

Exactly this is squarely on the company boss.

It is easy enough for ANY Thai company to get a work permit done for any foreign employee without a criminal record to prevent entree in the country. It is the companies responsability to ensure their employees have permits. Sounds like this piece of <deleted> boss, was so used to abusing Burmese, he just figured a Ukranian is just the same and so acted in his usual racist manner.

[Bagwan]

So, withholding someones passport is not effectively keeping them captive is it

In Thailand no passport is being held captive . Imagine the local coppers if you approached them and told them a yarn like this >

I have no passport a Thai took it .

I have no money , a Thai wont pay me

Now I can not pay the necessary FEE to the police to recover my passport or to take me seriously

I will be discovered 10 years later in a small cell in a Thai prison with no papers and no one will know how I got there

But I was never being held as a captive or against my will . It was all a sad mistake because I did not have any money or a passport .

A credible scenario - and I'll bet that you didn't consult the tea leaves or throw any bones on the ground.

I wonder who will be getting the bigger payoff - the unfortunate or the BiB.

[kuffki]

"They said the company stopped paying him after his work permit expired."

I love this part. So his WP expired, they wanted him to work, but did not renew it but kept him working WITHOUT pay. What possibly else needs to be established for human trafficking case? and would he be compensated?all the back pay with interest

[rkidlad]

So it's the foreigner's fault for working without at WP . Somehow I know that this would be the case.

Of course it's the foreigner that have to get his documents in order before starting work! Some companies assist in getting the work permit, but it is certainly not their task to get a permit.

Is it really such an honour to work in Thailand that you'd have to sort a working visa out for yourself?

Thailand is the third foreign country I've worked in. Singapore and Vietnam before sorted all my documentation out. I gave them the relevent documents and they themselves sorted my visa. I did nothing. Why should I have to go and sort my visa out? Do they expect me to do this in my freetime?

Thailand was exactly the same. Everything was done for me. If they'd told me to do it myself, I wouldn't have come. Simple as that.

[jcartermad]

Yes, the case will be dropped. Yes, owner & worker are both loopy. I'm sure the family missed him and I'm sure that there is more facts than fiction here but somehow fiction is always a better read! So forget the facts and just enjoy the FICTION that surrounds the alleged enslavement of this guy. Good make a good film me thinks? Title U Cranuim held captive. (Sub title - plenty of bone but where is thye brain?)

[Kilgore Trout]

So it's the foreigner's fault for working without at WP . Somehow I know that this would be the case.

Of course it's the foreigner that have to get his documents in order before starting work! Some companies assist in getting the work permit, but it is certainly not their task to get a permit.

Place of work must provide documents so that worker can obtain neccessary documents for work permit, but if a worker does not have a work permit then it is the EMPLOYERS responsibility to NOT let them work.

Bottom line= no work permit no work full stop.

[creck]

So it's the foreigner's fault for working without at WP . Somehow I know that this would be the case.

Of course it's the foreigner that have to get his documents in order before starting work! Some companies assist in getting the work permit, but it is certainly not their task to get a permit.

Place of work must provide documents so that worker can obtain neccessary documents for work permit, but if a worker does not have a work permit then it is the EMPLOYERS responsibility to NOT let them work.

Bottom line= no work permit no work full stop.

Yes it must be like that.

As far as I understand, there is no link between PAY and WORK permit. Pay is a matter between you and your boss or organisation to which you volunteer your time. What is clear is that you cannot work without a WP.

The question remains; why did he work? Both he and his employer knew he had no WP. I guess from what we read that if he didn’t work he didn’t eat. So the employer did force him to work.

The employer is culpable.

The worker in this case must be loony or chained if he couldn’t get away.

[asiawatcher]

So it's the foreigner's fault for working without at WP . Somehow I know that this would be the case.

No - read it again - the factory stopped paying him when his work permit expired. The fact they held his passport was the human trafficking side of the argument. The work permit is not the responsibility of the worker as WP's are issued after verification from an employer is made then the worker can apply. If the employer did not issue a letter of employment for him to be able to renew - then the guilty party is the employer BUT - why did this guy continue to remain there for all this time ... ? This whole story does not add up at all.

[Samuian]

Sick, very sick stuff and a terrible picture of what is going on in this country and the attitude of some "have's".

Not to mention housemaids and their ordeal...sweatshops all over the country, even exported all the way to LA!

I dare to go any deeper into this matter!

Edited January 28, 2011 by Samuian

[NanaFoods]

The story as presented seems a bit odd.

Must be more to the story than what is being told.

[Payboy]

Post # 17 = Spot On! :jap:

[Jirapa]

So it's the foreigner's fault for working without at WP . Somehow I know that this would be the case.

Sorry I don't get you? The factory has been charged with hiring a foreigner without a work permit and not paying him. He's been charged for nothing and they're looking into charging the factory for human trafficking. Get your facts right!