Thais Duped With False Promises Of Work Abroad

[webfact]

Thais duped with false promises of work

By The Nation

More than 500 Thais were duped by false promises of wellpaid jobs abroad in the final quarter of last year, causing more than Bt30 million in damages, the head of the Department of Employment said yesterday.

Jeerasak Sukhonthachat said there were 539 plaintiffs in such cases from October to December, 19.4 per cent down on the same period the previous year.

Most victims were approached by "agents" who charged fees in exchange for jobs abroad with inflated wages - or jobs that didn't exist at all.

Despite knowing they would have to sneak illegally into the country to get the jobs, many were willing to pay the fees because they didn't want to lose the opportunity - but most victims didn't end up travelling at all, Jeerasak said.

Of those who did travel, some were forced to work as slaves. Others were exploited by foreign employers and didn't dare file police complaints because of their alien worker status.

After returning to Thailand, many could not file complaints against the agents or get their money back because they were lured into requesting the trip abroad themselves, Jeerasak said.

Jeerasak urged Thais to seek jobs abroad legally, as 79,792 Thai workers did in 2010. They did this in five ways: by travelling and finding work themselves; by being sent to work by the DOE; by being taken abroad for work by their employers; by being sent abroad by employers to do an internship; or by being sent by employment companies.

Last year Taiwan was by far the largest market for Thai labourers, accepting 32,685 of them, followed by Japan with 4,932 and Libya with 4,905. In the Middle East, the most popular destination for Thai workers was Israel with 4,499, followed by UAE at 4,216 and Qatar at 3,371.

The DOE wants to send more workers to countries such as Bahrain and Libya where construction projects are in the pipeline, Jeerasak said.

Jeerasak said the more Thais who worked abroad, the more money they could send home, adding that from 2009 to 2010 Thai workers sent home about Bt50 billion.

Regarding riotstricken Egypt, Jeerasak said there were 630 Thai workers there: 200 men and 430 women. The DOE has already sent assistance for them, he said.

-- The Nation 2011-02-11

[jonclark]

Thais sneaking illegally into another country to work, tsk, tsk. That sounds like something those dastardly Burmese, Khmers or Royongi do to Thailand.

[hgma]

dont give opportunist an opportunity!

"after comming back they complained to the police"

and for sure accuse the police of incompatence instead scratching themself behind their ears.

but then again " we loose face" then dont whe?

Not done in thailand.

Thais sneaking illegally into another country to work, tsk, tsk. That sounds like something those dastardly Burmese, Khmers or Royongi do to Thailand.

[horsewell]

if you have to pay to get employment overseas then you would have to think twice. It looks like there is a lot of desperation for people to illegally enter another country for work. It's true that the police should be more diligent to close down these shoddy operations, that are taking peoples hard earned money. However, if it's too good to be true, probably is.

[KoratFarang]

sum nan na

[Tatsujin]

79,792 Thai workers worked abroad illegally in 2010 . . . and Thai workers sent home about Bt50 billion

Is my maths correct, they sent home (on average) 625,000 baht each?

[Tokay]

The "employer" was probably scammed in Pattaya or Phuket with a jet ski rental and this is revenge.

[hungryhippo]

I wonder what these people think of foreigners working in their country illegally "oh but that's different" I'm sure they'd reply..

[janverbeem]

Jeerasak urged Thais to seek jobs abroad legally, as 79,792 Thai workers did in 2010. They did this in five ways: by travelling and finding work themselves; by being sent to work by the DOE; by being taken abroad for work by their employers; by being sent abroad by employers to do an internship; or by being sent by employment companies

Thai workers sent home about Bt50 billion

I guess they included those Thai "workers" married to a farang.

[DoctorG]

More than 500 Thais were duped by false promises of wellpaid jobs abroad in the final quarter of last year, causing more than Bt30 million in damages, the head of the Department of Employment said yesterday.

The article fails to explain how 500 people being duped could cause Bt30 million in damages.

[otherstuff1957]

30 million divided by 500 is 60,000 baht each, which is about the cost of a round trip ticket to Farangland. So, I would imagine that the damages are plane tickets that they paid for but never received.

[Pseacraft]

Having worked in the Middle East for the last 4 years straight and many other times off and on during the past 2 decades I would not advise anyone from any Southeast Asian country to work in the middle east unless they really like to be treated like a whore or a slave and may be get paid once in a while. Big problem in the UAE is employers not paying their staff for months at a time. The government is "trying" to fix this but even then their methods seem questionable. Even now I am very discouraged that one of my friends is in the USA on an internship program which sounded pretty shady to me. She is have a rough time making ends meet as the promised weekly working hours was "guaranteed" to be a minimum 40 hours...she has been there for several months and is yet to break 30 hours a week.

The phrase buyer beware applies to the job market too apparently.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Pseacraft

[LingLek]

Another racket: There are women working in Bahrain as masseurs whose status is now illegal beause their work visas were not renewed. They cannot leave without being fined heavily and deported. This of course suits their sponsors who receive hefty kickbacks (often half the women's wages) to keep quiet about it. The longer these women stay the greater the fine will be. Bahrain is only one country in the Gulf where significant numbers of Asian women find employment in the recreation industry or as sex workers.

[Pacificperson]

My understanding is that 60,000 would be a fairly low fee for most labor brokers offering a job in the West.

[Thongkorn]

sum nan na

Very intelligent comment , why does it serve them right for being duped.

[Thongkorn]

Having worked in the Middle East for the last 4 years straight and many other times off and on during the past 2 decades I would not advise anyone from any Southeast Asian country to work in the middle east unless they really like to be treated like a whore or a slave and may be get paid once in a while. Big problem in the UAE is employers not paying their staff for months at a time. The government is "trying" to fix this but even then their methods seem questionable. Even now I am very discouraged that one of my friends is in the USA on an internship program which sounded pretty shady to me. She is have a rough time making ends meet as the promised weekly working hours was "guaranteed" to be a minimum 40 hours...she has been there for several months and is yet to break 30 hours a week.

The phrase buyer beware applies to the job market too apparently.

Try the UK , Work Agency's are the pits . they really teat you like slaves, pay you little, and when they want and how much they want. My wife works through an Agency because thats the way it has gone in the UK , she gets up to go to work at 5am , by her own choice, because she is not lazy and not a dole scrounger. She has to get a taxi to work because no busses run,£7 for taxi to work, then gets sent home because no work , or she gets work for say 4 hours,about £28, If i cannot collect her because i am at work she has to pay £7 there and back.£14 thats £14 from a wage of £28, Welcome to Britain, Now can you see why so many people do not want to go to work and just claim subsistence from the government.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Thongkorn

[WilliaminBKK]

This shouldnt be a prioirty for the government. Look at the Philippines, they have drained the country to the bones, the brain drain in almost every sector is so obvious, that country is falling apart and locals just wait for any opportunity to leave. I beleive the system is flawed, it is better to create home made jobs.

The Philippines even call these workers national heroes ---it is really a shame, they work in unregulated areas and the employeers burn and churn their workforce.

Create jobs at home, don't be tricked thinking the remittances by these people really help the Thai economy.

[wolf5370]

This shouldnt be a prioirty for the government. Look at the Philippines, they have drained the country to the bones, the brain drain in almost every sector is so obvious, that country is falling apart and locals just wait for any opportunity to leave. I beleive the system is flawed, it is better to create home made jobs.

The Philippines even call these workers national heroes ---it is really a shame, they work in unregulated areas and the employeers burn and churn their workforce.

Create jobs at home, don't be tricked thinking the remittances by these people really help the Thai economy.

Hear hear

[whybother]

79,792 Thai workers worked abroad illegally in 2010 . . . and Thai workers sent home about Bt50 billion

Is my maths correct, they sent home (on average) 625,000 baht each?

Your maths is correct, but you forget all the legal workers.

[janverbeem]

Having worked in the Middle East for the last 4 years straight and many other times off and on during the past 2 decades I would not advise anyone from any Southeast Asian country to work in the middle east unless they really like to be treated like a whore or a slave and may be get paid once in a while. Big problem in the UAE is employers not paying their staff for months at a time. The government is "trying" to fix this but even then their methods seem questionable. Even now I am very discouraged that one of my friends is in the USA on an internship program which sounded pretty shady to me. She is have a rough time making ends meet as the promised weekly working hours was "guaranteed" to be a minimum 40 hours...she has been there for several months and is yet to break 30 hours a week.

The phrase buyer beware applies to the job market too apparently.

Try the UK , Work Agency's are the pits . they really teat you like slaves, pay you little, and when they want and how much they want. My wife works through an Agency because thats the way it has gone in the UK , she gets up to go to work at 5am , by her own choice, because she is not lazy and not a dole scrounger. She has to get a taxi to work because no busses run,£7 for taxi to work, then gets sent home because no work , or she gets work for say 4 hours,about £28, If i cannot collect her because i am at work she has to pay £7 there and back.£14 thats £14 from a wage of £28, Welcome to Britain, Now can you see why so many people do not want to go to work and just claim subsistence from the government.

The don't have phones in the UK yet?

[ableguy]

Having worked in the Middle East for the last 4 years straight and many other times off and on during the past 2 decades I would not advise anyone from any Southeast Asian country to work in the middle east unless they really like to be treated like a whore or a slave and may be get paid once in a while. Big problem in the UAE is employers not paying their staff for months at a time. The government is "trying" to fix this but even then their methods seem questionable. Even now I am very discouraged that one of my friends is in the USA on an internship program which sounded pretty shady to me. She is have a rough time making ends meet as the promised weekly working hours was "guaranteed" to be a minimum 40 hours...she has been there for several months and is yet to break 30 hours a week.

The phrase buyer beware applies to the job market too apparently.

Try the UK , Work Agency's are the pits . they really teat you like slaves, pay you little, and when they want and how much they want. My wife works through an Agency because thats the way it has gone in the UK , she gets up to go to work at 5am , by her own choice, because she is not lazy and not a dole scrounger. She has to get a taxi to work because no busses run,£7 for taxi to work, then gets sent home because no work , or she gets work for say 4 hours,about £28, If i cannot collect her because i am at work she has to pay £7 there and back.£14 thats £14 from a wage of £28, Welcome to Britain, Now can you see why so many people do not want to go to work and just claim subsistence from the government.

The don't have phones in the UK yet?

good point, seems to me she should get another job as there is always work available for honest industrious people.