Foreign workers suspected of torching Lop Buri factory: Pay row

[webfact]

LOP BURI BLAZE
Police alert at chicken plant after pay row
The Nation

Foreign workers suspected of torching factory

LOP BURI: -- Forensic police are pouring over the remains of a Saha Farms chicken processing plant in Lop Buri that was destroyed by a suspicious blaze that broke out late Saturday night.

"The inspection results would be known in a few days," Pol Lt Charnwut Ruengjab, who was working on the case, said yesterday.

While local police and provincial authorities have refused to comment on possible causes, migrant workers have been frustrated by the non-payment of their daily wages for two months.

Police have been stationed at the factory around the clock to keep an eye on the Cambodian and Myanmar workers and a fire engine has been put on standby.

Charnwut said the loss was estimated at Bt60 million.

Saha Farms executives have not spoken publicly about the incident. He refused to comment on the possibility of arson.

The workers had staged peaceful protests inside the compound since the middle of last week, demanding their Bt300 daily wages for the last two months.

About 20 Myanmar protest |leaders have reportedly pushed for a mass rally of about 3,000 |compatriots.

A small commotion, according to unconfirmed reports, erupted Friday night, leaving one vehicle wrecked and four motorcycles torched.

Ten fire trucks were called out to extinguish the fire, which took four hours, and police were mobilised from nearby stations to restore order, before six Myanmar workers were put under police detention.

The plant did not allow any media inside and managers refused to give interviews to local reporters.

Lop Buri-based sources said this Saha Farms plant had faced liquidity problems and was going to close down, without paying the back wages to more than 5,000 employees, mainly Myanmar workers and a sprinkling of Cambodians.

Many workers have also not been paid their full wages for previous months, on top of what they earned in the last two months, which |the plant fully owes to all the employees.

Deputy Governor Sujin Chaichumsak was the first official citing "a threat of arson from protesting workers", in his statement given on Friday night after visiting the complex in Chai Badal district off Sara Buri-Lom Sak Road.

The fire started from the main chicken-processing facility, which was almost totally burned down.

This facility has been declared off limits to the public, and provincial authorities said it might be ordered demolished due to the heavy structural damage.

A crime scene inspection source said an electric short circuit was |the prime suspected cause of the blaze, as long as no evidence was uncovered that the fire was intentionally set.


-- The Nation 2013-07-08

[ChrisY1]

The slaves starting to revolt!!

[nachiket]

Charnwut said the loss was estimated at Bt60 million.

Loss or deliberate damage?

[JeremyBowskill]

Well I guess if you aint getting paid, fried chicken will at least make sure you aint hungry.

[Ricardo]

Specials this week, on BBQ/flame-grilled chicken !

[chainarong]

Maybe this is a warning to the shonky operators , pay the right amount or we will burn you out , two things happen with this idea, one, they don't have a job after torching the operation , the shonky's will stop employing foreign labour , then they have to hire local labour , then they will have to pay proper wages, life sucks shonky's.

[Tycoon]

Specials this week, on BBQ/flame-grilled chicken !

Is that funny?

[Thait Spot]

This sounds more like Hitler chicken than the other place.

[jamhar]

Neither party has to worry about arguing over pay now

[retell]

Charnwut said the loss was estimated at Bt60 million.

Loss or deliberate damage?

depends if they paid the insurance fee

[Soutpeel]

Saha Farms plant had faced liquidity problems...

So why arent the police investigating the owner, if the owner had torched the place...nice little pay out on the insurance and blame the those pesky foreigners for doing it...sorted

[GentlemanJim]

Specials this week, on BBQ/flame-grilled chicken !

Is that funny?

Well if you have to ask

[aussieinthailand]

Saha Farms plant had faced liquidity problems...

So why arent the police investigating the owner, if the owner had torched the place...nice little pay out on the insurance and blame the those pesky foreigners for doing it...sorted

I've heard it again and again that Thailand is facing a growing labour shortage, and yet read again and again that a Thai factory's is NOT paying their foreign workers their correct wages or just NOT paying them at all,,,

I wounder if the owners and managers got their correct wages?

[robblok]

Saha Farms plant had faced liquidity problems...

So why arent the police investigating the owner, if the owner had torched the place...nice little pay out on the insurance and blame the those pesky foreigners for doing it...sorted

Because even if what you say is true, the corruption in Thailand would never allow for it. The owner has power and money its better to hang a few foreigners with no influence (Birma ect).

Many posters still don't understand that corruption is so bad that innocents get convicted often en guilty walk free. They prefer never to take off their rose tinted glasses and pay of the police and comment how good it is that the fines are so low and they can speed all they want not seeing its all connected and only makes corruption worse.

[Ricardo]

Specials this week, on BBQ/flame-grilled chicken !

Is that funny?

Obviously I think it is, hence the smiley, but if you don't, well 'up to you'.

[Thai at Heart]

Saha Farms plant had faced liquidity problems...

So why arent the police investigating the owner, if the owner had torched the place...nice little pay out on the insurance and blame the those pesky foreigners for doing it...sorted

I've heard it again and again that Thailand is facing a growing labour shortage, and yet read again and again that a Thai factory's is NOT paying their foreign workers their correct wages or just NOT paying them at all,,,

I wounder if the owners and managers got their correct wages?

It's not like saha farms is some little enterprise either...

[OzMick]

Thai Business Administration 101 - many problems can be solved with a convenient fire, especially if there are disgruntled employees to blame.

Any insurance payout should be withheld to settle wages claims.

[laurentbkk]

what can do a bunch of modern slaves in front of a powerful company like SAHA Farm.What the labour department have to say about the non payment fo the 300baht wage ... They are quite silent .

[Thai at Heart]

what can do a bunch of modern slaves in front of a powerful company like SAHA Farm.What the labour department have to say about the non payment fo the 300baht wage ... They are quite silent .

Times are changing

[Thai at Heart]

Saha Farms plant had faced liquidity problems...

So why arent the police investigating the owner, if the owner had torched the place...nice little pay out on the insurance and blame the those pesky foreigners for doing it...sorted

Because even if what you say is true, the corruption in Thailand would never allow for it. The owner has power and money its better to hang a few foreigners with no influence (Birma ect).

Many posters still don't understand that corruption is so bad that innocents get convicted often en guilty walk free. They prefer never to take off their rose tinted glasses and pay of the police and comment how good it is that the fines are so low and they can speed all they want not seeing its all connected and only makes corruption worse.

The problem is there is absolutely NO WAY for the workers problems to be rectified. The company has all the power, and the workers none. This is a massive company, and if the plan was to do as it is described here, it shows how bad the attitude is of many companies towards labour. Their entire business model is set up upon getting access to cheap labour.

[Thai at Heart]

The Saha Farms Company’s controls include much more informality and

compassion compared with those found in many other studies of the nature

and use of MCSs. The owner treats his employees like family, while his 3

employees treat him like a father. For example, it is notable that the Saha

Farms Company did not lay-off any of its employees when it was hit by the

bird flu crisis in 2004, even though the Company experienced a significant

loss.

http://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/bitstream/10092/7543/1/thesis_fulltext.pdf

[GrantSmith]

what can do a bunch of modern slaves in front of a powerful company like SAHA Farm.What the labour department have to say about the non payment fo the 300baht wage ... They are quite silent .

You do remember who the head of the ministry of labour is though, right?

[IMA_FARANG]

Being a suspicious type person ,,,, I rather wonder WHY the workers haven't been paid for two months?

Could it be ... just floating a possibility .... that the OWNERS are in financial trouble and the factory that was just burned down had insurance on it payable to those owners.

But like I said I'm just a suspicious person.

[Thai at Heart]

Being a suspicious type person ,,,, I rather wonder WHY the workers haven't been paid for two months?

Could it be ... just floating a possibility .... that the OWNERS are in financial trouble and the factory that was just burned down had insurance on it payable to those owners.

But like I said I'm just a suspicious person.

Why it would have got to a situation that the labour wouldn't be paid, god knows. Saha is a massive company, and it can't be the case that the labour weren't being paid at one factory because one factory has financial difficulties.

Although here is a beauty of a story

http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:50002:0::NO:50002:P50002_COMPLAINT_TEXT_ID:2900740

The complaint related to the killing of two trade union leaders of the Saha Farm Labour Union allegedly by assassins hired for that purpose by the management of the Saha Farm Company Limited. The Saha Farm Company is a chicken farm raising poultry for export. Because of the poor working and living conditions, its workers had organised themselves into a union and joined the National Congress of Thai Labour, which is affiliated to the WCL. The union had allegedly submitted a list of grievances to the company but the management refused to negotiate. According to the complainant, the union's action displeased the owner of the company who set out to stifle the labour movement at the outset.

[Bakseeda]

Charnwut said the loss was estimated at Bt60 million.

Loss or deliberate damage?

Yes, was it insured.? blame the poor workers..

[toybits]

Always easiest to blame the foreign laborers. Same-same - no different.

[Bluespunk]

Specials this week, on BBQ/flame-grilled chicken !

Is that funny?

No

[pattayadingo]

Saha Farms plant had faced liquidity problems...

So why arent the police investigating the owner, if the owner had torched the place...nice little pay out on the insurance and blame the those pesky foreigners for doing it...sorted

This was my first cynical thought too on reading the article.

Such an easy thing to do to blame it on poor, underpaid and maybe very hungry workers. Not hard to plan something like this knowing you are going under anyway. Then blame the natives.

[Zolt]

Saha Farms plant had faced liquidity problems...

So why arent the police investigating the owner, if the owner had torched the place...nice little pay out on the insurance and blame the those pesky foreigners for doing it...sorted

You have a point there. It's all win for the owner. Collects on insurance, and gets a police presence to protect his person from the dangerous, ungrateful foreign workers.

He also re-casts himself as the victim, which is important here. If it goes so far as court proceedings for the workers unpaid wage (yeah, fat chance of that) he'll lay it on some more by showing up in a wheelchair and hospital clothes.

Then he'll be out free and ready to start his next half-assed, ill-fated business venture.

Edited July 8, 2013 by Zolt

[Thai at Heart]

Saha Farms plant had faced liquidity problems...

So why arent the police investigating the owner, if the owner had torched the place...nice little pay out on the insurance and blame the those pesky foreigners for doing it...sorted

This was my first cynical thought too on reading the article.

Such an easy thing to do to blame it on poor, underpaid and maybe very hungry workers. Not hard to plan something like this knowing you are going under anyway. Then blame the natives.

If Saha farms has liquidity problesm, that in itself is a bigger story than a factory burning down.