Migrant workers find heaven and hope in Thailand

[webfact]

Migrant workers find heaven and hope in Thailand
THANYA WADWONG,
TANPISIT LERDBUMRUNGCHAI
THE NATION


Immigrant workers at a construction site in Bangkok, Thailand

BANGKOK: -- WHILE THAI WORKERS are expected to voice grievances over low pay against the rising cost of living today, many migrant workers continue struggling to make ends meet with little complaint. For these workers from Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, Thailand is a still a good place to work.

"Poverty brought me here," said Chai, 27, who left Cambodia three years ago. "I have children and a wife to take care of. I want to save up so my children get good education and a better life."

Chai, who works at a construction site on Bang Na-Trat Road, explained that there were few jobs available in Cambodia and most of them paid very little, compared with Thailand, where there are plenty of well-paid jobs.

"I want to be a Thai national," he said, adding that the minimum daily wage in Cambodia was Bt100, compared with Bt300 in Thailand.

But it is not all sunshine and rainbows working here. Chai said he was cheated on his very first day and is sometimes not paid for work done. But he said he had no choice, and when he is not paid as promised, he moves on.

Chai is one of the 2.2 million migrant workers in Thailand.

Solah Por, 24, moved from Myanmar five years ago and now works at a restaurant on Bang Na-Trat. He says he overcame the language barrier thanks to his kind employer who taught him Thai, and in a year he was almost fluent. When he was 17, his parents told him to come to Thailand for a job because there were no opportunities in Myanmar. Over the past five years, he has only returned home twice.

"I was looking for a factory job, when I met Auntie [his employer] and she hired me. Life in Thailand is comfortable. At first I missed home, but now I don't," he added.

Saknarong Payungsak, a representative of a Myanmar workers' organisation in Thailand, said migrant workers were cheated often and many were paid less than the Bt300 legal minimum daily wage. Initially, when the minimum wage was Bt150-Bt200, many workers earned extra from overtime. Now, however, overtime work has dried up and they can barely make ends meet.

"Yet if they complain, they face threats, which terrifies them," he said.

Raks Thai Foundation official Wanna Butseng, who oversees migrant workers in the east coastal area, namely Trat and Chanthaburi provinces, said there were some 50,000 migrant workers in the area, mostly Cambodians from Koh Kong and Mon people from Myanmar. However, only about 10,000 of them hold legal documents, she said.

Most of these workers are in the fishery and farming sectors, and their most common problems are drug abuse, alcoholism and fist-fighting.

"If these workers have kind employers, they are happy, but if there is any problem, they can just cross the border and go home," she said.


-- The Nation 2014-05-01

[darren84310]

Good luck to these hard working and honest people. They certainly provide a valuable service to Thailand, pity they get abused and looked down on by so many Thais.

One day the tables will turn.

[love1012]

Half the article contradicts its title!

[trainman34014]

The way Thailand is going right now it won't be too many years before Thai's are begging for work in neighbouring countries. Lets see how they react to being cheated and bullied.

[klauskunkel]

"I want to be a Thai national," he said, adding that the minimum daily wage in Cambodia was Bt100, compared with Bt300 in Thailand.

Campaign Promise:

"You too can become Thai: Join the UDD and serve a stint of 5 years in the red army and Thai citizenship is yours. We promise!

signed: Jatuporn, sponsored by Pheu Thai"

disclaimer: UDD, Pheu Thai, Dr Thaksin and Family are not responsible for any loss of life, limb, or intelligence while serving

[Lupatria]

The hub of fair labor conditions, equal treatment, correct payment, safety standards and proper accommodation for foreign workers?

I don't think so!

[bulekee]

If you live here look at who sweeps the roads,collects the rubbish,not Thais.I worked as a teacher in 1 school for 5 years.The ancillary staff i.e. cooks cleaners etc. were treated like shit.They were afraid to talk to us,on occasions when I talked to the son of the school owner he would refer to them as sub human (does that ring a bell ).I found them really nice friendly people given the chance.If we go back to racism as in the Jeremy Clarkson post,it is miniscule compared to Thais attitude.Don"t forget what they think about us also.

[robertthebruce]

So So Sad that they have to leave there own countries to come here, and Yes sometimes they are treated like second class citizens and have a very hard life..

I dont know how lucky i am being born and brought up in the West...., and now spending my Golden Years here...

My heart does go out to them....

[marko kok prong]

Completley wrong heading for the contents of the article,not that i am surprised.

[lee b]

So So Sad that they have to leave there own countries to come here, and Yes sometimes they are treated like second class citizens and have a very hard life..

I dont know how lucky i am being born and brought up in the West...., and now spending my Golden Years here...

My heart does go out to them....

True, having to leave all thier family behind too come here and work for peanuts and get looked down on.

I really do feel sorry for them, and they should be treated with a little more respect.

[chainarong]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

If you live here look at who sweeps the roads,collects the rubbish,not Thais.I worked as a teacher in 1 school for 5 years.The ancillary staff i.e. cooks cleaners etc. were treated like shit.They were afraid to talk to us,on occasions when I talked to the son of the school owner he would refer to them as sub human (does that ring a bell ).I found them really nice friendly people given the chance.If we go back to racism as in the Jeremy Clarkson post,it is miniscule compared to Thais attitude.Don"t forget what they think about us also.

Chinese have that superior attitude also, all Asians to they are sub human and we are totally hated behind closed doors, we are called ,Whitey's

[kinmaew]

so it seems that non Thai nationals can get a job very easy but only if they can be exploited with no checks and balances. Oh I forgot we have elections coming that will sort all of the pain out.

[HeavyDrinker]

Count your blessings folks!!!

I must admit to feeling a pang of guilt/pity when I'm out and about and see a truck roll by crammed with these chaps after a day's hard graft in abysmal conditions where they've probably not earned anything near enough to even buy ONE of the drinks on my tab, while they are being taken off to some makeshift shanty town for the night where they will scrape a few baht together for enough to make a basic evening meal and (if they're lucky) they can maybe stretch to a bottle of wallop to ease away the aches of a day of backbreaking labour.

They do not enjoy any of the relative luxuries heaped on me by my employers for the 'hardship' of being posted overseas. Not for them a nice comfortable house, a car and driver, cash bonuses for doing next to sod all, first rate healthcare if I so much as follow through, all paperwork taken care of, the protection some international employment laws, the protection my visa and status offer me.

I see them staring into bars sometimes, striving to imagine what it is like on our side of the railings, maybe much in the same way I feel when I see these footballer's lifestyles TV shows...

Some evenings I would often pass a small shanty town knocked up for Burmese migrant workers on my daily walk when they were working on a new Bang Plee Supermarket. Almost every day they would invite me to come and sit with them and proffer whatever hospitality they could muster - more often than not a hand rolled cigarette or a bit of food or a glass of nip.

I was often horrified by some of the aggro they faced on a daily basis. Abuse from the locals, dreadful living conditions, regularly shafted on their pay, harassed constantly by the authorities, one poor bloke had been deported 5 times via Kanchanaburi after being crammed in the back of a 'monkey wagon' with 20 others for 8 hours. It was always a humbling experience getting home to my nice comfortable air conditioned home, following a day's work sat on my backside in a nice air conditioned room, after seeing them making the most of their dreadful lives. Made me count my blessings.

Not once did I get a sob story or experience an outstretched hand, only ever matter of fact descriptions of their every day lives.

The wife came with me once then after that began to buy the makings of a Tom Yam for them plus a bottle of wallop and a few' luxuries' (soap, toothpaste etc) when she went to the market of a morning which I would slip on their doorstep when I passed while they were still working as they were proud hard working people who weren't after hand outs and would have been mortified to have been offered anything. I think they sussed out it was me putting the stuff on their doorstep but they said nowt and I said nowt leaving whatever dignity they had in tact.

Life here has handed me some real experiences over the 20 odd years I've been associated with Thailand but no matter what, meeting these folk was the undoubted single-most humbling experience of my life to date.

Then one day I was on my walk and the shanty was gone with neither wrack nor wraith remaining. Nothing, Not a scrap to show they had once made that little corner of Lat Krabang their little community which would buzz with life and happiness for a few hours each evening while they could enjoy a little of the fruits of their lab I assumed they had merely been moved on to the next building project in the unending cycle of hardship which was their lives. Nothing. Their chatter and laughter had turned to whispers on the wind.

To my joy I was having a beer at Bang Plee market one evening a week or so later when I saw a few familiar faces waving to me happily from the back of a truck. I ran out to the road and managed to find they'd been moved on to a site near Bang Bor. There was no bitterness or resentment in their voices at being shifted from pillar to post. It was merely their lot...

[needforspeed]

Half the article contradicts its title!

Correct should be,

"Desperate migrant workers find better wages but often abused with no rights and protection in Thailand"

[bangkokheat]

thais are lazy, dont like being told what to do, never wrong, why would you want to employ them?

[smileydude]

Through out history migrant labor from less developed countries have always been treated with disdain.

Think slavery, coolies, mexicans, Eastern Europeans, etc. etc.

Thailand is no exception and like the human beings we are we tend to both consciously and unconsciously look down on menial jobs but work is better then no work and for these people its their rainbow.

I actually admire their hardworking nature and how they appreciate the opportunity to have work which many of us take for granted.

Instead of admonishing the people or countries that offer better opportunities for them (with fair wages) we should be asking what the hell is going on in their own countries that offer them little hope.

[ggt]

Cambodia...has great potential...is presently being given help to bring their natural resources to market...baring unabated corruption...the population should be moving out of poverty...in the next decade or so...probably 30 years behind the Thais...

Thailand...one man's opportunity heaven...another man's bottomless pit of corruption...all things are relative...

Edited May 1, 2014 by ggt

[Krataiboy]

Migrant workers find heaven and hope in Thailand

Somewhat gratuitous and misleading headline, in view of the content. A more accurate headline would be "Migrant workers swap one hell for another".

[belg]

lazy thais getting rich and abusing those pore sods in jobs they think they are too good for

[Songlaw]

Count your blessings folks!!!

I must admit to feeling a pang of guilt/pity when I'm out and about and see a truck roll by crammed with these chaps after a day's hard graft in abysmal conditions where they've probably not earned anything near enough to even buy ONE of the drinks on my tab, while they are being taken off to some makeshift shanty town for the night where they will scrape a few baht together for enough to make a basic evening meal and (if they're lucky) they can maybe stretch to a bottle of wallop to ease away the aches of a day of backbreaking labour.

They do not enjoy any of the relative luxuries heaped on me by my employers for the 'hardship' of being posted overseas. Not for them a nice comfortable house, a car and driver, cash bonuses for doing next to sod all, first rate healthcare if I so much as follow through, all paperwork taken care of, the protection some international employment laws, the protection my visa and status offer me.

I see them staring into bars sometimes, striving to imagine what it is like on our side of the railings, maybe much in the same way I feel when I see these footballer's lifestyles TV shows...

Some evenings I would often pass a small shanty town knocked up for Burmese migrant workers on my daily walk when they were working on a new Bang Plee Supermarket. Almost every day they would invite me to come and sit with them and proffer whatever hospitality they could muster - more often than not a hand rolled cigarette or a bit of food or a glass of nip.

I was often horrified by some of the aggro they faced on a daily basis. Abuse from the locals, dreadful living conditions, regularly shafted on their pay, harassed constantly by the authorities, one poor bloke had been deported 5 times via Kanchanaburi after being crammed in the back of a 'monkey wagon' with 20 others for 8 hours. It was always a humbling experience getting home to my nice comfortable air conditioned home, following a day's work sat on my backside in a nice air conditioned room, after seeing them making the most of their dreadful lives. Made me count my blessings.

Not once did I get a sob story or experience an outstretched hand, only ever matter of fact descriptions of their every day lives.

The wife came with me once then after that began to buy the makings of a Tom Yam for them plus a bottle of wallop and a few' luxuries' (soap, toothpaste etc) when she went to the market of a morning which I would slip on their doorstep when I passed while they were still working as they were proud hard working people who weren't after hand outs and would have been mortified to have been offered anything. I think they sussed out it was me putting the stuff on their doorstep but they said nowt and I said nowt leaving whatever dignity they had in tact.

Life here has handed me some real experiences over the 20 odd years I've been associated with Thailand but no matter what, meeting these folk was the undoubted single-most humbling experience of my life to date.

Then one day I was on my walk and the shanty was gone with neither wrack nor wraith remaining. Nothing, Not a scrap to show they had once made that little corner of Lat Krabang their little community which would buzz with life and happiness for a few hours each evening while they could enjoy a little of the fruits of their lab I assumed they had merely been moved on to the next building project in the unending cycle of hardship which was their lives. Nothing. Their chatter and laughter had turned to whispers on the wind.

To my joy I was having a beer at Bang Plee market one evening a week or so later when I saw a few familiar faces waving to me happily from the back of a truck. I ran out to the road and managed to find they'd been moved on to a site near Bang Bor. There was no bitterness or resentment in their voices at being shifted from pillar to post. It was merely their lot...

Nice bit of writing, mate. Thanks for sharing.

[Thai at Heart]

Half the article contradicts its title!

Indeed.

Migrants ripped off by employers, would be better

[aussieinthailand]

"I want to be a Thai national," he said, adding that the minimum daily wage in Cambodia was Bt100, compared with Bt300 in Thailand.

Campaign Promise:

"You too can become Thai: Join the UDD and serve a stint of 5 years in the red army and Thai citizenship is yours. We promise!

signed: Jatuporn, sponsored by Pheu Thai"

disclaimer: UDD, Pheu Thai, Dr Thaksin and Family are not responsible for any loss of life, limb, or intelligence while serving

YE'P, post number 5'

out of an artical about migrant workers, you make it a Thaksin and PTP story, How about your hero's Suthep and Mark BOTH had massive power not so long ago to do somthing about the plite of migrant workers BUT DID NOT!!!, but wiat theres more,

The DEM's are the oldest political party in the country and have NOT done a bloody thing for migrant workers of decades, so now what??? You don't like the truth cause it just don't sit well huh?, Underwhelming...

[soomak]

The way Thailand is going right now it won't be too many years before Thai's are begging for work in neighbouring countries. Lets see how they react to being cheated and bullied.

I personally know two Thai women who work in Malaysia, one as a customer support person, the other in a massage place.

Malaysia already has higher salaries than Thailand.

However, it would take many many years before Cambodia, Laos or Myanmar will reach the economic level of Thailand (my bet - at least 40 years).

[soomak]

So So Sad that they have to leave there own countries to come here, and Yes sometimes they are treated like second class citizens and have a very hard life..

I dont know how lucky i am being born and brought up in the West...., and now spending my Golden Years here...

My heart does go out to them....

It is sad, but it's the way of the world for many years.

Cambodians/Burmese come to Thailand for work

Thais go to Israel for work (almost all agricultural laborers are Thai)

Israelis go to the US/Canada/Australia for a few years to make money (and some settle in and stay)

And it's the same in Europe, where Polish/Romanians go to Germany or to the UK because of better wages.

[klauskunkel]

"I want to be a Thai national," he said, adding that the minimum daily wage in Cambodia was Bt100, compared with Bt300 in Thailand.

Campaign Promise:

"You too can become Thai: Join the UDD and serve a stint of 5 years in the red army and Thai citizenship is yours. We promise!

signed: Jatuporn, sponsored by Pheu Thai"

disclaimer: UDD, Pheu Thai, Dr Thaksin and Family are not responsible for any loss of life, limb, or intelligence while serving

YE'P, post number 5'

out of an artical about migrant workers, you make it a Thaksin and PTP story, How about your hero's Suthep and Mark BOTH had massive power not so long ago to do somthing about the plite of migrant workers BUT DID NOT!!!, but wiat theres more,

The DEM's are the oldest political party in the country and have NOT done a bloody thing for migrant workers of decades, so now what??? You don't like the truth cause it just don't sit well huh?, Underwhelming...

Actually, I took one sentence from an article and spun it into a joke...which I was fairly creative on my part, I might add. Regarding Suthep and Abhisit, well they are also joke targets, however, it just happens that "the red issue" provides soooo much more material, mostly involuntary, and their Leadership is just the most juicy of targets by far, with sugar on top. And then getting a reaction like yours is just climactic!