Thailand: Crackdown on 'slave labour'

[webfact]

HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Crackdown on 'slave labour'
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- POL Gen Ake Angsananont, the deputy National Police chief in charge of suppressing human trafficking, yesterday vowed to crack down on "slave labour" in the fisheries industry and among foreign beggar gangs.

The registration of migrant workers in the fishery and related industries in 22 coastal provinces kicks off today. The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has given trawler operators until July 21 to file lists of the names of their migrant crew to the Provincial Employment Office.

Ake said police, acting |on instructions from the NCPO to stamp out human trafficking especially in the two sensitive areas, have proposed a plan and discussed with parties |the implementation of a |measure to have fishing |boat owners draw up the lists |of their migrant workers on board.

As for foreigners procuring children for the "begging business", Ake would call a meeting of police units including the Anti-Human Trafficking, Marine, Immigration and Tourist police to launch operations in accordance with the NCPO policy.

Since some beggars were also forced into the business, he would this week inspect the situation in Sa Kaew's Aranyaprathet border district.

Permanent secretary for the Labour Ministry Jeerasak Sukhonthachat said the Employment Department would post information on worker registration and required forms for the 22 coastal provinces at www.doe.go.th.

Fishery operators could download and fill them out before submitting the name lists to the Employment Office in the province where their boats are registered or docked.

Registration

President of the Samut Sakhon Fishery Association Kamjorn Mongkoltrirak urged the NCPO to register migrants working on fishing boats separately from those in fishery-related industries because the deckhands often jumped ship after working awhile, so boat owners had to find new migrant workers to replace them.

As the fishing boats often stay out for a long time, registration should be flexible, like twice a year, each time for three months.

The Public Health Ministry should offer term health insurance of three months, six months or one year to allow boat owners to buy a policy according to an individual worker's status.

The newly hired would |get a three-month policy, |while those working for more than a year would get a one-year policy. The premiums would be paid in Bt400 monthly instalments and workers could get treatment at any hospital where their boat is berthed.

The NCPO should call regular meetings with trawler operators in the 22 coastal provinces to explain the migrant worker employment guidelines and allow them to express opinions.

This would bring the NCPO's policy and the operators' needs on the same page while also sustainably tackling migrant workers' issues and human |trafficking, he added.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Crackdown-on-slave-labour-30237879.html


-- The Nation 2014-07-07

[terryp]

Thailand ...so many crackdowns ..so little change

[EnzoRippo]

"President of the Samut Sakhon Fishery Association Kamjorn Mongkoltrirak urged the NCPO to register migrants working on fishing boats separately from those in fishery-related industries because the deckhands often jumped ship after working awhile, so boat owners had to find new migrant workers to replace them."

Right! This is the point!

They even are helped to jump some times.

[alfalfa19]

"President of the Samut Sakhon Fishery Association Kamjorn Mongkoltrirak urged the NCPO to register migrants working on fishing boats separately from those in fishery-related industries because the deckhands often jumped ship after working awhile, so boat owners had to find new migrant workers to replace them."

Right! This is the point!

They even are helped to jump some times.

Yes, and sometimes they are assisted in ending their lives, before being helped to jump.

[noitom]

This is another Thai laugher.

[khwaibah]

Thailand ...so many crackdowns ..so little change

The Hub of Crackdowns..

[mostkotic]

Thailand ...so many fools ..nothing change

Edited July 7, 2014 by mostkotic

[muratremix]

Why they announce first and let slave masters take precautions?

Why they don't do it first and show results instead of empty promises?

[klauskunkel]

As for foreigners procuring children for the "begging business", Ake would call a meeting of police units including the Anti-Human Trafficking, Marine, Immigration and Tourist police to launch operations in accordance with the NCPO policy.

Foreigners again, huh? No Thais doing this, huh?

[spidermike007]

"President of the Samut Sakhon Fishery Association Kamjorn Mongkoltrirak urged the NCPO to register migrants working on fishing boats separately from those in fishery-related industries because the deckhands often jumped ship after working awhile, so boat owners had to find new migrant workers to replace them."

Right! This is the point!

They even are helped to jump some times.

Yes, and sometimes they are assisted in ending their lives, before being helped to jump.

Right to the point. You do not jump into the open seas unless you have a very, very good reason to do so. I am being abused. I am being coerced into working 110 hour weeks! I am being underpaid. I was trafficked into this position. I am a slave. I hate my life. I hate my boss, who is really the same as a 19th century Mississippi plantation slave owner. Except the only difference is the guy in Mississippi was not breaking the law. He was an absolute pig, but behaving as a pig was legal back then. My boss is a felon. He deserves life in prison. He is a crime lord. And the authorities do nothing to stop him. No agency takes charge, no police care one iota, no judge or prosecutor would charge them, fine them, or jail them. So, what is left for me to do, except jump into the sea. Death cannot be any worse than my life on this boat. Death cannot be any worse than working within the Thai fishing industry as a slave.

[toybits]

When a crackdown is started only because they were busted does not look so encouraging. The issue of trust has been breached and Trust is something that is very difficult to restore.

[oldsailor35]

The boat owners and captains must be registered and publicly available for all to see. At the moment, very little is known of the owners.

[bushwacker]

Great strategy!!! Force the captains to list the names of the slave workers so they can be entered on some database and that will stop the problem. There is no need to investigate if these slaves are in fact slaves or willing employees. No need to investigate to ensure accuracy of the names or that everybody is on the list. No need to investigate the working/abusive conditions.

Force the captains to put the names or some names on a list and the problem will disappear. That should work!

[Yann55]

I'm not a native English speaker, but as far as I know the expression 'to jump ship' is primarily figurative and yes it means to leave the ship (or whatever else for that matter, a company, a school, an organization, a project), but not litterally to jump in the water.

I'm sure that some of these poor slaves have done it, of course, but the reactions to this phrase so far seem to take it for granted that all of them have jumped to their death. Just stating that it would be appropriate to make sure what is actually meant in an article before launching into full blown reactions.

[lostmebike]

Thailand ...so many crackdowns ..so little change

The Hub of Crackdowns..

'The Hub of TEMPORARY Crackdowns'

[Morch]

Why they announce first and let slave masters take precautions?

Why they don't do it first and show results instead of empty promises?

Tradition.

But for real, you announce first and in the public mind what remains is a headline, details matter less.

Public memory and attentions span are quite short.

The culprits either pay up extra or get scarce for a while, then back to normal.

What I find interesting is that they keep making these statements when most people don't pay that much

attention to them anyway, and do not treat them very seriously. It's like....they're not really expected to do

that much by now, like people gave up on them. So why even bother with the statements? Could be about

keeping the masses indoctrinated and/or to do with their own self image.

I think what shocks most people now is that post-coup some of these statements are actually translated to

actions. This is why the skeptic attitude is still much evident, not so much with regard to the present, but

more with the chances for fundamental long lasting change in this department ten minutes after the coup

guys hand back the country.

[Cake Monster]

At least this should clean up the oceans a little

Hopefully there are not so many corpses washed up along the Eastern Sea Board from Baan Sain to Rayong.

[SiggiCM]

begging business is only for our thai childs, no foreigner allowed in this business, we will rack down them in a short while

Edited July 7, 2014 by SiggiCM

[techboy]

Thailand ...so many crackdowns ..so little change

Negative words indeed. The knee jerk prototypical response of a miserable old man rather than fair evaluation would certainly be the norm here. "...so little change" you say? Like nothin' happenin' eh? Just small stuff such as the little tweaks we have seen in government of an entire nation?

"...so little change." Then your arse should be content because it is the country in which yo elected to live.

[German Viking]

Thailand ...so many fools ..nothing change

We will time will show it.

[German Viking]

Thailand ...so many fools ..nothing change

Time will show

[German Viking]

"President of the Samut Sakhon Fishery Association Kamjorn Mongkoltrirak urged the NCPO to register migrants working on fishing boats separately from those in fishery-related industries because the deckhands often jumped ship after working awhile, so boat owners had to find new migrant workers to replace them."

Right! This is the point!

They even are helped to jump some times.

Yes, and sometimes they are assisted in ending their lives, before being helped to jump.

Right to the point. You do not jump into the open seas unless you have a very, very good reason to do so. I am being abused. I am being coerced into working 110 hour weeks! I am being underpaid. I was trafficked into this position. I am a slave. I hate my life. I hate my boss, who is really the same as a 19th century Mississippi plantation slave owner. Except the only difference is the guy in Mississippi was not breaking the law. He was an absolute pig, but behaving as a pig was legal back then. My boss is a felon. He deserves life in prison. He is a crime lord. And the authorities do nothing to stop him. No agency takes charge, no police care one iota, no judge or prosecutor would charge them, fine them, or jail them. So, what is left for me to do, except jump into the sea. Death cannot be any worse than my life on this boat. Death cannot be any worse than working within the Thai fishing industry as a slave.

Compare to the Thai fishing industry the slaves on the plantations had mostly a better life.

[German Viking]

Great strategy!!! Force the captains to list the names of the slave workers so they can be entered on some database and that will stop the problem. There is no need to investigate if these slaves are in fact slaves or willing employees. No need to investigate to ensure accuracy of the names or that everybody is on the list. No need to investigate the working/abusive conditions.

Force the captains to put the names or some names on a list and the problem will disappear. That should work!

Not some name the right name to th right person with ID card ppl you can change when there is no control.

For example as owner of a simple sailyacht you have to issue all persons in the boardbook and getting a stamp from the habourmaster before you leave the port.

By arrival in the next port you have to show the boardbook again and if a person is missing, then you will stay soon in the court and have to struggle to getting out of this trouble.

That's international sea rules. They should all carry an ID Card with Chip, Fingerprints and not a Khao San fake, registered.

This is for years common in the Construction industry in norway and germany.

And if there is a control and some workers don't having this card, then fine for the boss(Captain).

And if the boss collect to much of this fines, then will be the business closed + monkeyhouse for the boss.

[taony]

Thread started at 555 o'clock!