Govt demands that Thai workers be moved from risky areas in Israel

[Lite Beer]

Govt demands that Thai workers be moved from risky areas in Israel
The Nation July 26, 2014 1:00 am

A group of Muslims stage a protest against Israel

BANGKOK: -- Body of Nan native to be flown back on Monday; ban on more Thais going

Thailand has demanded that Israel move Thai workers away from fighting near the Gaza Strip to safer areas and asked employers to allow people to stop working temporarily without conditions, Sumeth Mahosot, chief of the Labour Ministry's Employment Department, said yesterday.

The Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv has demanded that workers be relocated about 20 kilometres away from the Strip, Sumeth said.

"Our embassy also asked that employers allow Thai workers to stop working unconditionally if the situation is too risky."

The government will continue blocking Thais from going to work in Israel as fierce fighting continues and has already claimed the life of one worker, he said.

The Labour Ministry has prevented a total of 74 Thais from going to work in Israel since Monday and decided to extend the ban until the situation returns to normal, he said.

He spoke after meeting with Jeffrey Labovitz, head of the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) in Thailand. Sumeth said he asked Labovitz to help oversee compensation for Narakorn Kittiyangkul, a Thai worker killed when a mortar shell landed in Ashkelon on Wednesday. The IOM rep agreed to help, he said.

In a related development, permanent secretary for labour affairs Jeerasak Sukhonthachart said some 300 Thai workers had asked to be moved out of risky areas and those who wanted to join the group later were welcome, adding that there were about 4,000 Thais in the "red zone".

"I recently had a telephone conversation with Israeli Ambassador to Thailand Simon Roded. We agreed that we would contact each other often to learn about the situation in Israel. The ambassador said his government would make the best efforts to take care of Thai workers," Jeerasak said.

He would ask the Israeli Embassy to check reports that some employers forced Thais to continue working despite an alert of air strikes.

"I wish to tell Thai workers to give priority to their safety. They have to follow warnings from their bosses," he said.

Meanwhile, Narakorn's body will be flown home and is expected to arrive in Bangkok on Monday, his sister Wanpen Ya-ood said, citing the Thai Foreign Ministry's Consular Department.

He was the third civilian killed in Israel since the start of an operation by the government to halt a barrage of rockets from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. He succumbed to wounds after being flown by helicopter to Barzilai Medical Centre in the south of Israel.

Narakorn went to work in Israel only a month ago, believing that his income as a taxi driver in Bangkok was insufficient to support his large family.

Wanpen said the authorities would provide a van to transfer his body back to his home in Nan. She said Consular Affairs officials had informed her that the Israeli government would pay compensation for his death, while both the Israeli and Thai governments would ask Thai workers in Israel to move to safer areas as violence escalates.

The Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv estimates there are 4,276 Thais living and working in areas that are at risk. The embassy has asked them to move to safer locations.

Prasithiporn Wetprasit, deputy head of the Consular Department, said the Foreign Ministry had prepared evacuation plans in the event of emergency.

"By land, the workers will travel across the border to Egypt or Jordan or by sea, where they can board ships to Greece or Cyprus. To go by air, they would go to a nearby country before boarding planes," he said.

However, so far, no workers had asked to return to Thailand.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Govt-demands-that-Thai-workers-be-moved-from-risky-30239533.html

-- The Nation 2014-07-26

[Chang_paarp]

You mean like the foreigners working in unsafe placed in Thailand like on fishing boats?

[daoyai]

You mean like the foreigners working in unsafe placed in Thailand like on fishing boats?

.....or living in the southern provinces ?

[BSJ]

555 Stupidity has no boundaries. The Thai's working in Israel should have done their 'due diligence' before signing employment contracts.

[ezzra]

555 Stupidity has no boundaries. The Thai's working in Israel should have done their 'due diligence' before signing employment contracts.

Due diligence? Thai workers have cheated, manipulated and bamboozled more times

to the brink of despair by their own handlers/agents and country men than they have a

chance to be in peril overseas...

[NongKhaiKid]

555 Stupidity has no boundaries. The Thai's working in Israel should have done their 'due diligence' before signing employment contracts.

If the supposed salary and benefits offered are attractive I would suggest that's all the due diligence the average worker will consider

[Cheops]

Now they are concerned about a couple of Thai working abroad, while dozens of Thai die every day in the risky areas in Thailand. These risky areas are of course the streets!

[Soutpeel]

Now they are concerned about a couple of Thai working abroad, while dozens of Thai die every day in the risky areas in Thailand. These risky areas are of course the streets!

Well I guess at least the Thai authorities are concerned for their citizens, one suspect if this was the British goverment, they would have just shut up the embassy, moved and not told any of their citizens and they would be sitting drinking pims in some safe location watching events unfold on the TV...

[ABCer]

Maybe they should be repatriated at Gov't expense and relocated to South regions?

Safety First!

[Alwyn]

Now they are concerned about a couple of Thai working abroad, while dozens of Thai die every day in the risky areas in Thailand. These risky areas are of course the streets!

Well I guess at least the Thai authorities are concerned for their citizens, one suspect if this was the British goverment, they would have just shut up the embassy, moved and not told any of their citizens and they would be sitting drinking pims in some safe location watching events unfold on the TV...

There are thousands of Brits working in Israel and yet the British government is still open for business and not sitting around drinking pims. Keep up the good work drinking your beer Chang from your girly bar and keep the really witty comments comments flowing

[Alwyn]

Thailand has a government?

[taony]

I wish they cared as much for all the people dying on the roads here everyday.

-*I typed this myself*-

[Lee4Life]

"Demands" sure seems like a strong word...I wonder what the actual exchange was?

[Lite Beer]

Over 4,000 Thai workers in Israel to be evacuated to safer areas
By Digital Content

BANGKOK, July 26 -- Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Sihasak Puangketkeow has said his ministry was coordinating with concerned authorities on bringing the body of a deceased Thai worker back to Thailand as soon as possible and was trying to relocate more than 4,000 workers away from dangerous-prone areas near Gaza.

Mr Sihasak said Friday that the Thai embassy in Tel Aviv was discussing with relevant authorities in an effort to bring the body of a Thai worker, identified as Narakorn Kittiyangkul, back to Thailand as soon as possible and make sure that his family would receive benefits under Israeli law.

Mr Narakorn was killed on July 23 by a rocket fired from Gaza into Israel.

Reiterating that the ministry was concerned over the safety of Thai workers in Israel, Mr Sihasak said requests have been made with Israeli employers to move workers at least 10 kilometres away from the Gaza Strip and that they receive benefits they are entitled to, even if they have to stay away from work due to the fierce ongoing fighting between the Israeli military and Hamas Movement.

On violence in Libya, he said the Thai embassy in that country is prepared to take care of about 1,450 Thai workers in Tripoli and Benghazi and the Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry was prepared to evacuate them to Tunisia or other neighbouring countries or even return them to Thailand if they wished.

As many Palestinians, especially a number of women and children, have died due to the current fighting along the Gaza Strip, many Thai Muslims on Friday demonstrated in front of the Israeli embassy in Bangkok and denounced the massacre.

They also urged the United Nations to intervene in a bid to bring back peace as soon as possible.

More than 400 policemen were seen deployed during the demonstration to prevent any possible violence. The two-hour protest ended at about 4pm without any incident.

A similar demonstration also took place in the southern province of Satun, where more than 600 Thai Muslims gathered in front of a mosque to denounce Israel. (MCOT online news)

-- NNT 2014-07-26

[ABCer]

Sorry, but I am overflowing with questions.

As much as I regret the death of Mr. Narakorn and sympathise with his family I would like to know

- Why ask Israel for benefits under Israeli Law? What about benefits under Thai Law?

- Why ask Israel for compensation for a family of a Thai killed by Hamas rocket? Didn't Thailand recognised Hamas Gov't?

- Are Thai victims of terrorism in the South awarded any benefits along with their families under Thai Law?

These are genuine questions, thank you.

[seajae]

what a joke, every person is responsible for themselves, if they decide to work in a foreign country in adverse conditions the responsibility falls on them and no one else. Hamas are the terrorists here, they are the ones firing the rockets that killed the thai worker so why should Israel be responsible especially when Thailand recognize the hamas terrorist govt ( as legit) that is doing the killing. Will Thailand now guarantee everyones safety in Thailand and pay compensation to the families of anyone killed here, I doubt it, let alone guarantee workers safety for anyone in the country. Once again we see some drop kick trying to make themselves out to be someone important when they are simply big noting themselves and waffling sh*t, bloody hypocrits

[AloisAmrein]

And what about the foreign workers from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia in Thailand? Treated as slaves by Thai employers.

[TheFishman1]

I saw two working at a farm they said it was like paradise for them

[Jeremy50]

You mean like the foreigners working in unsafe placed in Thailand like on fishing boats?

.....or living in the southern provinces ?

.........or using Thai roads every day.

[Soutpeel]

Now they are concerned about a couple of Thai working abroad, while dozens of Thai die every day in the risky areas in Thailand. These risky areas are of course the streets!

Well I guess at least the Thai authorities are concerned for their citizens, one suspect if this was the British goverment, they would have just shut up the embassy, moved and not told any of their citizens and they would be sitting drinking pims in some safe location watching events unfold on the TV...

There are thousands of Brits working in Israel and yet the British government is still open for business and not sitting around drinking pims. Keep up the good work drinking your beer Chang from your girly bar and keep the really witty comments comments flowing

My dear chap.. I dont drink Chang and havent been to a girly bar in years, I always thought the Welsh had a good sense of humour Alwyn ?... maybe not

or are you an Englishman pretending to be a Welshman ?

[Alwyn]

Now they are concerned about a couple of Thai working abroad, while dozens of Thai die every day in the risky areas in Thailand. These risky areas are of course the streets!

Well I guess at least the Thai authorities are concerned for their citizens, one suspect if this was the British goverment, they would have just shut up the embassy, moved and not told any of their citizens and they would be sitting drinking pims in some safe location watching events unfold on the TV...

There are thousands of Brits working in Israel and yet the British government is still open for business and not sitting around drinking pims. Keep up the good work drinking your beer Chang from your girly bar and keep the really witty comments comments flowing

My dear chap.. I dont drink Chang and havent been to a girly bar in years, I always thought the Welsh had a good sense of humour Alwyn ?... maybe not

or are you an Englishman pretending to be a Welshman ?

Now I know you have a sense of humour! An Englishman pretending to be Welsh - nice one, that's never going to happen is it. I am in fact an Englishman but with a Welsh name (that was something to do with my grandfather's sense of humour it seems). Who told you the Welsh have a good sense of humour though? Nah, that's not fair as they mostly do!

[Bangmod]

No citizens from any country what so ever should travel to that murderes illegal state anyway, only Americans and Russians with the same Zionist ideas, but only to drop dead on arrival

[Greenhill]

No citizens from any country what so ever should travel to that murderes illegal state anyway, only Americans and Russians with the same Zionist ideas, but only to drop dead on arrival

What 'illegal' state are you referring to???? Methinks you're talking a load of inflamatory nonsense!!

[Jim walker]

I am sure the Thai Junta have done all the necessary risk assessment for their citizens before making any demands to Israel , possibly time they did some risk assessments back at home in Thailand for their citizen’s regarding the roads would be a good start.

[noitom]

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You mean like the foreigners working in unsafe placed in Thailand like on fishing boats?

.....or living in the southern provinces ?

Yes, maybe Jews living in the Thai south should demand that Thais pay for their safe resettlement.