Thai Police Arrest Myanmar Woman for Reporting Labour Abuses at Poultry Farm

[nahkit]

It seems that the report of the USA releasing Thailand from the slave labor lists might have been a little to fast.

The USA has no right to criticize any country about slave labor.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-prison-industry-in-the-united-states-big-business-or-a-new-form-of-slavery/8289

http://www.salon.com/2015/07/07/23_cents_an_hour_the_perfectly_legal_slavery_happening_in_modern_day_america_partner/

http://www.alternet.org/story/151732/21st-century_slaves%3A_how_corporations_exploit_prison_labor

Why three links all pointing to exactly the same report?

[lonewolf99]

She illegally removed her time card, which is an internal document documenting time worked) and property of the employer. Nobody forced her to work there, and she should go back to Burma if she doesn't like it. My company's experience with Burmese workers is very bad, eventhough we paid them well in excess of the minimum salary, helped them with everything from WPs to insurance to mobile phone and internet registration, to lending them bikes permanently, getting driver licenses etc so I shed no tears. They also set up illegally businesses reserved for, and in competition with, Thais, don't register with the DBD, pay no tax and are pretty mouthy. Given that, and their historic transgressions that still live strongly among Thais, it is not surprising that there prevails a strong anti sentiment,

Strange my Thai GF has the same attitude towards the Burmese...she worked for a construction company and had to organise and pay the wages to them.

BUT...it was impossible for me to get into her head that no Thais would lower themselves to do the work...I guess Thais are easily brainwashed from an early age.

P.S sorry about the grey shading ...?

Edited June 29, 2016 by lonewolf99

[sanukjim]

Looks as if Thailand certainly has its priorities in good order. Is there any wonder that slave labor and worker abuses continue in the Land of Smiles. I guess the only question left is, What is there to smile about in this pathetic land?

So anyone care to guess as to which of these two reasons she was arrested . # 1. The bribe money paid to the BIB was very large ? /# 2. One of the top cop's family has part or all of the business ?

[TPI]

She illegally removed her time card, which is an internal document documenting time worked) and property of the employer. Nobody forced her to work there, and she should go back to Burma if she doesn't like it. My company's experience with Burmese workers is very bad, eventhough we paid them well in excess of the minimum salary, helped them with everything from WPs to insurance to mobile phone and internet registration, to lending them bikes permanently, getting driver licenses etc so I shed no tears. They also set up illegally businesses reserved for, and in competition with, Thais, don't register with the DBD, pay no tax and are pretty mouthy. Given that, and their historic transgressions that still live strongly among Thais, it is not surprising that there prevails a strong anti sentiment,

Can I give you a hand with that broad Tar brush? Sir, your comment tags you as Thai.....defending the indefenceable! How dare she complain when we've allowed her to work at all!!!!

Typical thai lower class comment......."all pride, no shame"!

[Krataiboy]

She illegally removed her time card, which is an internal document documenting time worked) and property of the employer. Nobody forced her to work there, and she should go back to Burma if she doesn't like it. My company's experience with Burmese workers is very bad, eventhough we paid them well in excess of the minimum salary, helped them with everything from WPs to insurance to mobile phone and internet registration, to lending them bikes permanently, getting driver licenses etc so I shed no tears. They also set up illegally businesses reserved for, and in competition with, Thais, don't register with the DBD, pay no tax and are pretty mouthy. Given that, and their historic transgressions that still live strongly among Thais, it is not surprising that there prevails a strong anti sentiment,

A classic case of shooting the messenger - by you and the Thai authorities

Get your priorities right. Without the cheap labour of five million immigrant workers from places like Myanmar and Laos, you'd be paying more for your supermarket chicken and a lot more besides.

This woman's decision to "steal" her time card, while technically illegal, was justified in the circumstances. How else could she prove the hours she was being made to work for a pittance? I admire her courage, as she must have been aware of the likely consequences of her action.

Her transgression pales into insignificance compared with those responsible for running a farm where the human livestock appears to be treated little better than the luckless chickens.

Instead of following the unhealthy trend of punishing whistleblowers, the Thai authorities should tell the farm's owners to improve immigrant working hours - or close the place down.

[Tomtomtom69]

She illegally removed her time card, which is an internal document documenting time worked) and property of the employer. Nobody forced her to work there, and she should go back to Burma if she doesn't like it. My company's experience with Burmese workers is very bad, eventhough we paid them well in excess of the minimum salary, helped them with everything from WPs to insurance to mobile phone and internet registration, to lending them bikes permanently, getting driver licenses etc so I shed no tears. They also set up illegally businesses reserved for, and in competition with, Thais, don't register with the DBD, pay no tax and are pretty mouthy. Given that, and their historic transgressions that still live strongly among Thais, it is not surprising that there prevails a strong anti sentiment,

Strange my Thai GF has the same attitude towards the Burmese...she worked for a construction company and had to organise and pay the wages to them.

BUT...it was impossible for me to get into her head that no Thais would lower themselves to do the work...I guess Thais are easily brainwashed from an early age.

P.S sorry about the grey shading ...?

Hi lonewolf99, I have quite a lot of experience working/dealing with Burmese. There are differences between ethnic groups such as Bamar (Burmese) and Karen/Kayin, the former are generally more educated, more motivated and hardworking, the latter more obedient and easier to control. However, social status, rather than ethnicity generally determines what they will be like. We are mostly talking about low skilled workers here anyway.

A factory I consult for employs a few (including ethnic Bamar and Karen/Kayin). Most are obedient and don't rock the boat, so to speak. The only place in Thailand where I have seen evidence of what appears to be Burmese running their own businesses is Mae Sot, but even there, I have asked around and most of these businesses are Thai owned, but might be Burmese run in practice; i.e. they use Thai nominees.

On the other hand, many Burmese are overly paranoid about getting in trouble for activities which aren't even illegal. I once had some goods delivered to me in Mae Sot from the Burmese side (Myawady). I wanted them delivered to my hotel in town, where a truck would be arriving to pick them up later in the day.

The Burmese driver refused, asking, "what if I get caught?" I explained to him the following: First of all, the goods have already passed customs. Customs is the entry point into Thailand. If you were "caught" for smuggling it would have been there; thus me and you wouldn't be here having this conversation now. Secondly, the goods are perfectly legal so what's your problem? Thirdly, your truck is authorized to drive around Mae Sot, not merely within 100m of the border crossing, which is where he delivered the goods. Fourth, there are NO checkpoints within Mae Sot town.

In the end, there was no convincing this guy, even when I offered to pay him more. So I had to find a local songthaew driver, who along with some amount of the goods placed in my pickup delivered them to my hotel before they were picked up by said truck later on.

Had I known it would be this complicated, I would stayed in Myawady and found a more reliable driver before he crossed the bridge, ensuring he would do exactly as I wanted.

In Myanmar itself, I've had mouthy workers complain about this and that but I've always put them in their place - if they don't like it, I can always find new workers. I don't like getting upset, but when a local driver from Myawady didn't want to help me I furiously took my stuff out of his van and told him to get lost. I eventually found another guy who did exactly as I told him - after all, I'm paying these people for a service, I'm the customer so I'm the one who gets to demand how I would like something done. NOT them.

I never seem to have any problems with Thai drivers and Thai workers. However, I still like Burmese workers because they tend to be easier to control; what I don't like is the constant complaining.

[casualbiker]

She illegally removed her time card, which is an internal document documenting time worked) and property of the employer. Nobody forced her to work there, and she should go back to Burma if she doesn't like it. My company's experience with Burmese workers is very bad, eventhough we paid them well in excess of the minimum salary, helped them with everything from WPs to insurance to mobile phone and internet registration, to lending them bikes permanently, getting driver licenses etc so I shed no tears. They also set up illegally businesses reserved for, and in competition with, Thais, don't register with the DBD, pay no tax and are pretty mouthy. Given that, and their historic transgressions that still live strongly among Thais, it is not surprising that there prevails a strong anti sentiment,

At the textile company that my wife works at they did have a problem when they initially started employing Burmese about 4 years ago.. they were working to hard, finishing the jobs quicker and to a higher standard than the Thai workers. A little chat from the Thai supervisor to the Burmese translator sorted it out... now they all work at the slower speed although generally the quality is still higher from most of the Burmese.. sorted!

[Tomtomtom69]

She illegally removed her time card, which is an internal document documenting time worked) and property of the employer. Nobody forced her to work there, and she should go back to Burma if she doesn't like it. My company's experience with Burmese workers is very bad, eventhough we paid them well in excess of the minimum salary, helped them with everything from WPs to insurance to mobile phone and internet registration, to lending them bikes permanently, getting driver licenses etc so I shed no tears. They also set up illegally businesses reserved for, and in competition with, Thais, don't register with the DBD, pay no tax and are pretty mouthy. Given that, and their historic transgressions that still live strongly among Thais, it is not surprising that there prevails a strong anti sentiment,

A classic case of shooting the messenger - by you and the Thai authorities

Get your priorities right. Without the cheap labour of five million immigrant workers from places like Myanmar and Laos, you'd be paying more for your supermarket chicken and a lot more besides.

This woman's decision to "steal" her time card, while technically illegal, was justified in the circumstances. How else could she prove the hours she was being made to work for a pittance? I admire her courage, as she must have been aware of the likely consequences of her action.

Her transgression pales into insignificance compared with those responsible for running a farm where the human livestock appears to be treated little better than the luckless chickens.

Instead of following the unhealthy trend of punishing whistleblowers, the Thai authorities should tell the farm's owners to improve immigrant working hours - or close the place down.

"Paying more for your supermarket chicken" is hearsay. The only reason why there are 2-3 million (not 5) Burmese and Cambodian workers in Thailand (Lao only make up a small percentage of the total, perhaps 5%) is because Thais don't want to do this work and there's a labour shortage. Not because employers prefer the foreign labourers. Unless they are not properly registered, having to get them passports, visas, work permits, health insurance etc. costs a lot of money, which adds to a business' overheads.

Maybe the worker should have taken a picture of the timesheet, not brought it with her, if she wanted to make a point. Everyone has a smartphone these days, even migrant labourers.

[seajae]

I would presume that the time card was returned after showing it to the workers rights network so she could get the appropriate pay, if thats the case then it wasnt stolen. The only problem here is the owner/boss being caught out red handedly ripping off his workers and losing face severely. If the worker is charged with anything and the owner is not it will show the world just how pathetic the law is as well as how important saving face is to those that run the country instead of justice.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

When i read this stuff,every day about the inhumanities in this country,i come to the conclusion that my Mrs doesn't realise how lucky she is.She is looked after,safe,and cared for.And i am sure that a lot of Ferangs with wives who have no idea of what they could have ended up as.

[KarenBravo]

Truth is the enemy in this country.

[Bujan]

 

I've worked 20 hours a day for weeks at a time so not its not impossibe.

But shoot the messenger anyway.

 

So, if I understand you well, you did eat (3 times a day), sleep, wash within 4 hours a day. Congratulations Mr Superman!!! Unless.....

[ratcatcher]

.....and what was that headline regarding upgrade of status in US report ?????

Is this what you are trying to say? Not related.

Exclusive: U.S. to upgrade Thailand in annual human trafficking report - sources

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/928250-exclusive-us-to-upgrade-thailand-in-annual-human-trafficking-report-sources/

[nausea]

I'm sorry we're living in an age of Hobbsian and Malthusian economics. You need a strong leader, and losers are just going to have to eat it up.

[TSF]

These migrant workers from Cambodia & Myanmar come to Thailand to do menial jobs, they get harrased by Thai immigration & police, they get under-paid and cheated out of their salaries by their Thai bosses, they get bullied, raped and murdered by Thais. Yet they keep coming. Makes you wonder how hard is it to earn a crust back in their own countries that they have to come here and get F'd over by these sly devils.

[bangon04]

. Given that, and their historic transgressions that still live strongly among Thais, it is not surprising that there prevails a strong anti sentiment,

Absolutely right - we have all heard the story how, in an age of mindless war long long ago, the Burmese completely humiliated the weak and pathetic Thais by being more brutal and aggressive than the Thais, despite the Thais having delusions of greatness at the time, not backed up by any real strength.

Therefore as a result of this historic and justified grand loss of Thai face, all Thai children should be taught from an early age to spit on any Burmese person in the modern world regardless of the realities. This is a matter of national pride and duty.

[TSF]

. Given that, and their historic transgressions that still live strongly among Thais, it is not surprising that there prevails a strong anti sentiment,

Absolutely right - we have all heard the story how, in an age of mindless war long long ago, the Burmese completely humiliated the weak and pathetic Thais by being more brutal and aggressive than the Thais, despite the Thais having delusions of greatness at the time, not backed up by any real strength.

Therefore as a result of this historic and justified grand loss of Thai face, all Thai children should be taught from an early age to spit on any Burmese person in the modern world regardless of the realities. This is a matter of national pride and duty.

Can't comment on Burma but I travel frequently to the other neighboring countries and conversations with the locals have led me to the conclusion that Thais must surely be the most despised race in SEA. I hear the same story everywhere I go in Lao, Cambodia, Malaysia, that the Thais are arrogant, condescending, aggressive.

[Johpa]

She illegally removed her time card, which is an internal document documenting time worked) and property of the employer. Nobody forced her to work there, and she should go back to Burma if she doesn't like it. My company's experience with Burmese workers is very bad, eventhough we paid them well in excess of the minimum salary, helped them with everything from WPs to insurance to mobile phone and internet registration, to lending them bikes permanently, getting driver licenses etc so I shed no tears. They also set up illegally businesses reserved for, and in competition with, Thais, don't register with the DBD, pay no tax and are pretty mouthy. Given that, and their historic transgressions that still live strongly among Thais, it is not surprising that there prevails a strong anti sentiment,

Apart from my doubting your ability to shed any tears, why on earth would your company ever hire any Burmese given the company's previous experience and inherited, and irrational, historical disdain for Burmese?

[cumgranosalum]

She illegally removed her time card, which is an internal document documenting time worked) and property of the employer. Nobody forced her to work there, and she should go back to Burma if she doesn't like it. My company's experience with Burmese workers is very bad, eventhough we paid them well in excess of the minimum salary, helped them with everything from WPs to insurance to mobile phone and internet registration, to lending them bikes permanently, getting driver licenses etc so I shed no tears. They also set up illegally businesses reserved for, and in competition with, Thais, don't register with the DBD, pay no tax and are pretty mouthy. Given that, and their historic transgressions that still live strongly among Thais, it is not surprising that there prevails a strong anti sentiment,

those are the sort of words

I'd expect to hear from someone who is justifying their own mistreatment and exploitation of foreign workers.

how's about giving a newspaper a guided tour of your company? BEFORE any cover-up?

[Wilsonandson]

This story sounds a bit fishy?

I've trawled the net for clues but the connection is slow due to high traffic.

[Tomtomtom69]

. Given that, and their historic transgressions that still live strongly among Thais, it is not surprising that there prevails a strong anti sentiment,

Absolutely right - we have all heard the story how, in an age of mindless war long long ago, the Burmese completely humiliated the weak and pathetic Thais by being more brutal and aggressive than the Thais, despite the Thais having delusions of greatness at the time, not backed up by any real strength.

Therefore as a result of this historic and justified grand loss of Thai face, all Thai children should be taught from an early age to spit on any Burmese person in the modern world regardless of the realities. This is a matter of national pride and duty.

Can't comment on Burma but I travel frequently to the other neighboring countries and conversations with the locals have led me to the conclusion that Thais must surely be the most despised race in SEA. I hear the same story everywhere I go in Lao, Cambodia, Malaysia, that the Thais are arrogant, condescending, aggressive.

Those Malaysians, Cambodians, Lao etc. must have some serious issues if all they do is hate on others.

My view is that the Cambodians and Myanmar are great people in general, but have more of a "mob mentality" than the Thais. When they feel like they are slighted by anyone, they will easily turn to violence. Nationalism in those countries is just as rife as in Thailand (more so in Cambodia than in Myanmar since that country is fractured along different ethnic lines). The Cambodians are way more aggressive than Thais, when push comes to shove. Plenty of examples to prove this - the 2003 riots outside the Thai embassy, the riots in the Rong Kluea border market in Aranyaprathet earlier this year as a result of Thai authorities peacefully taking away fake goods; riots against the Vietnamese near their embassy in Phnom Penh on multiple occasions and also the Viet border, some of which was stirred up by ultra-nationalist opposition figures. Not to mention labour disputes etc.

B​y contrast, I have never seen Thais riot anywhere. Apart from small rivalries, never seen large numbers of people gang up against each other.

In Myanmar, ethnic rivalry and sectarian violence is rife. Every other month it seems that there is a dispute between Buddhists and Muslims. These disputes almost always end up in the destruction of mosques, houses and the loss of lives. Most recent incident happened just days ago in Waw, near Bago, which is less than 2 hours drive north, north-east of Yangon. One mosque was destroyed and the house of a local villager who was the trigger for the dispute.

I also had the misfortune of witnessing a fight that occurred at the entrance to the Mae Sot-Myawady friendship bridge on the Myanmar side, in the middle of the day back in 2014. Two guys punching each other up ON THE BORDER blocking all the traffic surrounded by dozens of people before one police officer managed to break up the fight and told us it was "OK".

Another time saw a driver who was sideswiped by another vehicle in a traffic jam get out and tried to throw a rock at the truck which accidentally hit him. His wife tried to restrain him. This happened in northern Shan State last year. On the same evening, a motorcyclist travelling in the opposite direction threw a stone at our car because our driver had his high beams turned on.

All of this experienced just being in Myanmar for a few days. Seems like some Burmese definitely have aggressive personalities and might need to take some "anger management" classes.

The Lao are almost identical to the Thais (especially Isarn people) but have been brainwashed by 40+ years of Marxist ideology. They should realize that Thailand is a better friend to them than the Chinese and the Vietnamese. The former in particular, look down on them and want to steal what they can from the "lazy, uncultured" Lao. Plenty of Lao realize this, but for some bizarre reason some of them hate Thais instead, which is similar to hating your uncle, because he told you not to place your elbows on the dining table during dinner.

Thais aren't taking anything from Laos these days. The middle kingdom to the north is, and the sooner the Lao realize this the better, unless they want to become second class citizens in an expanded China.

Edited June 30, 2016 by Tomtomtom69

[cardinalblue]

FA

Your experience has no bearing on this women's situation unless you are of course stereo-typing or racial profiling.....

[Tomtomtom69]

Yes it does, just like my other post and the other member who has direct experience working with Burmese (who I have already stated, are by and large, lovely people).

[waldroj]

Seems this issue is not going to be covered up!

"... The farm owner has not commented on the allegations but the buyer — poultry giant Betagro — promptly suspended its contract and called all its suppliers in to discuss labour issues … Betagro has investigated and found that the issue was occurred (sic) at our contracted farm named Thammakaset Farm 2 ..."!

More details at:

http://ab.co/29aYENs;

http://www.globalpost.com/article/6779415/2016/06/29/thai-food-giant-drops-chicken-farm-over-labour-abuses; and

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/thai-food-giant-drops-chicken-134238698.html.

[seajae]

well its made the Australian news and apparently the owner got very upset when he found out all of the complaints were up on facebook so he took all the workers to the police station and they had to sign statements saying they would not post on facebook again. Definitelty collusion between the owner and the police here but now all the workers have left the chicken farm so looks like the owner is buggered if he cannot get anymore workers and has to pay thousands in back pay to all the workers plus as stated above the buyers are refusing to deal with him, hopefully he will have to pay out quite a lot of money , even better would be him losing everything due to his corrupt ways

[Chris Lawrence]

How dare this woman point out the abuse she is suffering. Isn't she aware of how the poor wealthy poultry owner now feels in his own community. An utter disgrace. Make her work at half pay for the next few months.

Edited July 1, 2016 by Chris Lawrence