Airport Staff Are Victims Of Sexual Harassment

[sriracha john]

Airport staff are victims of sexual harassment

Suvarnabhumi Airport authorities yesterday admitted some contract workers had sexually harassed airport and airline staff. Airport director Somchai Swasdipol confirmed cases of sexual harassment at the vast facility. He said incidents would not be tolerated and the airport would employ more security for late-night shifts.

The admission came after the Thai Airways International labour union complained of construction workers and security guards sexually harassing female employees on night shift. "Security is not extensive enough, partly because the airport is so huge with so many users," Somchai said.

He had ordered an increase in security guards, screening of construction workers as well as other tough measures.

Officials would be asked to consider a union request that construction workers leave the airport by 5pm.

As well as airline staff, women employees at duty-free shops had complained about harassment and peeping toms.

Airports of Thailand (AOT) president Chotisak Asapaviriya yesterday said Suvarnabhumi had about 1,000 security guards. It would boost the number by 300 on additional night patrols.

*hmmm... in the 2nd paragraph above, it says that security guards are the ones committing the sexual harassment. Does adding MORE security guards...ESPECIALLY on the night shift, when the offenses are alleged to have occurred, really the best course to go???

"We will also increase lighting," he said.

Chotisak asked all victims of harassment to come forward so disciplinary measures could be taken.

"We can check security cameras. If there is concrete evidence, we will immediately dismiss offenders," he said.

The airline union revealed the incidents on Tuesday. It said most harassment occurred in employee-only zones and parking areas.

Suvarnabhumi commenced commercial operations in late-September but many areas remain under construction or renovation.

Acting union chairman Somsak Srinual said yesterday harassment started as verbal only but had become increasingly serious. Some men had attempted to touch women. Other employees reported peeping toms in toilets.

Somsak was also investigating rumours of rapes, although no complainants had come forward.

He advised staff to use internal airport emergency telephones if they were attacked or witnessed an attack. "Come forward and we can check security cameras," he said.

The director vowed there would be no tolerance of sexual harassment - verbal or worse. "Offenders will be immediately reprimanded if witnessed and repeat offenders will be brought to police attention," he said.

Security officials would screen all contract workers entering and leaving the airport. "We have asked police to help ensure safety inside the airport too," he said.

Deputy National Police Commissioner General Ajiravid Subarnbhesaj said officers would ensure safety at the airport.

In a related development, an informed source revealed Transport Minister Admiral Theera Haocharoen was unhappy with AOT president Chotisak.

Since Suvarnabhumi opened, it has been plagued by problems - including baggage handling, check-in systems, a lack of toilets, a leaking roof, noise pollution and security problems.

- The Nation

[kurgen]

Since Suvarnabhumi opened, it has been plagued by problems - including baggage handling, check-in systems, a lack of toilets, a leaking roof, noise pollution and security problems.

Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thaksins legacy ?

[bkkandrew]

I thought that airports were supposed to be among the most secure establishments in a country, for obvious reasons..

I have consistently said (as a very frequent user) that one of the main effects of the rushed opening was that construction had to continue whilst passengers used the facility. These construction workers coming and going hardly contribute to the security of the place, as now we see writ large!!

[STEELINOX]

Bottom line is and I agree that Suvarnabhumi is not a secure facility. If security guards and construction workers can come and go as they please thru construction sites and not being scruitinized for their backgrounds; this implies that AOT needs to be replaced or governed by another body of government. This situation cannot be tolerated...

[sriracha john]

SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT

Sex offences prompt boost in security

Security has been stepped up at Suvarnabhumi following a stream of complaints of sexual harassment against female staff and passengers at the airport. Airport director Somchai Sawasdeephon said yesterday that more security guards would be deployed. Reinforcements are being brought in from Rachathewa police station in Samut Prakan. The move came one day after Thai Airways International's labour union demanded better protection for night-shift staff, some of whom were reportedly sexually harassed by construction workers at the airport. Construction workers are required to show a pass before entering the airport compound and their behaviour as well as the equipment they carry are usually subject to close scrutiny, Mr Somchai said. However, he admitted security had been rather lax at certain spots given the vast areas security personnel had to cover. Many parts of the new airport remain under construction and some labourers may have made indecent advances towards women in secluded and remote spots such as in the parking lot, he said. Holes had also been drilled into the cubicle walls of female staff toilets to create peep holes, he added. Mr Somchai threatened tough action against offenders and said repeated misconduct would lead to them being handed over to police.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/16Nov2006_news18.php

[sunreader]

If security is that lax this would be a wonderfully easy and dramatic target for Al Qaeda. A huge explosion would provide top quality publicity for the group. Just as long as they don't try to bring in any goods that customs could levy a tax on they should be fine.

[sriracha john]

Female airport staff 'fearful'

Female staff at Suvarnabhumi airport are working in a climate of fear as airport officials are turning a deaf ear to their complaints about inadequate safety measures at night. A woman ground staff member of Thai Airways International recalled being followed by men to the women's toilet area one night after her night shift had ended. The toilet is on the sixth floor of the airport car park building. Emerging from the restroom, she was told by her husband that he had managed to get her out of harm's way. ''My husband told me that he had seen two men walking behind me to the toilet. Just to make sure that I would be safe, he left the car and followed them. That scared them away,'' said the woman. Another female THAI employee said she was given lascivious looks on many occasions by construction workers in concourse C. ''Will it be possible to control access of staff, especially construction workers? This is an international airport and public safety should be the top concern. Imagine, even staff members feel unsafe in this place,'' she said. Other female employees at the airport, including those working at the King Power duty-free shops, are also saying the same thing, she said. They have lodged many complaints with the Airports of Thailand, demanding better safety measures. But the airport executives are doing nothing to bring improvements in this area, she said. ''We were just advised not to walk alone. We already go in groups. What we want to know is whether anything is being done to make the place more safer and reduce our fears,'' she said. Like any airline and duty-free shop officials, female cleaners also said that access to both male and female toilets in some locations was hard for guards to watch because the toilets were in security blind spots and facing the walls of concourses. They said no guard has ever been seen patrolling the toilet areas at night. One cleaner said she was the only one in charge of the toilets in the whole area and now she had enlisted help from a fellow cleaner and they watch each other's backs. The corridor between gates 5 and 9 of the concourse C is identified as an unsafe area because there are stairs leading down to the basement, they said. ''I always pray when I'm working there because if I am in danger, no one will come to my help,'' said the cleaner. Thousands of construction workers work each day in the passenger terminal and the concourses. Apart from construction of the subway link, they are also repairing floor tiles and power systems and decorating shops. Reports about sexual assaults have also prompted the THAI labour union to complain about inadequate safety measures inside the airport to the firm. Acting union leader Somsak Srinuan said that he has evidence that some of the union's female members were sexually harassed. Staff morale hit rock bottom after AoT executives dismissed the complaints as plain rumours, he said.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/18Nov2006_news05.php

Edited November 17, 2006 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

Female Thai Airways employees allege harassment from construction workers at new airport

BANGKOK, Thailand - More than a dozen female Thai Airways employees have accused construction workers at Bangkok's new international airport of sexual harassment, saying they were verbally or physically assaulted while working evening shifts, a union leader said Wednesday.

Suvarnabhumi airport opened in September but remains partly under construction, with workers roaming corridors through the night.

Three female ground staff said they were molested late at night by workers who groped them as they walked through dark, dimly lit corridors, said Somsak Srinual, head of the union that represents Thai Airways employees.

Women staffers have complained of finding workers peering over the toilet stalls in restrooms.

About a dozen have reported incidents of verbal harassment, Somsak said.

One Thai Airways employee, Santini Samiphakwiwatwej, told Channel 9 television on Tuesday that a construction worker appeared to be stalking her.

"Sometimes, he follows me," she said, adding that on one occasion she spotted him and ran toward a security guard. "When I turned back, he had disappeared."

The union has filed a complaint to the airport authority, Airports of Thailand, asking for more security after-hours and to have construction workers end their work days at 5 p.m., Somsak said. He said that airport authorities had set up a hotline number and promised to tackle the problem.

Since opening, the airport has faced a barrage of complaints from travelers, who say the airport lacks enough bathrooms and has overcrowded check-in areas.

- Associated Press

[Indifferent]

It strikes me that it is just the disparity between classes.

(lol..I know I'm opening myself up here).

Site labourers are not likely to be imbued with the social moralities of the well educated males of bangkok that these females are probably used to. Indeed if you go on any building site in the western world you will see similar (probably not as extreme) behaviour. And these workers are probably pulled in from surrounding provinces.

Just go outside of bangkok or to a village and you will see that Thai male courtship is very aggressive and the options of the woman to decline are limited. I've seen many examples of what I would consider lude and unacceptable behaviour result in the woman going home with the man.

Whilst not condoning the behaviour, I do believe that harrasment is the usual courtship tactic for a Thai male as (probably 90% of the time) it seems to work.

Flamers welcome

[Robski]

It strikes me that it is just the disparity between classes.

(lol..I know I'm opening myself up here).

Site labourers are not likely to be imbued with the social moralities of the well educated males of bangkok that these females are probably used to. Indeed if you go on any building site in the western world you will see similar (probably not as extreme) behaviour. And these workers are probably pulled in from surrounding provinces.

Just go outside of bangkok or to a village and you will see that Thai male courtship is very aggressive and the options of the woman to decline are limited. I've seen many examples of what I would consider lude and unacceptable behaviour result in the woman going home with the man.

Whilst not condoning the behaviour, I do believe that harrasment is the usual courtship tactic for a Thai male as (probably 90% of the time) it seems to work.

Flamers welcome

Good post

[Rajah]

The admission came after the Thai Airways International labour union complained of (...) security guards sexually harassing female employees on night shift. "Security is not extensive enough, partly because the airport is so huge with so many users," Somchai said.

Suvarnabhumi had about 1,000 security guards. It would boost the number by 300 on additional night patrols.

Guards controlling the guards...

Holes had also been drilled into the cubicle walls of female staff toilets to create peep holes, he added.

Suvarnabhumi would be a nice setting for a horror/slasher movie...

[steveromagnino]

Whilst not condoning the behaviour, I do believe that harrasment is the usual courtship tactic for a Thai male as (probably 90% of the time) it seems to work.

Flamers welcome

Good post

The blind leading the bland.

[astral]

I wonder why the new airport should be an worse than the old one?

Surely the guards have been moved over to the new location?

As well as airline staff, women employees at duty-free shops had complained about harassment and peeping toms.

Perhaps these girls should spend more time on the real job, not hiding in corners doing the hair or their nails,

then they would not feel that people are "peeping".

[Briggsy]

It strikes me that it is just the disparity between classes.

(lol..I know I'm opening myself up here).

Site labourers are not likely to be imbued with the social moralities of the well educated males of bangkok that these females are probably used to. Indeed if you go on any building site in the western world you will see similar (probably not as extreme) behaviour. And these workers are probably pulled in from surrounding provinces.

Just go outside of bangkok or to a village and you will see that Thai male courtship is very aggressive and the options of the woman to decline are limited. I've seen many examples of what I would consider lude and unacceptable behaviour result in the woman going home with the man.

Whilst not condoning the behaviour, I do believe that harrasment is the usual courtship tactic for a Thai male as (probably 90% of the time) it seems to work.

Flamers welcome

Unfortunately you're not wrong. Extreme examples of this can be seen when there is late-night football (I kid you not) and Songkran. Well-off Thais know the score and avoid any situation where there is any potential danger like the plague. This in no way, as you say, excuses the behaviour. I would add one thing. That is it is not confined to the peasant class.

[sriracha john]

AoT told to act on harassment cases

Thai Airways union warns of leaflet drive at airport

The labour union of Thai Airways International (THAI) is threatening to hand out leaflets to warn female air travellers about possible sexual harassment at Suvarnabhumi unless Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) tackles the problem. Acting union leader Somsak Srinual said there had been cases of sexual harassment at the new airport. He produced a hand-written complaint by a victim while demanding solutions from AoT before the end of this week. If the problem was ignored, the union would have to take action to warn passengers and airport staff, he said. ''The leaflets, which will come in three languages, Thai, English, and Japanese, will warn them not to walk alone. We do not want to discredit any party but want all agencies concerned to pay more attention to the problem, not just take a defensive stance,'' he said. Mr Somsak said although two THAI staff had complained they had been sexually harassed, AoT had treated their accounts as rumours, adding that everyone should accept the truth and resolve the issue before it got any worse. He said female staff members are worried as the agencies responsible had ignored the problem. Deputy union leader Krisanarat Buranasamrit said the terminal was poorly lit and quite empty at night, especially in its concourses D and G, where cases of sexual harassment had been reported. Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um, who inspected the airport yesterday, conceded that part of the passenger terminal was not well-lit. Besides, some zones were relatively quiet during off peak hours, he said. During his inspection, a female staff member of EgyptAir complained directly to him that she had been verbally harassed many times by construction workers and that a female worker who walked alone was often followed. Mr Sansern also visited nearby communities and heard complaints from residents about noise pollution and oil stains caused by aircraft exhaust. He ordered an investigation into the noise pollution and the exhaust oil stains, said to be from visiting aircraft.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/21Nov2006_news08.php

[Scott]

A friend of mine, who has a working connection with the airport, said that there was an employee who was raped, but was paid 2,000,000 baht not to report it. This apparently happened in the car park. This is just a rumor, but it is interesting that the authorities keep saying that no rapes have been reported to the police. Is this a clever way of not denying that it happened?

[taxexile]

screening of construction workers as well as other

"We can check security cameras. If there is concrete evidence, we will immediately dismiss offenders," he said.

i'll get me coat !!

[brahmburgers]

this report is a few days old. Initially, there were denials (surprise!) of any offences by authorities - which is ridiculous because how could top management know every little thing that's going on.

Somsak was also investigating rumours of rapes, although no complainants had come forward.

Also, there's obviously the stigma of female staff members not wanting to risk their jobs and reputations by speaking out. In sum, it's not an environment conducive to speaking out about transgressions.

Many changes need to be implemented:

#1 females need to be empowered and encouraged to speak up loud and clear - with no repercussions from management

#2 Management needs to take each report very seriously - and come down like a ton of bricks on perpetrators if it's clear there's been a violation. If it's not clear, a stern warning and/or dismissal is in order.

#3 (unfortunately) women need to travel in pairs and carry pepper spray (have never seen p.spray available in Thailand). and be given a course in self-defense tactics (knee to the groin or heel stamped on toe, etc).

Are there fire alarms at the airport? Seems to me there should be alarms throughout. a threatened female could pull the alarm. Also; take a photo of the culprit with mobile phone camera - though that takes the risk of getting the camera stolen or destroyed or used a weapon.

[wpcoe]

...(have never seen p.spray available in Thailand)...

I buy mine at the pharmacy counter at Foodland in Pattaya. There's a display stand of pepper spray on the counter by the cash register. I carry it as a defense against the soi dogs when I go for a walk. Never needed to use it yet, but it gives me some feeling of protection.

[Jai Dee]

AOT to investigate the sexual harassment case in Suvarnabhumi

The labour union of Thai Airways International (THAI) has demanded that Airports of Thailand (AOT) to quickly look into the case where female officers were sexually harassed in Suvarnabhumi Airport, adding that if the case has not been thoroughly considered within a week, caution leaflets will be distributed.

The union also would like the AOT to renovate the terminals because strong sunlight is radiating through the windows, and it consequently affects the operations. The union also wants the airport officers to know the correct procedures of using the emergency passages in the airport.

Mr. Sansern Wongcha-um (สรรเสริญ วงศ์ชะอุ่ม), the Deputy Minister of Transport, said the officials initially investigated the female restroom on the fifth floor of the airport but collected no clear evidence. However, he said many complaints have been made that the female officers were sexually harassed verbally. The AOT has been ordered to extensively investigate this matter as well as the orderliness of the arrival and departure terminals.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 21 November 2006