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THAILAND: Abuse of workers rights by the Siriwat Garment Factory in Mae Sot

September 25, 2003

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

26 September 2003

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UA-54-2003: THAILAND: Abuse of workers rights by the Siriwat Garment Factory in Mae Sot

THAILAND: Labour slavery; Inhumane working conditions
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Siriwat Garment Factory employer abused at least 75 Burmese migrant workers in Mae Sot, Thailand, who were forced to work under inhumane conditions. Half of the workers have been fired and the employer underpaid all the workers, violating the Thai labour law, after the workers had refused more work. The workers had worked for 41 hours without rest from 19 to 21 September. Burmese migrant workers are routinely underpaid and abused in this region without any consequences for the employers.

Your urgent action is required to pressure local authorities to correct this matter immediately.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

At least 75 legal Burmese workers (64 female and 11 male) from the Siriwat Garment Factory were severely abused by the factory employer, Mr. Chalermpol Paiboonpol, by being forced to work 41 hours without rest from 19 to 21 September 2003. Half of the workers were firedon 24 September and the employer underpaid all the workers. The workers' work permits expired on 25 September and they were in the process of extending them. However, dismissed workers currently face deportation to Burma.

According to Thai law, registered workers must receive the same protection as Thai workers. The minimum wage in Tak province is 133 baht per day (US $ 3), with 25 baht per hour for overtime work. However, the workers from the Siriwat Garment Factory had worked about 14 hours a day since 1 September 2003. They were frequently forced to work overtime, and during peak production periods were sometimes forced to work until 2:00am. However, they were only paid 50-70 baht per day (under US $ 2), with 5 baht an hour for overtime work. The factory owner also holds the original copy of the Burmese workers' work permits, which is not only a violation Thai immigration law, but also prohibits them from going to the public hospital (and they cannot afford a private one). The factory owner also charged the Burmese workers 100 baht for basic housing and 400 baht for a monthly work permit fee. Further, the working environment at the factory is very poor.

On 21 September, when the workers refused to do more overtime, the owner did not allow them to sleep at the dormitory, so they had to sleep on the ground outside of the factory. On 22 September, Mr. Chalermpol held a meeting with the manager and the workers, telling the workers that he would dismiss them if they would not agree to work overtime. He also called two local policemen to the factory, who, according to the workers, also threatened them that they would arrest them and send them back to Burma if they did not do the overtime work.

That same day, representatives of the Thai National Human Rights Commission, the local Labour Protection Welfare office of Tak, the Thai Lawyers Society and the Working Committee of the Ministry of Labour visited the factory.

The workers demanded the employer to pay their salaries on time; to provide enough break time each day according to the law; to guarantee a day off on Sunday; not cut the workers' wages if they refuse overtime work, and to improve working conditions in accordance with Thai labour law.

However, Mr. Chalermpol was not at the factory, so Khun Sompong called and made an appointment to meet him at the Labour Welfare Office on 24 September 2003. According to the workers, the officials of the local Labour Welfare Office immediately changed their attitudes towards the workers after the people from the Thai Lawyers' Society, the NHRC, and the Working Committee of the Ministry of Labour had left the factory. Khun Sompong even told the workers that they would be able to find new jobs at other factories if they were laid off.

At 5:30pm on 22 September, Ms. Khun Suda, the factory manager, fired all the workers and paid the workers¡¦ last salary of 1,500 baht. The workers refused to accept the money, claiming that they would await a decision from the Labour Protection Welfare Office. All of the workers had to stay outside at night, fearing threat by the factory employer and of being deported to Burma.

Latest information:

After a great deal of negotiation, Mr. Chalermpol agreed to provide work permits for only half of the workers and the others had to leave the factory. At 10:00pm on 25 September, the employer came with two security guards and paid each worker 2,500 baht of last month's salary. However, according to the Thai law, the workers should be paid 5,000 baht and the employer should pay each worker 15,000 baht including compensation (10,000 baht) and last month's salary (5,000 baht). Thai law clearly notes that the employer should pay the worker two months minimum wages if they do not want to employ the worker.

Burmese migrant workers are routinely underpaid and abused in this region without any consequences for the employers. For example, in June 2003, 420 Burmese migrant workers from King Body Concept Co. Factory were fired and deported to Burma after demanding their legal rights. The immigration office immediately sent them back to Burma without any investigation of the dispute between the factory owner and the workers, which is a violation Thai law.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to:

1. Deputy Director General
Department of Labour Protection and Welfare
Ministry of Labour
Khweng Din Daeng
Bangkok 10400
fax: 662 245 3192
email: pr_webmaster@labour.go.th

2. Prof. Saneh Chamrik
Chairperson
The National Human Rights Commissoner
Street Address: 422 Phya Thai Road
Pathumwan District, Bangkok 10330
THAILAND
Tel: +66 2 219 2940
Fax: +66 2 219 2940
E-mail: commission@nhrc.th

3. Mr Y. Nodera, Regional Director
ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
United Nations Building, 11th Floor
Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, P.O. Box 2-349
Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Fax: 66 2 288 3056 (direct), 288 3062
e-mail: bangkok@ilobkk.or.th

4. Mr. Sattar
UN Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Palais Wilson, Rue des Paquis 52, Geneva
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006

5. Mr. Chalermpol Paiboonpol
The employer
Siriwat Garment Factory
6/7 Moo 3, Tambon Mae Ba, Mae Sot, Tak
THAILAND

Suggested letter:

Dear

Re: Abuse of workers rights by the Siriwat Garment Factory in Mae Sot

I am very concerned by reports that at least 75 Burmese legal workers, employed by the Siriwat Garment Factory in Mae Sot, were severely abused by the factory employer, Mr. Chalermpol Paiboonpol, by being forced to work under inhumane conditions. The workers had worked for 41 hours without rest from 19 to 21 September and half of the workers were fired after they refused more overwork.

In addition, the employer underpaid to the workers and failed to pay compensation for dismissal, in keeping with Thai labour law. More seriously, the local Labour Protection Welfare didn't take serious action on this matter and failed to resolve the dispute after they interviewed the workers.

I urge you to take action against the owner of the Siriwat Garment Factory, who has violated Thai law and abused the rights of migrant workers. I also urge you to take action that ensures the dismissed workers will receive their full rights under Thai law.

I also urge the Thai government to provide equal treatment to all migrant workers, and to respect their rights and dignity according to current Thai law and international labor law.
In particular, the Ministry of Labour should make a special committee for the protection of migrant workers and establish an office in Mae Sot to achieve this. I further urge the Thai government to ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, which entered into force on July 1, 2003, and to also create a policy to protect migrant workers in full compliance with the Convention.

Yours faithfully


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Thank you.

Kim Soo A
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-54-2003
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.