Mekong Migration Network (MMN) & Action Network for Migrants in Thailand (ANM)
JOINT STATEMENT
Workers at Risk.
Greed, Overcrowding, lack of public transport
On Monday 4th April 2011, Thailand witnessed another terrible road accident. 16
Burmesemigrant workers were killed and nearly 50 injured when the truck that they
were packed ontocollided with another truck in Samut Sakorn Province, near
Bangkok, Thailand. The workerswere on their way to work at a food processing
factory in Mahachai. Many of these workers hadfollowed the new rules and regulations
to have their nationality verified and held temporary passports.
Every morning and evening all over Thailand there are trucks overcrowded with workers,
Thai, Burmese, Cambodian, Laotian, men and women heading to and from work. In
some cases, these trucks are organized by brokers who arrive at a designated spot
every day, pick up workers and drop them off at different work sites. In others, the
trucks are organized by the factories to bring in the workers. They are not hidden.
The workers are in full view of everyone. The trucks often speed through towns
throwing the workers who are hanging on for dear life half way out of the truck.
At the end of a tiring day on the construction site, theworkers can barely stand up,
but in many cases, they don’t have to make much effort, because the trucks are so
tightly packed that it would be impossible to fall over, but unfortunately not impossible
to be thrown out. Laws which enforce seat belts and crash helmets seem to be of no
use when it is possible to pack workers into the back of a truck with no safety
protection whatsoever. All vehicles in Thailand must be insured, and all insurances
will specify how many people can be carried in a vehicle. But these trucks are
rarely stopped by the police. Maybe because the police/immigration also have the
same practice and overcrowd their own trucks when deporting migrant workers.
Transporting workers in this manner had become the norm because:
a) Any migrant worker without a temporary passport (more than a million) cannot
travel freely, and therefore have to rely on brokers to transport them from place
to place, including from their living quarters to their work places.
b) Without other systems in place, the brokers running the trucks provide the only
link that migrants have with the work available for that day. The brokers make their
money by being the middle men between the contractor and the migrants and aim
to make as much profit as possible. They cram as many migrant workers as they
can into their truck and then deliver them to different work sites, collecting a fee at each
c) In most towns in Thailand, apart from Bangkok, there are very limited, if any public
transport systems. The alternative systems, the songteow (red bus), are too expensive
for workers on minimum wage.
d) Migrant workers have faced restrictions on getting driving licences and thus cannot
ride motorbikes as other workers do.
The MMN and ANM are deeply upset by this further loss of lives of young migrants.
This dangerous practice must be stopped before more workers lose their lives or are
permanently disabled. We call on the Royal Thai Government to ensure that:
The families of all workers killed are fully compensated
The injured workers receive full free hospital care and are compensated for loss of
work time
Safety regulations for all forms of transportation are strictly enforced, with careful
attention to the safety of the workers in the process of enforcing the law
Public transport systems are improved, especially in towns which have grown
dramatically due to increased investment, economic growth and increased population
of migrant workers
To decrease the dependency on brokers, job placement services should be
available for migrants to find employment by themselves
That restrictions on travel are lifted for all registered migrants
That all registered migrants are allowed to take driving tests and own their
own motorbikes
JOINT STATEMENT
Workers at Risk.
Greed, Overcrowding, lack of public transport
On Monday 4th April 2011, Thailand witnessed another terrible road accident. 16
Burmesemigrant workers were killed and nearly 50 injured when the truck that they
were packed ontocollided with another truck in Samut Sakorn Province, near
Bangkok, Thailand. The workerswere on their way to work at a food processing
factory in Mahachai. Many of these workers hadfollowed the new rules and regulations
to have their nationality verified and held temporary passports.
Every morning and evening all over Thailand there are trucks overcrowded with workers,
Thai, Burmese, Cambodian, Laotian, men and women heading to and from work. In
some cases, these trucks are organized by brokers who arrive at a designated spot
every day, pick up workers and drop them off at different work sites. In others, the
trucks are organized by the factories to bring in the workers. They are not hidden.
The workers are in full view of everyone. The trucks often speed through towns
throwing the workers who are hanging on for dear life half way out of the truck.
At the end of a tiring day on the construction site, theworkers can barely stand up,
but in many cases, they don’t have to make much effort, because the trucks are so
tightly packed that it would be impossible to fall over, but unfortunately not impossible
to be thrown out. Laws which enforce seat belts and crash helmets seem to be of no
use when it is possible to pack workers into the back of a truck with no safety
protection whatsoever. All vehicles in Thailand must be insured, and all insurances
will specify how many people can be carried in a vehicle. But these trucks are
rarely stopped by the police. Maybe because the police/immigration also have the
same practice and overcrowd their own trucks when deporting migrant workers.
Transporting workers in this manner had become the norm because:
a) Any migrant worker without a temporary passport (more than a million) cannot
travel freely, and therefore have to rely on brokers to transport them from place
to place, including from their living quarters to their work places.
b) Without other systems in place, the brokers running the trucks provide the only
link that migrants have with the work available for that day. The brokers make their
money by being the middle men between the contractor and the migrants and aim
to make as much profit as possible. They cram as many migrant workers as they
can into their truck and then deliver them to different work sites, collecting a fee at each
c) In most towns in Thailand, apart from Bangkok, there are very limited, if any public
transport systems. The alternative systems, the songteow (red bus), are too expensive
for workers on minimum wage.
d) Migrant workers have faced restrictions on getting driving licences and thus cannot
ride motorbikes as other workers do.
The MMN and ANM are deeply upset by this further loss of lives of young migrants.
This dangerous practice must be stopped before more workers lose their lives or are
permanently disabled. We call on the Royal Thai Government to ensure that:
The families of all workers killed are fully compensated
The injured workers receive full free hospital care and are compensated for loss of
work time
Safety regulations for all forms of transportation are strictly enforced, with careful
attention to the safety of the workers in the process of enforcing the law
Public transport systems are improved, especially in towns which have grown
dramatically due to increased investment, economic growth and increased population
of migrant workers
To decrease the dependency on brokers, job placement services should be
available for migrants to find employment by themselves
That restrictions on travel are lifted for all registered migrants
That all registered migrants are allowed to take driving tests and own their
own motorbikes
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