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BKK POST: January 24, 1998: LABOUR



January 24, 1998: LABOUR 

              Deporting aliens
              would hurt rice,
              fishery sectors

              Wages and working conditions attract
              very few Thais

              Byline Here Supaphan Plengmaneepun Woranuj
              Maneerungsee 

              At least two businesses - fisheries and rice - could be
              devastated if the government goes ahead with its plan to
              repatriate alien workers as both industries employ large numbers
              of foreign workers, largely because Thais do not like the work,
              according to academics and industry leaders.

              The fishery in particular has been ignored by Thai workers as it
              pays low wages and the work is potentially dangerous and
              unhealthy, according to Chulalongkorn University economist Lae
              Dilokwitthayarat.

              Labour Minister Trairong Suwankhiri announced earlier this
              month that the government intended to repatriate 300,000 illegal
              workers within three months.

              There are about 300,000 aliens employed by the fishery
              industries, including 70,000 at sea. A further 3,000 foreigners
              work in the rice warehouses along Chao Phrya River, mainly in
              Samut Prakan and Bangkok. 

              The fishery industry will see many closure if the government
              remains intent on repatriating all alien workers, warned Vicharn
              Sirichai-ekawat, president of Thai Fisheries Association.

              "If the government insists on forcing all the alien workforce out of
              the country, the only alternative for the fisheries business
              closure," he said.

              Mr Vicharn said he believed Thais still had a bad attitude toward
              working in the industry.

              According to Mr Vicharn, in addition to the 370,000 aliens
              directly employed by the industry, there were an additional
              200,000 employed in fish canning factories.

              He said the fishery operators had no objection in principle to the
              government's policy of replacing alien workers with Thai labour.

              In fact, the industry prefers Thai workers as it is more convenient
              for communication and does not create problems of illegal entry
              by the alien workers.

              He said alien workers enter Thailand through three channels -
              crossing the border, being imported by job placement firms and
              entering the country with the knowledge of some Thai authorities.
              He said authorities charged about 2,000-5,000 baht per person.

              Mr Vicharn said alien workers favoured working in the fishery
              industry because they earned good incomes and could easily
              escape arrest.

              The Fisheries Association previously called on its members to
              register their alien workers.

              But after registration, the alien workers moved out of the industry
              to find better jobs resulting in the recurrent labour shortage. 

              The fishery industry is now predicting it will be short of about
              100,000 workers, particularly in the factories in Samut Sakhon,
              as a result of the registration of aliens.

              Mr Vicharn strongly denied allegations that the private sector
              had imported alien workers to reduce costs, saying anyone who
              makes such suggestions does not know the facts.

              He said the public and private sector should hold discussions to
              negotiate a workable solution to the problem.

              "Let's talk. There is no need to make a mountain out of a
              molehill," he said. "Now most operators are downhearted over
              the government's plan to repatriate alien workers."

              And the situation is getting worse as some authorities are
              extorting money from the fishery operators, he alleged.

              The Fisheries Association is due to meet on tomorrow to discuss
              the problem.

              However, a source from the Fishery Department, who asked not
              to be named, rejected Mr Vicharn's remarks, saying some
              operators were behaving selfishly by demanding access to cheap
              labour and unwilling to pay social welfare as demanded by the
              law. 

              He said he believed Thais would be willing to work in the
              industry if they were paid reasonable wages.

              He added repatriation of alien workers within in a short period
              would not be an easy job as political factors are expected
              complicate the process.

              Sombun Pathaichan, manager of the Rice Exporters'
              Association, said the government's repatriation programme
              would definitely affect the 57 billion baht rice industry.

              He said workers were employed to load the 100-kilo sacks of
              rice from the godowns onto barges or lighters, and unload to
              vessels which are anchored off Ko Si Chang in Chon Buri before
              departing to overseas markets.

              About 3,000 alien workers replaced Thai labourers three years
              ago when the economy was booming as Thai preferred to work
              as taxi drivers and in industrial plants. The alien workers were
              employed with the government's permission, Mr Sombun said.

              "We need sufficient workers in the rice business to ensure rice
              will be delivered to buyer countries on schedule, otherwise we
              will face expensive fines," he said. 

              The rice industry employs workers from neighbouring countries
              on a daily rate of between 300 baht and 400 baht, said Mr
              Sombun. "Even with such a high pay rate, I don't think Thai
              workers will want to be labourers at the rice godowns." 




                                     




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Last Modified: Sat, Jan 24, 1998