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The Nation & BKK post (13-11-99)
- Subject: The Nation & BKK post (13-11-99)
- From: mandalay@xxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 21:14:00
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<b>Lost wages forced illegals' return<br>
</b><font face="arial">THE hundred-plus Burmese who swam back to Thailand
after being forced out of the country at the beginning of the Nov 4
crackdown on illegal workers, merely wanted to collect their unpaid
salaries, a senior policeman said yesterday. <br>
Police Gen Sant Sarutanon, a deputy national police commissioner in his
capacity as a member of the sub-committee trying to find solutions to the
problem of illegal foreign labour, said their employers had not paid the
wages. <br>
''Some employers were really helpful. On the day the crackdown began,
they transported their [illegal] Burmese workers to us. I wonder if they
intended to ignore some unpaid wages,'' Sant said, tongue in cheek.
<br>
The policeman denied earlier reports that the Burmese swam across the
border river into Thailand after oppressive acts by Burmese soldiers. He
said his reliable informant in Burma, a Buddhist monk, did not witness
such incidents. <br>
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said yesterday he had assigned permanent
secretary for labour Prasong Rananan to look into the issue of unpaid
wages. <br>
He said action should be taken against employers who intended to take
advantage of a government crackdown by refusing to pay the money they
owed to immigrant workers. <br>
''It's both unfair and unethical,'' Chuan said. <br>
The prime minister, however, stressed that the crackdown would go on,
without exception, as the large number of illegal aliens was seen as a
threat to national security and a source of social problems. <br>
The number of illegal Burmese immigrants is estimated at more than one
million. <br>
Sant said yesterday the crackdown on illegal workers was necessary and
that the government should stick to its policy. He added that the
illegals posed three major problems for Thailand: they were a security
threat; they created a higher crime rate; and they caused higher
unemployment among Thais. <br>
Deputy Labour Minister Jongchai Thiangtham said yesterday representatives
from businesses that still required foreign labour would meet with
government representatives next week to discuss the matter. <br>
However, he advised the employers to improve the conditions of their
factories to make them more attractive to Thai workers. <br>
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan yesterday defended Thailand's
action in pushing illegal Burmese workers across the border, saying Thai
authorities were doing their best to facilitate the repatriation and
ensuring that it was conducted safely. <br>
Surin said Thailand must tackle the chronic problem of illegal workers
which posed a wide range of threats including security, crime, health and
sanitation. <br>
Speaking at a press conference, Surin said the relevant Thai authorities
were working closely to seek a viable solution to the problem of illegal
workers and to avoid any possible violence in their repatriation. <br>
''The Burmese workers who entered the country illegally are actually
subject to legal actions,'' he said. ''But they are not facing any
charges of illegally entering the country. What we are doing is trying to
facilitate their return.'' <br>
Surin dismissed a rumour that Burma had stipulated that Nov 14 was the
deadline for the return of the workers after which they would be denied
entry. <br>
''We have checked on the information, it is false and is aimed at
creating confusion,'' he said. <br>
He said both Rangoon and the Burmese Embassy in Thailand had confirmed
that the Burmese government had made no such announcement. <br>
Hundreds of Burmese workers rushed to cross the Thai border on Thursday
after rumours of the deadline spread. <br>
Surin said that, according to international law, no country could refuse
to take back its own nationals. <br>
The Nation</font> <br>
<br>
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<b>Burmese say wages underpaid<br>
<font size=2>Supamart Kasem<br>
</font><font size=5>T</font></b><font size=3>wo Thai employees of a
garment company in Mae Sot district were seized and held yesterday by
deported Burmese workers who demanded the firm pay them their full
outstanding wages.<br>
Police said Rakjit Saengsilp, of the accounts section at Fupo Knitting
Thailand, and a security guard were grabbed at a border crossing in Mae
Taw Talay village, opposite Ban Mae Ku, Mae Sot.<br>
The two had been sent by the firm with 90,000 baht to pay off 94 deported
Burmese workers. However, the Burmese said they were owed more than
200,000 baht.<br>
They demanded the company pay all the money outstanding.<br>
The two were later released and it was understood the firm's management
was in the process of negotiating with the former employees.<br>
Yesterday, about 300 Burmese illegal migrants were arrested by local
police and military volunteers in raids on Mae Sot slums and handed over
to immigration officers for deportation.<br>
------------------------------------------ <br>
<b>Deportations will continue, says Surin<br>
</font></b><font size=2><i>No truth in rumours of Rangoon deadline<br>
</font></i><font size=5><b>T</font></b><font size=3>hailand remains
strongly committed to the continuing repatriation of illegal Burmese
migrants despite accusations of violence and the unwillingness of the
workers to return home.<br>
</font><table border=0>
<tr><td width=280></td></tr>
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<font size=2>TwoThai employees of aTak company are questioned by
police after being freed by deported Burmese migrant workers who
held them hostage briefly yesterday, demanding the firm pay them their
full wages. - Jetjaras Na ranong</font><font size=3><br>
Reports Rangoon had imposed a Sunday deadline for an end to the
deportations were not correct, Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said
yesterday.<br>
They were based on rumours which could have been spread by vested
interest groups trying to cause confusion.<br>
"We have it confirmed from both the Burmese embassy in Bangkok and
the Thai embassy in Rangoon that there was no such announcement that
Burma would not receive their citizens after Nov 14," the minister
said.<br>
Burma could not refuse their return because it was against international
law. A country could not deny the citizenship of its people.<br>
Mr Surin also rejected reports that returnees had been subject to
conflict and violence.<br>
"Those who came back to Thailand after being repatriated are very
few in number, much fewer than those who crossed the border," he
said, but acknowledged he did not have the actual figures.<br>
Thai authorities tried to check all information before sending them back.
Repatriation was on the principle of "exit at the very same point of
entry" of these immigrants, he said.<br>
"There was no forced repatriation or violence. Thai officials have
co-ordinated with their Burmese counterparts," he said.<br>
He conceded the deportees might try to sneak back into Thailand again
when they learned of promising shelters and jobs offered by certain Thai
employers.<br>
"We have provided humanitarian aid to these immigrants but it is
time for them to return to their own home to prevent further
complications in areas of security, health, and crime," Mr Surin
said.<br>
The government had already announced that employment of foreign labour
will be allowed only in 37 provinces and 18 job areas.<br>
</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times">"We will continue to send
back illegal immigrants and will keep explaining our actions to all the
parties concerned," he said.<br>
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