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NEWS - Junta's Selfishness Destroys
- Subject: NEWS - Junta's Selfishness Destroys
- From: suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 05:36:00
Subject: Re: NEWS - Junta's Selfishness Destroys Thai Buinesses and Economy
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This is the same problem we see on the US/Mexico border, Busines
owners<br>
(people with money) taking advantage of workers (desperate people).=A0
This<br>
also happens in Silicon Valley, the heart of high technology and
wealth..<br>
<br>
I believe Thai businesses need Burmese workers and vice versa. And
until<br>
Burma gets its house in order an accomodation is in order.<br>
<br>
The Thai Authorities have always treated Burmese with compassion=20
and<br>
understanding and they should continue to do so. They also should expect
and<br>
support a change in Burma towards a democratic system of govenment.<br>
<br>
This is the only direction that will promote developement and prosperity
for<br>
the whole of South East Asia.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Rangoon Post Co-Editor wrote:<br>
<br>
> Junta's Selfishness Destroys Thai Buinesses and Economy<br>
><br>
> (Thai plants silent after Myanmar exodus)<br>
><br>
> By Sutin Wannabovorn<br>
><br>
><br>
> MAE SOT, Thailand, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Thousands of tonnes of
rotting<br>
> fruit and flowers and deserted factory lines are testimony to an
exodus<br>
> of illegal Myanmar workers targeted in a massive Thai
repatriation<br>
> drive.<br>
><br>
> Struggling with high unemployment amid its worst economic crisis
in<br>
> decades, Thailand has revived a plan to repatriate 600,000
Myanmar<br>
> migrants working illegally in low-paid factory and farm jobs.<br>
><br>
> Around 70,000, the majority women, had jobs in the border town of
Mae<br>
> Sot, opposite eastern Myanmar's Karen State.<br>
><br>
> Tens of thousands have now crossed the Moei River to Myanmar.
Their<br>
> departure has left factories, nearby farms and streets of a town
where<br>
> the Myanmar language was as commonly heard as Thai all but
deserted.<br>
><br>
> Businesses that invested ten of billions of baht to exploit a
plentiful<br>
> supply of desperate and cheap labour complain they now face
ruin.<br>
><br>
> About 100 garment and food canning factories and 504,000 hectares
(1.26<br>
> million acres) of fruit orchards were totally reliant on the
illegal<br>
> labour, which was welcomed in boom years before Thailand's
economic<br>
> crisis broke in 1997.<br>
><br>
> ``If this situation goes on another month, all the investors will
be<br>
> bankrupt,'' said Paniti Tungphati, chairman of the Tak
provincial<br>
> chamber of commerce. ``In the agricultural sector alone investors
have<br>
> been losing more than 15 million baht ($385,000) a day.''<br>
><br>
> REGIONAL INVESTORS STAND TO LOSE<br>
><br>
> Investors who stand to lose include Taiwan, Hong Kong and
Singaporean<br>
> concerns. Paniti said many businesses in Tak province had wanted
to<br>
> establish production bases inside Myanmar.<br>
><br>
> But with much of their output exported to the United States or
the<br>
> European Union, they were scared off by U.S. sanctions against
Yangon<br>
> and the possibility of consumer boycotts, given strong criticism
of<br>
> Myanmar's human rights record and failure to democratise.<br>
><br>
> Paniti said Myanmar's powerful intelligence chief,
Lieutenant-General<br>
> Khin Nyunt, had pledged full co-operation if businesses relocated
to<br>
> Myanmar. ``But we plan to wait a little longer due to the
sanctions,''<br>
> he said.<br>
><br>
> Pramote Rajitungsun, production manager of Great Oriental Food<br>
> Production Co Ltd, said the workers' departure was a catastrophe.
``We<br>
> have to find replacements and resume operations as soon as
possible<br>
> otherwise we will face bankruptcy,'' he said.<br>
><br>
> During a visit to his deserted pineapple canning plant, he told
Reuters<br>
> production had stopped since his 300 workers left. The plant used
to<br>
> process about 150 tonnes of pineapples a day.<br>
><br>
> Local government officials and citizens argue that thousands of
jobless<br>
> Thais could replace the Myanmar workers if businesses were willing
to<br>
> pay realistic salaries.<br>
><br>
> ``They are just greedy for profit,'' said Sopis Wongmontha, a trader
who<br>
> led a rally of local people backing a government plan to send back
the<br>
> illegal workers.<br>
><br>
> ``THAIS COULD DO THE WORK''<br>
><br>
> ``If companies paid Thai workers in accordance with the minimum
wage,<br>
> thousands of workers could replace the illegal workers within
two<br>
> weeks,'' he said.<br>
><br>
> His comments echoed those of Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart,
who<br>
> has dismissed employers' demands to stop the repatriation.<br>
><br>
> Thailand's minimum wage is 120 to 160 baht ($3 to $4) a day.<br>
><br>
> Departing Myanmar workers said they were willing to accept less
than<br>
> half this as there was no work for them in their own country, which
has<br>
> been suffering economic stagnation.<br>
><br>
> ``As a supervisor, I received 60 baht a day; newcomers got about 50
baht<br>
> for 10 hours work,'' said 22-year-old Hty Da, a female Myanmar
worker<br>
> who led a protest demanding withheld wages.<br>
><br>
> She said her firm had refused to pay the workers their previous
month's<br>
> wages to try to stop them leaving.<br>
><br>
> Soraphol Payoongveeranoi, the deputy immigration chief in Mae Sot,
said<br>
> this was a common ploy. ``Some employers either refuse to pay wages
or<br>
> confiscate their ID cards in order keep them.''<br>
><br>
> He said some employers had even tried to fool workers into
believing<br>
> repatriation was temporary and they would be able to return in a
few<br>
> days to claim their wages.<br>
><br>
> But thousands have not been taken in, have cut their losses and
rushed<br>
> back to Myanmar, fearing prosecution in Thailand.<br>
><br>
> Many are out of pocket having had to pay 2,000 baht ($50) to bribe
their<br>
> way out of Myanmar in the first place.<br>
><br>
> THAI-MYANMAR TIES STRAINED<br>
><br>
> Thailand sent back about 300,000 Myanmar workers late last year and
the<br>
> revival of the programme comes amid a period of strained
diplomatic<br>
> relations.<br>
><br>
> Myanmar was angered when Thailand allowed dissidents who took over
the<br>
> Myanmar embassy in Bangkok from October 1-2 to escape to a safe
border<br>
> area when they freed their 89 hostages unharmed.<br>
><br>
> It has kept its border with Thailand closed to trade since the
attack<br>
> and suspended fishing rights for Thai trawlers, causing tens of
millions<br>
> of dollars of losses.<br>
><br>
> Paniti said the loss of the workers would worsen Thailand's
economic<br>
> slowdown.<br>
><br>
> ``The government misunderstands the labour situation. They do not
accept<br>
> the reality that Thai people do not take this kind of work,'' he
said.<br>
><br>
> ``Investors are being hurt by the departure of the workers and
the<br>
> losses they are suffering will mean there will be more problems
with<br>
> loan repayment to banks. We're talking about tens of millions of
dollars<br>
> in this province alone.''<br>
>=A0 ($1 - 39 baht)<br>
><br>
> 20:33 11-15-99<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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