Recently two migrant workers (a husband and wife) came to the Yaung Chi Oo community centre to take refuge. The man, 39 years old, had lost one of his legs in a car crash on 16th February, and his wife, 34 years old, was also gravely wounded in the accident. The wife of this man came to our office on 18th February. However, her husband had to stay at the hospital for a month and only moved to our office on 13th March.
They came from Painnae Kong Township, Bago Division in Myanmar. They have not been long in Thailand. They were working as general labourers loading cut sugarcane onto a truck. Their wages were not fixed but they got 50 baht (about US $1.60) for every ton of sugarcane they loaded onto the truck. On 16th February 2012, they finished their work and were being driven home on a truck driven by their employer’s assistant. The driver, a Thai-Karen man, was drunk. So the truck crashed into the roadside outside of Mae Sot, Tak Province. When the truck crashed, the woman’s heel and tendon were injured and she later had to get four stiches. Her husband was trapped under the truck for two hours and his left leg was smashed completely. Therefore, later at the hospital his leg was amputated below the knee.
The day after the crash, their employer’s daughter-in-law came to the hospital and gave them only 500 baht (about US $16). They were given no compensation, not even to cover the hospital expenses. Is the life of a Burmese migrant worker so cheap? Is his leg only worth 500 baht? This individual will never again be able to work as he had before. This case is shocking, but not unusual. It is outrageous that Burmese migrant workers are regarded as worthless in Thailand.
This is just one example of the inhumane treatment of Burmese workers by Thai employers.
