ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

by Zarni | Chiang Mai – As consequences of the global financial crisis continue to surface, the livelihood of Burmese migrant workers in Thailand has also been negatively affected, with a growing scarcity of employment expected next year.

About half of the factories in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma border have at present ceased operations or laid off workers due to a lack of new orders.

"Some workers were laid off and had to return home in this low season with job orders dwindling. Some others have seen their employment suspended, made to subsist on payments of half their salary," Mr. Chaiyuth Seneetantikul, Chairman of the Tak District Thai Industrial Federation, told Mizzima.

Industrial production in Tak District may fall by 30 percent next year, while some businesses dealing with the gem industry and electrical appliances might also have to close, he predicted.

As a consequence of the foreseen economic downturn there will be mass lay-offs, possibly affecting 10 percent of the labor force, which would entail thousands of Burmese migrant workers, he also predicted.

Most of the workers at over 200 factories in Tak District's Mae Sot, including the garment and knitting industries, are staffed by Burmese migrants – amounting to about 200,000 migrant workers in total, according to statistics from the Thai-based Migrant Action Programme.

"If these workers are fired, they are entitled to compensation in accordance with existing Thai Labour Laws. I mean both Thai and Burmese workers," Mr. Chaiyuth Seneetantikul added.

"Some factories said they are reducing their workforce. About 400 were laid off and some returned home. Some are still stranded here without any job," said Moe Gyo, Chairman of the Thai-based Joint Action Committee for Burma Affairs (JACBA).

Garment and knitting factories usually lay off workers due to a lack of new orders in this low season from November to March. During this low season, the laid off workers usually shift to farming, construction, plantation and other factories.

However, the scarcity of employment is worse this year, elaborated the trade union representative.

"The workers in wool knitting factories have suffered the worst. A factory near our area totally shut down due to a lack of new orders. There were over 200 workers. The factory gave them leave and made them return home," a Burmese worker said.

The peak season for these knitting factories is usually from mid-March to the end of October.

But this year, the low season arrived one month earlier than usual. At the same time, the unemployed are finding it increasingly difficult to shift industries, as the financial crisis has also affected sectors such as construction as well.

"I sent two workers back to Burma this morning. Another four have taken other jobs in Mae Sot," said Thaung Hlaing, Chairman of Expatriates Irrawaddy, a Burmese workers affairs organization.

"I am working now in gardening work, growing beans. I earn only 80 baht (about $2.33) per day and am now facing difficulty in my livelihood. If I can't find a better job here, I must go back to my home," former Mae Sot factory worker Ma Khin Sandar said.

Orders for Mae Sot garment factories typically come from Europe and East Asia.

With the gloomy economic forecast in Mae Sot, some migrant job seekers have even taken the risk and gone as far as Bangkok, 500 kilometers away, in the hope of finding employment.