Thai slaves in U S A

[Guest wowpow]

BREAKING NEWS - BANGKOK POST

 

Thai slaves get $1 mln, US green card aid

Los Angeles (Agencies)

A steel firm which allegedly forced 48 Thai welders to become slaves will pay one million dollars compensation, US authorities said - about 36 million baht.

 

Under the terms of the settlement, Trans Bay Steel Inc has ageed to pay compensation for the workers. It will also provide further work on the San Francisco Bay Bridge project, housing, tuition and sponsorship for a green card to continue work and stay in the United States.

 

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said in a statement it had reached a settlement with Trans Bay Steel Inc, which agreed to pay compensation to the workers, who were brought to the US in 2002.

 

The EEOC alleged the Thais were held against their will, had their passports confiscated, their movements restricted and were forced to work without pay. Several of the workers were also housed in cramped apartments without electricity, water or gas after being forced into other industries by recruitment companies contracted by Trans Bay.

 

"The workers in this case sought out the American dream, but instead faced a nightmare," Anna Park, a laywer at the EEOC's Los Angeles District Office, said in a statement.

 

"The issues of human trafficking and slavery are an enforcement priority for the Commission," she added.

 

The statement said 17 of the workers were told that if they tried to leave the location where they were being held, police and immigration officials would be called to arrest them.

 

The statement said Trans Bay hired the workers after receiving a sub-contract to provide services to retrofit the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, nothern California.

 

Two separate recruiting companies, Kota Manpower Co and Hi Cap Enterprises were then hired to bring the workers from Thailand.

 

However only nine of the welders were sent to work Trans Bay -- the rest were sent to Los Angeles and Long Beach and forced to work without pay at Thai restaurants owned by Kota Manpower and Hi-Cap, or other menial unpaid jobs.

 

Park said the plight of the workers came to light after several of them escaped from their staff quarters and sought refuge in a Buddhist temple.

 

Several of the workers have since returned to Thailand while others will continue to work with Trans Bay.

 

"A couple of the workers escaped at night and sought refuge in a Thai temple in Los Angeles. They were being chased down the street," Park told the AFP news agency. "It was just a horrible human story."

 

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/index.php

Edited December 9, 2006 by wowpow

[Gaybutton]

BANGKOK, Dec 10 (TNA)

 

Thailand's Ministry of Labour is coordinating with the Thai consulate in Los Angeles to find ways to help 48 Thai welders who were lured to the US by a suspected labour trafficker and forced to live in squalor, a senior ministry official said Sunday.

 

Permanent Secretary for Labour Chuthatawat Indrasuksri said the ministry was finding out if any of the 48 workers want to return to Thailand or otherwise need help.

 

If the workers are members of a fund set up to assist overseas Thai workers, they will receive compensation and travelling expenses to return home, Mr. Chuthatawat said.

 

"The ministry has sufficient information to prove that offences (have taken place) and lead to the punishment of the culprits. But it is preferable to keep it confidential for the time being," Mr. Chuthatawat said.

 

Reports by international news services published in newspapers in the Thai capital Sunday said a statement was issued by the United States federal government's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) saying it had reached a settlement with Trans Bay Steel Inc, which agreed to pay US$1 million in compensation to the 48 Thai workers who were brought to the US in 2002.

 

The statement said Trans Bay Steel hired the workers after receiving a sub-contract to provide services to rebuild the aging San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in northern California. Two separate recruiting companies, Kota Manpower and Hi Cap Enterprises, were then hired to bring the workers from Thailand.

 

The EEOC alleged the Thai workers hired by the Trans Bay Steel Inc. had been held against their will, their passports confiscated and their movements restricted. Even worse, they had worked without pay for long periods of time.

 

Supat Kukhun, director of the Ministry's Office of Overseas Employment Administration, said there are now more than 100,000 Thai students and workers living in Los Angeles and more than 90 per cent of them went there without passing through proper channels or procedures.

 

Mr. Supat urged Thais wishing to work in the US to study American working procedures and labour practices first so that they would not fall prey to illegal manpower firms.

 

(TNA) - E 111

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And this: The following appears in the BANGKOK POST:

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Govt helps workers in US

 

48 LaboUrers Worked in Slave-Like Conditions

 

The Labour Ministry is taking steps to help 48 Thai labourers who were deceived by their employers in the US, where they were forced to work in slave-like conditions before their rescue by US authorities. When recruited they were told by their employers, the Kota Manpower and Hi Cap recruitment companies, that a steel-making company wanted welders to work in California. However, when they arrived in the US, only nine were given the jobs while the rest were forced to work without pay in Thai restaurants owned by the two companies in Los Angeles and Long Beach.

 

''The ministry has asked the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles to take care of them,'' permanent secretary for labour Chuthatawat Indrasuksri said yesterday.

 

''They will be immediately flown back to Thailand if they so wish, and those who are members of the overseas employment fund will also be eligible for compensation from the fund,'' he said.

 

Earlier, Trans Bay Steel Inc, which hired the two recruitment companies to find workers for them, agreed to pay a $1 million (36 million baht) compensation to the Thai workers, who were taken to the US in 2002.The company hired Kota Manpower and Hi Cap to feed labourers for its work to retrofit the San Franciso-Oakland Bay Bridge in northern California.

 

The workers were forced to work 10-hour shifts, seven days a week, at the Thai restaurants, where they were kept in squalid conditions without enough electricity, gas or water. Their movements were also restricted.

 

Their misery came to light when a Thai worker managed to escape from the restaurant and took refuge at a Thai temple.

 

''The ministry is investigating the matter and has already obtained evidence that will lead to the arrest of the wrongdoers,'' Mr Chuthatawat said. He did not elaborate.

 

Kota Manpower closed the two Thai restaurants after the police raids. The company's Korean owner, identified as Yoo Taik Kim, has escaped arrest.

 

There are currently more than 100,000 Thais, including students and workers, in Los Angeles. However, up to 90% of workers have not followed correct job recruitment procedures, according to Supat Kukun, director of the Office of Overseas Employment Administration.

 

''We are sharing our information on human trade with US state agencies,'' said Mr Chuthatawat, referring to the kingdom's latest attempt to deal with illegal employment. Thais should be more careful when seeking jobs in the US, he said

[Guest wowpow]

Thais urged to work legally

 

The Nation

 

"Nine out of 10 Thai nationals living in Los Angeles work there illegally or secure jobs without going through proper formalities, a senior Employment Department official said yesterday. Overseas Employment Administration director Suphat Kukhun warned those looking to work in the United States to follow job-placement requirements and to not work in the US illegally. He said the number of people duped by dishonest job-placement companies had fallen since a department campaign against illicit practices. The department offered training for labourers seeking overseas employment.

 

Meanwhile, Labour Ministry permanent secretary Juthathawat Inthrasuksri said the ministry would repatriate 48 Thai nationals who last week were awarded US$1 million (Bt35.5 million) in compensation. A steel company implicated in a slave-labour scandal had forced Thai welders to work in squalid conditions without pay. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ordered Trans Bay Steel to pay the compensation. The welders had been in the US since 2002."

 

It seems astonishing how often Thai workers abroad seem to be badly treated. I have read of instances in Taiwan where they were kept in virtual concentration camps, in Israel on farmer was housing them in chicken coops and now in the US they were treated like slaves. Is it because they are respectful of percieved authority and biddable and maybe a bit placid?

 

It seems that Thailand exports workers around the world legally and illegally. At the same time importing workers from neigbouring countries, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Nepal both legally and illegally.