"I have waited for nearly 12 years only to hear that the court is going to hold a trial yet again," Samran or Piyawadee Pipopsomboon said.

In 1995, Samran and 37 co-workers filed a Bt57-million lawsuit against Bangkok Textile Factory after its management turned down their request for medical compensation and fired them.

One case was dismissed because the plaintiff was not suffering from byssinosis - a lung disease caused by cotton dust. In 2003, the Central Labour Court ordered the factory to pay a combined Bt6.9 million in compensation to its 37 former, identically afflicted workers.

But the factory has appealed and the Supreme Labour Court decided on August 3 that more court procedures were needed. "I don't know how long this case will drag on. I feel I have suffered for too long," Samran said.

Not only has byssinosis ruined Samran physically but it has also deprived her of opportunities to earn a living. As soon as people realise she is ill, they shun her, making it impossible for her to run a food stall or find work as a cook. "I am under huge pressure. That's why I made several suicide attempts," Samran said. Most recently, she thought of jumping into the Chao Phya River but her daughter stopped her. "Had I lived alone, I would already have chosen to end my life," she said.

Tuenjai Boontisud, 44, said her husband died in 2002 and so would never know the court's decision. Suffering from the same disease, Tuenjai is now willing to do any odd job to support her family.

Tuenjai and her two children received some compensation after her husband died.

"We have become so discouraged," Tuenjai said.

Somboon Srikhamdokkhae, who led her former colleagues in initiating the legal action, said each of the ailing ex-workers now had to pay about Bt2,000 for medicines every month. "We are fighting for our and other workers' rights. We want to fight for measures that protect workers' health," she said.

Somboon said the oldest plaintiff in the case was 70-year-old Jamnien Kluaymai na Ayutthaya, who feared she might not live long enough to know the final verdict.

Dr Oraphan Methadilokkul, a former physician at Rajvithi Hospital, said many people's lives had been devastated by the illness and the long court battle. "Many are clearly suffering from mental problems like depression. Some are homeless and reduced to roaming the streets," she said.

Anan Paengnoy

The Nation