Workers awarded Bt1m
Four employers who allegedly physically abused and forced 17 Laotian immigrant labourers to work 16 hours a day at a glove-making factory in Bangkok's Thung Khru district will have to pay them Bt1 million.
The women and girls - now receiving psychological help at Nonthaburi's Ban Kredtrakan women's protection centre - will be paid between Bt3,000 and Bt160,000, Wallop Ploytaptim, permanent secretary for social development and human security, told a press conference yesterday. They worked for periods ranging from six months to six years. "The woman and girls had to stay together in two 2m x 3m rooms and worked from 5.30am to 10pm every day. They were detained and assaulted. Their employers only allowed them to get hold of money twice a week, each time between Bt50 and Bt300," Wallop said. Thai authorities will contact the Laotian government about finding the families of the workers, many of whom were believed to have been kidnapped from Laos, he added. On July 20, police raided the factory and the employers were charged with harbouring immigrants, illegal detention and employing children under 15.
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