Shan Herald Agency for News |
| Laid-off Shan workers finally get compensated Posted: 10 Aug 2016 01:54 AM PDT Some seven months after being laid off by the Perfetto Limited Partnership Company in northern Thailand, 100 Burmese migrant workers have finally received some compensation, although not from the firm – from Chiang Mai's Department of Labour Protection and Welfare (DLPW).
Local governor Pawin Chamniprasart hosted a ceremony to hand over the cheques. "I regret that you have not yet received the money you deserve," he said. "However, we are working toward getting the employer to pay you." Speaking to Shan Herald at the ceremony on Wednesday, Mwe Oo Nanta, an official from the Human Rights and Development Foundation and an assistant advisor to the Migrant Workers Federation, said she was working alongside Thai government agencies to take action against the company owner. "Now, some of the workers have received some compensation from the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare. But there are others who did not get paid," she said. "Therefore, we will push harder to get the employers to pay the workers the money they deserve." She added that, usually, migrant workers are too afraid to demand their rights and pursue these matters. Sai Ling, a construction worker who laboured on a Perfetto site in Hang Dong, just south of Chiang Mai, said he felt better after receiving some compensation, adding that he and his co-workers could not find jobs after they were laid off because their work permits were registered with the old employer. "We have been facing so many difficulties," he said. "We had to move out of our living quarters because the water and electricity was cut off. And we could not find jobs because our work permits would not allow it." Nang Kong, another Burmese labourer who was laid off by the firm in December, said, "I could not go outside for two months. It was so stressful because I had no money to feed my children." Perfetto laid off a total of 195 workers on December 16, 2015. On January 28 and February 1, 2016, the workers submitted a petition to the DLPW, claiming 5,969,455.44 baht ($186,545) in unpaid wages and compensation. The 195 labourers had been hired to work on three construction projects in Chiang Mai: Star Avenue 5, Diamant Condominium, and the Spring Condominium. Chiang Mai's DLPW said it sent a letter on March 28 to Perfetto Ltd Partnership Company, ordering them to pay the workers' wages and compensation, but has so far seen no progress. No representative of the Perfetto company was available for comment. | ||
| Learning to share About low hanging fruits Posted: 09 Aug 2016 11:48 PM PDT
Day Three, Friday, 5 August 2016 When you take refuge with the elephant You need to be afraid of the buffalo When you take refuge with the civet You need to be afraid of the otter (Shan proverb) Today, the participants are on their own. Apart from one of their own people taking over the job of a facilitator, they no longer have a resource person. And the main topic they discuss is about the 'low hanging fruits'. Which reminds me of what U Aung Min, the former chief negotiator from the government's side, had said in Lashio, in 2013, to Shan politicians: "You can try to take from what you're not offered. But, first, please try to find out what you can take from what's being offered." What he meant was clear enough: that opposition politicians, instead of focusing only on amending and redrafting the 2008 constitution, should also try to make the best of what it had to offer. That exactly appeared to be how Daw Suu had maneuvered herself to become the State Counselor. The 2008 constitution forbids her to become a President. At the same time, it doesn't have anything to say about her becoming a State Counselor. Moreover, she only needed a simple majority of votes to install herself into the position. Unlike other provisions which calls for either approval by the military representatives in the legislature, or military representatives' approval plus referendum. (One remark at the time was: "She had outgeneraled the generals in the particular case.") "We would need to explore how we can take advantage of the present constitution in order to empower the states, hence make it more federal," says a discussant. For instance, the President is empowered to select and appoint a state legislative representative as Chief Minister. "What should be is, of course, the state/region legislature elects its chief minister," he says. "But the President may also appoint a candidate selected by the state legislature too, without having to amend the constitution." The long and short of today's discussions is that the amendment/redrafting of the constitution may take years. But that doesn't mean we should ignore everything else that can help more the going easy. At least that is what I have been able to gather today. |
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