12 January 2021 News Briefing
As of 8 PM, 11 Jan, a total of 18,257 samples were tested and found 582 new cases and 12 deaths. MoHS has reported 131,186 confirmed cases including 114,609 discharged,[…]
Labour Issues Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Burmese lead migrants’ push for better pay, benefits at Thai seafood firm
Burmese nationals lead more than 2,000 migrant workers at a major Thai seafood exporting company in calling for bigger bonuses and better welfare benefits, a rare demand in a country that bars foreigners from forming trade unions.
Thai chicken farm not ‘slave labour’, says rights commission
The NHRC’s findings matched results from an earlier Labour Ministry and Labour Protection and Welfare Department probe.
Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Social media raises migrants’ awareness of rights
A Facebook post that alerted a group of Burmese migrants to their own exploitation has triggered a landmark case on the rights of foreign workers in Thailand.
Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Burmese migrants sue Thai export giant over alleged abuses
A group of Burmese workers is suing their former employer, a poultry farm in Thailand, for $1.33 million in compensation for alleged abuses.
Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Burmese workers sign up for ‘ethical recruitment’ scheme
Some 200 Burmese nationals signed contracts to work in Thailand at a press conference held in Rangoon over the weekend to publicise a new “ethical recruitment” scheme.
Thai govt, poultry industry agree to new labour guidelines
The move comes less than two months after a group of Burmese poultry farm workers in Thailand accused their former employer of forcing them to work under slave-like conditions.
Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Another poultry farm worker faces charges
A second Burmese poultry farm worker is to be charged with stealing a time-card from his workplace in Thailand, in a case that is attracting international attention.
Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Chicken farm case spurs action from Thai industry
As former workers at a poultry farm in Thailand’s Lopburi Province come forward with allegations of abuse, major Thai food exporters are moving quickly to allay concerns about their supply chains.
Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Exporter cuts ties with Thai chicken farm after abuse allegations
Food giant Betagro issued a statement on Wednesday saying it had “stopped business operations with the farm until there is a solution for the labour conflict.”
Analysis Lead Story News Opinion
Suu Kyi gets top marks in Thailand
Burma’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi impressed her Thai hosts last week with her forthright manner and clear advice on the migrant issue.
Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Time-card ‘thief’ arrested after informing on employer
A Burmese woman who accused her Thai employer of abuses was charged on Saturday for allegedly stealing her work time-card.
Human Rights Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Suu Kyi apologises to migrants
Aung San Suu Kyi has apologised to supporters who stood in the rain for hours hoping to see her during her visit to Mahachai on Thursday.
Foreign Affairs Lead Story News Politics Suu Kyi
Suu Kyi to visit Thailand
Burma’s leader will pay her first official state visit to the neighbouring country since sweeping to power late last year.
Crime Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Koh Tao defense team ready to submit appeal
Lawyers for two Burmese migrants facing the death penalty in Thailand said their appeal will be submitted to the court next Monday.
Analysis Contributor Lead Story Migrants Issues News Opinion
Thailand’s system of ‘legalised trafficking’ failing migrants
Burma’s new government should push Thailand to end exploitation of foreign workers, says migrant rights activist Andy Hall.
Human Rights Labour Issues Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Poultry industry traps migrant workers in ‘debt bondage’
Migrant workers in chicken processing plants throughout Thailand are routinely abused by their employers, according to a new report on the country’s booming poultry industry.
2015 Elections Lead Story News Politics
Burmese migrant workers in Thailand ‘shut out from voting’
3,000 voters have registered for advance voting at the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok, just a tiny fraction of the some 2.5 million migrant workers in Thailand.
Analysis Contributor Crime Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Migrants, justice and the Koh Tao murder case
The outcome of the upcoming murder trial will be a test for Thailand not only to realise justice for the deceased, says rights activists Andy Hall.
Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Thailand tries to clean up its fishing act
Thai authorities are issuing labour ID cards to migrant workers within its fishing industry to combat rampant human trafficking in the trade.
Crime Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Koh Tao murders: Dr Porntip to examine DNA evidence
Thai court orders DNA samples to be handed over for independent verification at the trial of two Burmese migrants accused of murder and rape.
Crime Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Koh Tao murder trial set to resume
The trial of two Burmese migrants accused of murdering a pair of British tourists is set to resume on the island of Koh Samui.
Lead Story Migrants Issues News
NGO urges Thein Sein, Prayuth to discuss migrant issues
“Based on our findings in various regions of Thailand, many Burmese migrants are unable to access the healthcare and welfare benefits to which they’re entitled or receive the official minimum wage of 300 baht (US$10) per day.”
Lead Story Migrants Issues News
Thai shrimp processor to lay off 1,200 Burmese workers
Nearly 1,200 migrant workers from Burma will be laid off in April by Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc, a seafood processing company based in Samut Sakhon, Thailand.
Most Burmese migrants want to go home, says IOM
Most Burmese migrant workers in Thailand would like to return home, according to survey results released on Wednesday (International Migrants Day) by the Thai office of the International Organisation of Migration.
