A Case for outrage
Peter O'NeillSanan Tahmasee, a 51-year-old migrant worker from northern Thailand knew the arduous and lonely life of a migrant from a young age. In his early 20s he went to work in Saudi Arabia as a construction worker to support his wife and newborn son. The money he was earning at home wasn't enough to provide for his family's needs.
Following the birth of his daughter he took work in Dubai. Being away from his wife and children brought him much heartache.
Upon returning home to Thailand he earned US$9.00 (AUD$12) a day as a labourer. Work was intermittent. There was no job security. His family was surviving from day to day. The money he saved from working overseas enabled his family to buy a small plot of land that they used to plant rice. His wife took care of the rice field.
His son Nui had graduated from high school. He received good grades and had the desire to go to college. The family's meagre income didn't allow them to pay for his college tuition. Nui's only option was to find work. Sanan wanted the best for his children and was saddened that his son couldn't pursue his education.
At 44 years of age Sanan decided to try his luck again as a migrant worker. He went to Taiwan and was one of many Thai workers building an expressway in Taipei City. His first year's salary went to paying back the money he had borrowed to pay his broker's fee to obtain the job in Taiwan. In his second year he was able to save money to buy some construction machinery to begin a small business at home.
Sanan wanted his daughter to have the opportunity of also going to college. In order to pursue her dreams Sanan needed more capital to expand his family business to provide more income.
He was 50-years-old and for the last time decided to work overseas. He borrowed money to pay the broker's fee of US$3,200 (AUD$4,291) to go to Taiwan. Like all migrant workers he knew his broker was cheating him. The Thai government had set the broker's fee at US$1,470 (AUD1,971). But since the competition to secure a job in Taiwan was so high he had no other choice but to pay.
The work on the expressway tunnel was difficult and dangerous. He had been working for one month when the tunnel collapsed. He was rescued from the deluge of fallen rock and hospitalised. That tragic accident made him a quadriplegic for life, relying on a ventilator for his every breath. Two Taiwanese and two Thai workers lost their lives in the accident.
Sanan's Thai friend rang his family to inform them of the accident. They were in shock. Nui rang the Ministry of Labour in Bangkok to inquire after his father. Two months after the accident the Thai Labour Office sent a letter to the Thai Ministry of Labour informing them that the company would give NTD1,000,000 (AUD$41,911) in compensation and cover all Sanan's medical expenses in Taiwan. The company said they would send half the money to the family and the other half would be placed in Sanan's bank account. The money was never sent.
A year passed and in desperation Nui decided to take things into his own hands. He borrowed money from a family friend to buy his ticket to Taiwan. Before leaving he made contact with a village neighbour who was working there. Little did he know that his neighbour, Ban, was an active member of our Columban Hope Worker's Centre (HWC) Thai education group.
Ban took Nui to the HWC where he stayed in our centre's shelter. Together with our centre's Thai social worker Akkraphorn, I accompanied Nui to visit his father. It was heart-wrenching seeing Sanan lying motionless with a tracheotomy and dependent on a ventilator.
Akkraphorn educated Nui on his father's rights according to the Taiwan Labour Law and how to negotiate for compensation from his father's company. I was flabbergasted when Nui informed us that the Thai Labour Office in Taipei had negotiated for a meager NTD1,000,000 in compensation for his father. It was an obvious sign to me that the Thai government had either no experience in negotiation strategies or was selling Sanan out to his company.
Within three days of Nui coming to the HWC the first negotiation meeting was promptly arranged with the company to be held at the Thai Labour Office. The director of the office and a representative from the local Taiwanese government's Bureau of Labour Affairs (BLA) were present.
The second meeting was also held at the Thai Labour Office but no one attended. With an obvious lack of interest to assist the remaining meetings were switched to the BLA.
After six intense negotiating meetings the company finally settled on NTD3.2 million (AUD$134,115) in compensation that included the maximum compensation of NTD633,600 (AUD$26,554) coming from Sanan's labour insurance. The company also agreed to cover all Sanan's medical expenses until he returned home, including his transportation home.
It was God's providence that Nui found his way to the HWC. He and his father were able to receive personal and professional care with the assistance of our competent and caring staff.
Nui accompanied his father home where their family was reunited again. Nui is the primary caretaker of his father during the day. Sanan's wife takes care of him at night after she has spent a long day working in the rice field. Sanan's daughter is now in her second year of college studying business management.
The HWC continues to assist migrant workers to obtain compensation from their employers when they are victims of occupational accidents. We constantly lobby the government to implement safe working conditions in the workplace.
The only change is to introduce a new regulation whereby if migrant workers report an occupational accident to the government, an inspector is sent to the company.
Local workers rightfully shun the dirty, difficult and dangerous jobs that migrant workers do. In order to save on costs and remain competitive in a free trade, liberalised economy, the government allows companies to have migrant workers as 30% of their workforce. Local workers are too expensive. Cheap migrant labour at half the price provides greater profits.
Despite the fact that one of President Chen's election policies two years ago was to protect the job opportunities of local workers by having a ceiling quota of 300,000 migrant workers, by the end of May 2006 there were nearly 334,000 migrant workers in Taiwan.
Sanan's accident was tragic but avoidable. Until the Taiwan government implements stringent health and safety regulations in the workplace it cannot proclaim itself a government that protects the rights of its local and migrant workers.
Sanan and his family have paid the price of a government that protects the interests of big business and rapid progress at the expense of the lives of its workers, in particular migrant workers.
