The labor attache U San Maung Oo said the workers were laid off from the e-waste management plant in Chachoengsao’s Plaeng Yao district, which is 80 km from Bangkok.

“We will file the charges today. We have to file the charges so that the respective labor welfare department can investigate. We have made arrangements to file the charges today. The concerned persons have to fill in the forms themselves, sign them, and carry out in line with the procedure for filing the charges,” he said.

The Thai government ordered the e-waste management plant to shut down for its failure to abide by health safety regulations after the health department conducted an inspection on May 21.

“We have to follow their procedure. After filing the charges today, the respective labor welfare department will calculate how much they [the migrant workers] should receive. It will be carried out within two weeks. We have to calculate based on the days they became unemployed. We asked for their confirmation to prevent wrong [calculations],” U San Maung Oo continued.

Ko Zaw Min Htike from Maubin Township under the Ayeyarwady Region came to work at the e-waste management plant two months ago under the memorandum of understanding (MOU) system. He became unemployed along with other migrant workers on May 22.

“A Thai employer offered the job to us. Then, he made us work at the Chinese plant. The Thai [government] shut down the plant because it works on hazardous items that are not allowed on the list of regulated items in Thailand. We couldn’t work anymore after we couldn’t work at the Chinese plant,” he said.

Myanmar migrant workers said they did not receive full labor rights in accordance with Thai labor law while they were working at the e-waste management plant.

“We received Bt325 a day. We didn’t receive any benefits in accordance with the official law in Thailand like May Day or Father’s Day.  We weren’t paid double on Sundays. We didn’t have to work on Sundays. Even if we did, we only received regular wage. We didn’t receive any benefits,” said Ko Zaw Min Htike.

Ko Soe Min, who came to work at the plant from Minhla Township, Bago Region, said he is trying to report the issue via his agency in order to receive full compensation.

“The agents have arrived here at the moment. Complaint letters have been written to report [the employer]. Many workers are reporting [the employer],” he added.

According to Ko Zaw Min Htike, officials from the Myanmar Embassy, Thai government, the Myanmar Overseas Employment Agencies Federation (MOEAF) and Myanmar Worker Protection Committee have been assisting the migrant workers in receiving their compensations.

“At first, the boss said he won’t give any compensation. But, now he is giving 75 percent [of the compensation] for the unemployed days. Also, some of us have already worked between four to ten days and they have already received half of the wages. The boss is giving Bt2200 per person at the moment. The workers who accept the money will not sue him and those that won’t take the money are trying to sue him. This is what we are trying to do,” he added.

Majority of the laid-off workers came from Myanmar under the MOU system to work at the plant and some of them have only worked for 45 days. The workers paid between Ks 900,000 and Ks 1.2 million each to respective employment agencies to work in Thailand.

Labor attaché U San Maung Oo said the laid-off workers are negotiating with the Department of Employment via the embassy officials to find jobs of their choice among seven types of job.