Migrant workers are facing difficulties in getting jobs at rubber plantations in Thailand after rubber prices soared twice in the last year. The current price is 120 Baht.
Nai Thu, living in Thailand for three years said that migrant workers faced more and more difficulties finding work in rubber plantations, but they are still entering Thailand looking for jobs.
"Currently some plantations shore up to three families though one family works in a cultivated area," Mi Chan Aye, who is working in a rubber plantation for 10 years, said.
Some new workers wanting to work in rubber plantations in Surat Thani Province southern Thailand have to bribe the owners to get jobs.
Due to the large amount of workers seeking jobs in plantation, the income levels have were decreased by over 30% from last year, said Nai Thu who made about 5 million Kyat. His relative made about 10 million Kyat per year in previous years.
According to him, if workers worked hard they can earn more money in Thailand. But they have to accept about 0.5 million Kyat per year if they work in Burma.
Mi Chan Aye said that the numbers of people seeking to work in rubber plantations are rising and migrant workers from Burma have been increasing.
The workers start at 10 pm to shred the surface of rubber plants and work till midnight and sleep while waiting for the liquid. And they begin to work again at 5 am for collecting the liquid and go through the whole process until they get rubber flats.
For the same work in Thailand and Burma, they can make much more money in Thailand because of the difference in currency.
"People are going to Malaysia and Thailand. If we don't go to Thailand, we cannot buy property," said Nai Thu.
While working in Thailand, workers especially from Mon State are apprehensive about their security because the gangs loot things and money from them.
In the first week of this month, Nai Myat Soe was killed by an unidentified Thai gang when he and his son went to the rubber plantation.
Migrant Assistance Program based in Chaing Mai estimated over 2 million migrant from Burma are working in Thailand illegally.
No comments:
Post a Comment