Thai court approves compensation for abused Myanmar migrant workers

15 September 2017
Thai court approves compensation for abused Myanmar migrant workers
Myanmar migrant fishermen unload fish from a Thai fishing boat at a jetty in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand, 24 July 2017. Photo: Rungroj Yongrit/EPA

The Supreme Court of Thailand yesterday approved compensation of Ks70,948,067.49 (US$52,000) in a landmark test case for 14 Myanmar migrant workers who endured forced labour and other rights violations at a Chicken Farm in central Thailand, state media reported on 15 September.
The Supreme Court, upholding a previous decision of a labour court to award the compensation, rejected the Chicken Farm’s appeal against the compensation order for the final time.
The workers alleged gruelling working days stretching up to 20 hours and forced overtime including sleeping in chicken rearing areas overnight. Further, the workers alleged unlawful deduction of salaries, threats of further deductions, confiscation of personal identity documents and limited freedom of movement.