How did you become a street sweeper?
I’m originally from Amnat Charoen province. After I finished my army conscription, I came to work in Bangkok. My first job was in a dry battery factory where I earned B70 a day. I quit because I wanted a more independent job and started working as a motorcycle taxi driver. I made B200-300 a day and did that for five or six years before I heard about this job from my wife, who worked in a district office. My initial salary was B4,100 per month which I earned for three years as a temporary worker. Once I became an official worker I started receiving welfare benefits including medical cover and tuition fees for my children. For my first six months I was assigned to clean Narathiwas Road, then I was moved to Silom Road, where I’ve been for 12 years now.

What’s your daily routine?
Every day I start work at 5am, take a break at 8am, and then continue working from 9am to noon. The street inspector comes around at 5:30am to check on progress and the garbage truck comes at 6:30am. There are eight sweepers on my side of Silom Road. When we finish up working, we have to go to the district office to sign our names. After I’m done, I join my wife at our secondhand book stall at Soi Suanplu. I take the afternoon shift there, while she goes to work as a street sweeper on Sathorn Road. I close up the stall at 3pm and go home to rest and then do it all over again the next day. I usually get Sunday off. I can’t take more than five days off at a time because the street must be kept clean. Recently some workers have quit, so I have more work to do.

Is there anything dangerous about your work?
I have to be careful when I sweep the street, especially in the early hours of the morning, as there could be drunk or sleepy people driving recklessly.

What new policies would you like to see implemented by the newly-elected governor?
I want a better trash collection system. Bars and restaurants put their garbage in bags, but many food stalls just throw it on the ground where it can be hit by cars or buses. Sometimes people go digging for plastic bottles or other things they can sell, and leave behind a mess on the sidewalk. Some just want the garbage bag, so they dump whatever’s inside it onto the ground.

What’s your dream job?
I think I will work as I do now until my son, who is in grade 11, graduates from university, then I might open an amulet shop because I find them very interesting.