I had no choice but to run away from home. I desperately wanted to study, but my parents were too poor, and my dad wanted me to be a farmer like him as I am the only son. But I didn’t want to, so I left home at 15.
Studying by day and working by night was my choice. I finally got a vocational certificate as an auto mechanic and set to work in Bangkok and then Nakhon Pathom, after which I reconnected with my parents.
Reading helps you see the wider picture. I always saved my money to buy books and newspapers, and it got me interested in politics and human rights. I even joined the Black May protest against the military in 1992.
The protest inspired me to study political science at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, as I wanted to know more about politics.
Politics should be about a government allocating national resources rationally, but Thailand has never gone down this path. Here, it’s about allocating national resources for certain groups, and poor people always lose their rights. It’s totally wrong. So I decided to get a law degree, hoping to fix this.
I’ve never used my law or political science degree to get a well-paid job. I prefer to use what I learned to help my fellow workers.
Seeing my fellow workers bullied by factory owners in Rayong pushed me to become a labor activist, forming my first workers’ union in 1995 and then working with lots of union groups, especially in the eastern region.
Forming a workers’ union in Thailand was really tough 20 years ago. I was summoned by the Rayong governor who was worried that the workers’ union would destroy the province’s hopes for becoming a factory hub, like it is today. I was even beaten up by mysterious men until I passed out, but that couldn’t stop me.
I can’t step back. Even though I’ve faced many obstacles—betrayed by co-workers, demoted to a lower position, locked in a room monitored by cameras and not getting a raise for many years—I can’t stop. I know there are no others willing to help workers in need.
The patronage system means society can’t grow. Cronies just do what’s best for their interests, not the rest.
Work security and low income are the top problems in workers’ lives. Workers need to work overtime to pay the debts. When the economy is down, their house or land is taken from them, and their family inevitably separates. It’s an endless, vicious circle.
The rising numbers of workers who are disabled due to their work concerns me. The case that touched me most was of an auntie worker who had both of her hands cut off by a machine in a factory. The owner forced her to sign her resignation with her elbows. She got nothing from them, and she didn’t want to sue them because she was too traumatized to go through the process.
Thais hurting Thais makes me sad. It’s a great pity that Thai workers are bullied by their Thai supervisors who get paid by the foreign owners to treat their fellow workers badly. Do they do this to their brothers in their homeland?
You can’t use your burdens, such as debt or family issues, as an excuse to not stand for justice.
I’m still a full-time worker at an automotive factory. I work from 8am-5pm then go home to write up lawsuit cases for workers who are in trouble until midnight. I handle 500 cases per year without getting paid.
The labor court is never on the side of the laborers. They always force workers to accept small sums of money from factories, instead of fighting for them.
Everyone should be treated equally. No matter if you’re rich or poor, you should be treated the same.
No government is honest about helping workers. More than half of the representatives in parliament are there because of money. Politicians hold shares in companies, so which representatives will be on the side of the workers?
The migrant workers law needs to be amended urgently. It was written back in 1975 and can’t possibly apply to the present situation. It’s also a shame that so many see this black hole and try to make money from this distorted situation.
The AEC community means nothing to local workers. Thai workers are already affected by greedy foreign entrepreneurs who set up their factories on the border provinces like Kanchanaburi, Tak, Ratchaburi or Srakaew where they hire migrant workers daily as they don’t have to pay any welfare for them. Owners get all the benefit; what do Thai people get from this?
The tax-free policy for foreign entrepreneurs from the BOI [Board of Investment of Thailand] is a real trap for Thai workers. The law allows people to open a factory without paying tax for three to eight years. When it reaches that time, the owners just close the factory and open a new one, leaving old workers with nothing.
Don’t get yourself in debt. I learned not to be in debt unless it’s absolutely necessary. The Tom Yam Kung financial crisis was a painful lesson for me. I’m normally an economical person, but paying off my house at B5,500 a month with my B8,000 salary was real tough.
Workers should understand the fundamentals of democracy, then they will respect the majority but not ignore the minority.
