A tough road for the working elderly

Instead of spending her days enjoying retirement, Somporn Direkritkulachai works as a sweeper at Hua Lamphong railway station in Bangkok.

Grandmother Somporn is the epitome of a hardworking person as she continues to earn a wage at the age of 64. 

Somporn belongs to an estimated 14-per-cent segment of the population who show that Thailand is facing an increasingly elderly society according to national statistics released in 2014. That same study concluded that society is going to be even more aged within 10 years when the number of senior citizens reaches 20 per cent of the population, while the government has still not enacted measures to care for them. 

Despite a retirement age of 60 recommended by the United Nations, Somporn’s story is representative of a growing number of people in the capital. She still gets up at 4am, takes a one-hour bus ride from the Phetkasem area to Hua Lamphong, where she is tasked with cleaning platforms eight and nine. 

“I was cheated by my brother and the bank seized my house to pay the debt, so I had to rent a small apartment and work every day to make ends meet,” she said. 

Grandma Somporn is committed to her hard work schedule, labouring at the station from 7am to 5pm. And she shows the consequences of working such hours outside, as her skin that is exposed to the sun is deeply tanned.

“There are many older people working at this station as cleaners just like me,” she says. 

She says she had been working at the station for just two months, and formerly was employed as a sweeper at Siriraj Hospital for about five years. 

One particular burden for many elderly is the long daily commute. With tears in her eyes, Somporn relates how she often misses her bus, or sometimes faces hardships that are even worse. 

“It’s always hard to travel by bus from my room to the railway station,” she says. “Sometimes I fall down and am hurt for several weeks.” 

Another common hardship for the working elderly is a lack of savings and a debt burden, with their entire earnings going to pay for healthcare or just to make ends meet.

Somporn has problems with her eyes and she spent her entire savings on treatment. Unfortunately, she could not afford to pay for treatments for both eyes, so her right eye still has persistent problems that leave her struggling with diminished vision. 

“I did want to have both cured but my budget was limited, and the doctor then said that I had denied treatment. I still have to work and save to get the eye fixed,” she adds.

Elderly staff working as cleaners at Hua Lamphong station are employed by Asian Cleaning Services, a private contractor that works for the Thai railway authority. 

Somporn earns about Bt9,000 a month in salary and receives and additional Bt600 from the government. She spends about Bt8,000 per month on rent, paying off her debts and daily expenses. Some months she manages to save some money – some months she cannot.

“I really want to work near my room so that I don’t have to bear such a tough daily journey. Nevertheless, as I really want to get my eye cured, and I have to pay the rent, there are no choices left,” she says.