Workers petition against absconding employer

Sukanta Sukpaita, adviser to Chiang Mai’s Migrant Workers Federation, who accompanied the group, said the workers sought help with her agency on Sunday after they had failed in their attempts to collect overdue payments from their boss since December. Also the office was closed.
The private company reportedly hired the workers to work in three housing estate construction projects, but did not pay wages December 16 to January 15, 2016 worth Bt906,988.80, as well as other compensations, such as Bt554,850 one-month advance payment to compensate for employment termination and another Bt2 million in lay-off compensation, she explained.
Some workers left the camp site once power and water was cut off on January 22, so the agency only managed to gather 121 affected workers, she said.
Labour official Charan Khunyosying said the office would launch a fact-finding probe before issuing an order for the employer to pay the workers within 30 days. Officials were not able to locate the employer either at office or at home as of press time. The office will post a notice at both the company office and the house, giving the employer 15 days to report himself and another 30 days to pay the workers, he said.
If that fails, workers can file another petition to obtain assistance money from the government, which will be payable for up to 60 times of the workers' daily wage, which should cover the overdue pay, he added.