Thai businesses in a tizzy as Myanmar staff, truck drivers abandon jobs to join anti-coup protests
Cross-border trade in Tak’s Mae Sot district has been disrupted as Myanmar truck drivers have struck work to participate in anti-coup protests, a news source revealed.
Fewer transport trucks were seen on Saturday in the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge over the Moei River, which connects the city of Mae Sot in Tak province with the city of Myawaddy in Myanmar.
“Merchants near the border checkpoint said that many Myanmar truck drivers have temporarily stopped coming to work as they had gone to join protests in Myawaddy, while some said they won’t come back until democracy is restored,” said the source.
Myanmar’s military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government on February 2, claiming fraud in last November’s election that delivered a landslide win for Suu Kyi’s party. The coup has led to protests in several provinces of the country.
Suchart Treeratwattana, a Thai businessman who owns a factory in Myanmar, said that many of his Myanmar workers had taken leave to join the protests, leaving him severely short-staffed.
“Furthermore, many transport trucks have been stuck in Myanmar and could not return to Thailand due to road closures,” he said.
“If the situation escalates into a riot, I fear that it could heavily damage Thai businesses in Myanmar.”