Kyaw Zay Ya, 43, used to work as an accountant at the Royal Knitting Limited factory in Mae Sot. The factory was closed in April 2020, allegedly due to the Covid-19 crisis. All workers were fired without notice and only got a compensation of 2,500 baht (~68 euros), independently of how many years they worked there. “Some have worked there for over 20 years,” says Kyaw Zay Ya. Before the factory closed down, the workers were paid between 100 and 200 baht per day, which is well below the minimum wage (315 baht). According to the lawyer of the Labor Law Clinic in Mae Sot, many factory owners used the Covid-19 crisis as an excuse to shut unprofitable businesses, so they were not obliged to compensate adequately their employees.
