11 images Created 28 Oct 2020
Thailand's migrant factory workers denounce harassment and labor rights violations during Covid-19
As the Covid-19 crisis decimated the economy in Thailand and worldwide, migrant workers have been hit hardest. Mae Sot is the main entry point into western Thailand and a trade hub home to about 430 factories and at least 44,500 workers - mainly migrants seeking to make money to send back to their families. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, factories have cut their workforce and laid off hundreds of workers. Others were allegedly pressured to resign so they could not be entitled to any severance pay. Nu Nu Yee (a pseudonym), a Burmese 21-year-old migrant, worked in a garment factory in Mae Sot. She allegedly endured five years of verbal abuse and bullying at work. She resigned during the Covid-19 crisis and remained unemployed, with no chances of returning to Myanmar due to the closure of the borders. Kyaw Zay Ya, another Burmese factory worker, launched a legal action to demand compensation after losing his job during the pandemic. As Covid-19 ravages his home country he, like many others, struggles to survive. This reportahe has been published by Planeta Futuro by El País and the Myanmar Times.
