Thai building collapse exposes flaws in its migrant-heavy construction sector

[ad_1] BANGKOK – A month after a lethal earthquake triggered the collapse of a high-rise building web site in Bangkok, labor rights teams say the catastrophe has uncovered long-standing flaws in Thailand’s building sector – notably its failure to guard the migrant employees who hold it working.

On the day of the quake, greater than 100 employees had been inside a 32-story unfinished tower when tremors from a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in neighboring Myanmar shook the Thai capital, inflicting the constructing to crumble. Lots of these trapped had been migrant employees from Myanmar, drawn to Thailand by financial hardship and political upheaval.

Migrant employees from Myanmar dominate Thailand’s so-called 3D jobs – soiled, harmful, and demeaning – with estimates suggesting a minimum of 4 million now reside within the nation. Many fled their homeland following the 2021 navy coup, looking for security and alternative throughout the border.

Thailand’s building business depends closely on this workforce. In 2023, round 600,000 overseas nationals had been employed within the sector, in keeping with the Worldwide Labour Group.

But it stays one of many nation’s most hazardous industries. A 2022 examine by the Workmen’s Compensation Fund discovered that greater than 4,500 employees had been killed or injured in building accidents in 2021 alone – over 40% of them in Bangkok.

The latest collapse has reignited considerations about security, prompting widespread concern amongst migrant laborers.

“[Migrant workers] don’t need to work in building anymore,” stated Koreeyor Manuchae, mission coordinator on the Migrant Working Group, an advocacy organisation supporting survivors.

“They're afraid of that, however they don't have any selection.”

Regardless of their fears, many survivors discover themselves unable to go away their jobs. Beneath Thailand’s bilateral memorandum of understanding system, migrants from Myanmar are certain to their unique employers and face important restrictions in the event that they attempt to change jobs.

Critics argue that such a system isn't solely time-consuming, but additionally can financially burden job-seekers as they usually must undergo brokers to search out jobs, leaving many little selection of their placement.

<img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Migrant workers wait for an update on their colleagues and friends who were working at a building that collapsed following a strong earthquake, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 29, 2025." class="c-image" loading="lazy" src="https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/LOOXVESLARF5NG4N556ZX6THAI.JPG?auth=03016ce1fb8c9ae1fc0bdba4d02a34f1c30d59c8632e404d0543e5b48f139c26&width=800&height=533" srcset="https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/LOOXVESLARF5NG4N556ZX6THAI.JPG?auth=03016ce1fb8c9ae1fc0bdba4d02a34f1c30d59c8632e404d0543e5b48f139c26&width=274&height=182 274w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/LOOXVESLARF5NG4N556ZX6THAI.JPG?auth=03016ce1fb8c9ae1fc0bdba4d02a34f1c30d59c8632e404d0543e5b48f139c26&width=400&height=266 400w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/LOOXVESLARF5NG4N556ZX6THAI.JPG?auth=03016ce1fb8c9ae1fc0bdba4d02a34f1c30d59c8632e404d0543e5b48f139c26&width=768&height=511 768w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/LOOXVESLARF5NG4N556ZX6THAI.JPG?auth=03016ce1fb8c9ae1fc0bdba4d02a34f1c30d59c8632e404d0543e5b48f139c26&width=1024&height=682 1024w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/LOOXVESLARF5NG4N556ZX6THAI.JPG?auth=03016ce1fb8c9ae1fc0bdba4d02a34f1c30d59c8632e404d0543e5b48f139c26&width=1440&height=959 1440w" width="800" height="533"/> Aftermath of a powerful earthquake, in Bangkok Migrant employees await an replace on their colleagues and associates who had been working at a constructing that collapsed following a powerful earthquake, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 29, 2025. (Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters) No wages, no compensation Whilst many migrant employees stay of their jobs out of necessity, the structural points that left them susceptible within the first place proceed to persist.

The Migrant Working Group discovered that regardless of authorized necessities for documented employees to be enrolled in a social safety fund that gives healthcare and accident compensation, many employers fail to register them – leaving employees unprotected when catastrophe strikes.

Solely 59 out of estimated as much as 900 migrant employees from S.A. Development, an organization sub-contracted to work on the Bangkok excessive rise on the time it collapsed, had been registered with the social safety workplace, in keeping with the group.

A examine from the United Nations Growth Programme printed in 2023 discovered that round 38% of the Myanmar migrant employees surveyed in Thailand’s building business had been undocumented, and 40% of surveyed undocumented building employees reported they acquired no advantages, akin to sick depart and even in the future off per week.

Htoo Chit, government director of the Basis for Training and Growth, an advocacy group, stated many new building employees who arrive in Thailand are compelled to work for sub-contractors for a 12 months or two within the identify of “gaining expertise,” however these organizations are additionally rife with labor violations.

“[Subcontractors] all the time say: ‘We're going to pay when that is completed.’ So the migrants are ready, however when the development is completed, the subcontractor manipulates them,” he stated.

Employers usually declare there is no such thing as a additional obligation to compensate the employees for the reason that mission has been accomplished, he defined.

He added that such practices are frequent within the building sector, together with the widespread discount of wages for employees employed underneath subcontractors.

Equally, some employees had been unable to obtain wages within the speedy aftermath of the collapse, Manuchae from Migrant Working Group stated.

Beneath Article 75 of the Thai Labor Safety Act, employers are permitted to droop operations with out paying wages throughout unexpected occasions that halt enterprise exercise – leaving collapse victims with out revenue till April 17.

Within the weeks that adopted, Thailand’s labor ministry didn't subject any public assertion outlining how it might handle the considerations of affected migrant employees.

The Ministry’s everlasting secretary, Boonsong Thapchaiyuth, introduced that households of employees killed within the collapse would obtain between one and two million baht (US$30,175-60,350) in compensation. Nevertheless, this has not been the case for all victims.

In accordance with Zaw, an worker on the Samut Sakhon-based Labor Rights Basis, which helps Myanmar migrant employees in Thailand, 4 injured employees from S.A. Development have but to obtain any compensation from the Thai authorities.

He added that the households of 11 employees who died within the collapse have additionally not acquired help, as their our bodies haven't but been recovered.

“We had discussions with the authorities, however they didn't make progress,” stated Zaw.

“The labor ministry additionally had completely different details about the employees,” he lamented.

The labor ministry has not responded to Radio Free Asia’s request for remark.

Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.

Pimuk Rakkanam in Bangkok contributed to this report.

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