Maids union urges govt to protect rights

Maids union urges govt to protect rights

A teenage works as a helper in a shop in Chanthaburi province. The Network of Domestic Workers in Thailand has urged that a worker must have at least one day off a week and 13 days a year for holiday. (Photo by Nuanchan Thapanachai)
A teenage works as a helper in a shop in Chanthaburi province. The Network of Domestic Workers in Thailand has urged that a worker must have at least one day off a week and 13 days a year for holiday. (Photo by Nuanchan Thapanachai)

Domestic workers have called on the government to raise their living and working standards by forcing employers to abide by a ministerial regulation that protects their labour rights.

Somporn Pasomboon, a representative of the Network of Domestic Workers in Thailand, said even though the Labour Ministry has issued a ministerial regulation to protect the rights of home workers, such as maids, most employers have yet to comply with it.

Many employers are not even aware of the regulation, he said.

Under the regulation, .

If the workers are assigned to work on their holiday, employers must pay them overtime. Workers are also entitled to 30 days paid sick leave per year.

Employers who do not abide by the regulation could face a 20,000-100,000 baht fine and six months in prison.

Speaking at a seminar yesterday to mark International Domestic Workers' Day, which fell on June 16, Ms Somporn said the minister must enforce the regulation to give a better life to the many home workers nationwide.

Several workers, mostly women, spoke at the seminar of the many problems they encounter in their job as domestic employees.

They cited being intimidated, scolded, assaulted as well as sexually abused by their employers.

Some migrant workers in domestic jobs were forced to hand over their passports to their bosses.

Manoch Saengkaew, director of the Welfare Division of the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, said the ministerial regulation covers both Thais and migrants working in the country.

Workers who face abusive actions from employers are encouraged to file a complaint to the department, with their identity kept confidential.

Authorities would then inspect the complainants' workplace and talk to their employers.

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