Labour pains

Unskilled women workers suffer many occupational health hazards without proper medical care and compensation. Together with other groups, they are working on a new law which would ensure unprecedented safety and labour protection measures

Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan

Twenty-two years ago, when she had just entered the workforce, Somboon Sikhamdokkae, then 17, told herself that she must be a good and diligent worker if she wanted to see the company prosper.

"I worked hard. I gave whole-hearted respect to my bosses because I thought of them as my elder relatives," she said.

In return for her labour, she was promised more money and a better life. But after several years of hard work, her life did not change for the better.

"I often blamed myself for not being better off. It might be because I was not well educated, or I did not work hard enough," recalled Ms Somboon, a former model employee who used to work more than 12 hours a day.

At the time, Ms Somboon - her family's major breadwinner - was doing just fine. At least, she could make ends meet each month.

It was not until July, 1992 that she realised something was wrong when an occupational health specialist at Ratchavithi Hospital told her to stop working immediately.

Pale and frail, she went to see the doctor only to find that she had lost 60 percent of her lung capacity.

Her illness was work-related, the doctor said. She was diagnosed as being severely sick from byssinosis, a respiratory disorder caused by inhaling cotton dust.

But worst of all, she was left to fight the sickness alone.

Her employers, whom she had always respected, simply refused to help her. The factory manager told her that the diagnosis was wrong. The company refused to pay the medical bill, let alone assist her in seek compensation from the Ministry of Labour and Welfare.

"I felt very disappointed. I used to be faithful to the company. Was all my sweat and sincerity throughout those years worth nothing?" she groaned.

Ms Somboon's fate epitomises the common plight of many unskilled women workers who routinely suffer occupational health hazards without proper medical care and compensation.

FIGHTING ON

According to Karl Marx, in their employers' eyes, workers are "a mere appendage of flesh on a machine of iron."

Her case seemed hopeless, but Ms Somboon did not succumb to the injustice she felt was her lot. With some knowledge of welfare law, she started to fight on her own.

"I've been a member of a labour union for several years. So I knew what I should do and who I could contact," she explained, adding that although she was a union leader, she had never before been aggressive towards her bosses.

With a health certificate from the doctor, Somboon was entitled to take five-months' unpaid leave. During this time, she also reported her case to the relevant authorities and made contact with related organisations.

Finally, she received welfare compensation. Although Somboon physically recovered, the full capacity of her lungs did not return.

Her success story in winning compensation spread throughout the textile factory as she was one of the first few who did so. Others then sought her advice.

"After my diagnosis, many found that they were also sick with byssinosis," she said.

In December 1992, Ms Somboon and some friends set up a small group for sick workers. At the time, the group's main objective was to help one another seek compensation for their work-related illnesses.

From the factory's welfare benefits, workers received only 750 baht healthcare allowance a year. This could not cover even one month's medical bill, the union leader said.

By word of mouth, the group became widely known and gained more members. With a helping hand from the Friends of Women Foundation, the group expanded their work and adopted its official name as "The Council of Work- and Environment-Related Patients' Network of Thailand," or WEPT for short.

With only eight members in the beginning, the number has currently jumped to 300. Coming from various industries, including textiles, garments and electronics, they are all victims of occupational health hazards.

COURTING DISASTER

The result of Somboon's assertiveness was that she was fired in 1996 and her husband, who worked in the same factory, was sacked in 1997.

"I could have predicted that this would happen. Soon after I got back to work in 1992, the company filed a lawsuit against me. They said my illness wasn't work-related and I didn't deserve the compensation," explained the WEPT leader.

"How could they know the pain? They did not suffer like us," she added.

Despite the threat to her career, Ms Somboon never felt discouraged.

"Thanks to my tough childhood background, I could stand the attacks," said Ms Somboon, who came from a poor family in suburban Bangkok and worked to support her brothers and sisters since her school years.

What she has done for her worker sisters, Ms Somboon strongly believes, is worthwhile.

In the first few years of their struggle, most cases were successful. But in recent years, it has become more difficult for members to be compensated. The group has lost in their fight many times, while several cases were dismissed due to some "mysterious dark influences."

"Anyway, we just can't stop our work. There are still a lot of people out there who are treated unjustly," said Ms Somboon, who last year won a prestigious Ashoka Award for her social work.

Recent research estimates there are over 200,000 workers suffering occupational afflictions each year. But only four percent of them received compensation.

Byssinosis alone has affected female workers in the textiles industry at a rate of 30 percent.

Meanwhile, women in the electronics industry suffer from toxicity resulting from prolonged exposure to lead, aluminium, and other acids and alkalines at an alarming rate.

The prevalence of abnormal levels of lead in the bodies of women electronics workers is 36 percent, 24 percent higher than for traffic policemen.

"Should this be the fate of women workers who accounted for the country's economic miracle in the past decade? I don't think so. As a group, however, I believe we can make some difference for our sisters," Ms Somboon pointed out.

'COTTON SICKNESS'

For years, what women workers got in return for their labour was low pay, bad working conditions, excessive working hours, occupational hazards and inadequate medical care.

"In textile factories, we suffer from deafening noise, poor lighting and improper ventilation. We also endlessly inhale cotton dust.

Because of financial necessity, little education and lack of health information, a lot of workers take their good health for granted. Ms Somboon was no exception.

When she first joined the factory, she said she was very healthy. She used to be an athlete for her company's team.

After 10 years of working under bad conditions, she began getting sick. She often had headaches. Her nose ran and there was phlegm in her throat. When she went to see doctors at local clinics, they said nothing was wrong. It was just the flu.

Then her health got worse. She often had chest pain, was fatigued and had respiratory difficulties.

Despite her frequent illnesses, Somboon did not dare to take leave because she was afraid it would affect her year-end bonus.

"My annual bonus was as small as a few thousand baht. But for people who must make ends meet every month, it is the only large amount of saving we can have," explained Somboon who needed to support six members of the family as her father was a drunkard.

Her anxiety grew when several doctors at major hospitals could not tell her the cause of her sickness.

"I felt like I was dying. I became skinny and lost my appetite. My face turned greenish pale. My nose ran all the time," she said, adding that because her illness was not diagnosed in the early stages, her daughter was born with respiratory problems.

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

What she went through, Ms Somboon pointed out, is one of the commonest experiences of work-related patients. Their illnesses are not detected until their health has been ruined.

"Because of overexposure to lead, many workers get headaches. But doctors say they are just stressed. Sometimes they find out they're poisoned by the chemical when it's too late to do anything. A few have even died without knowing the cause," said the labour leader.

This is mainly because Thailand lacks occupational health specialists, commented Ms Somboon.

"According to the Ministry of Public Health, there are only 14 registered experts in the field in the country. Worse, only Dr Orapan Methadilokkul of Ratchavithi Hospital has opened a specialised clinic for victims," she said.

Several physicians refused to certify that the patients' illnesses were work-related because they did not want to go through lengthy court hassles, she claimed.

Take Metta Santawa, a member of Ms Somboon's group. A victim of a work accident and medical malpractice, she fell while carrying a heavy cleaning machine up the stairs since her employers barred maids from using the elevators.

However, the doctor at a private hospital in Ladprao who treated her wrote on the medical certificate that Metta had a psychosomatic problem, not a spinal problem. Consequently, this made it very difficult for Metta who is now crippled to get full welfare compensation.

"Our group is helping to fight for Metta and other victims," said Ms Somboon.

Throughout the past six years, she said 200 members of her group had received compensation, both in and out of the Labour Court.

But as a group established by people from underprivileged backgrounds and poor education, they have made a lot of mistakes and faced much discrimination.

They must deal with bureaucratic red-tape and lengthy court proceedings which take time and money.

"Firstly, we ran the group on our own meagre salaries. Members helped one another here and there. Later, we agreed to donate 30 percent of our compensation payments to the group's activities," explained Ms Somboon, adding that they rarely get financial support elsewhere.

"Of course, we've had attacks from employers and the bureaucracy. Many want to destroy our reputation and unity."

Apart from struggling for fair compensation, the group has joined the Forum of the Poor and proposed several initiatives for better welfare of workers.

They urged the government to train more occupational health specialists and allow workers to have more say in compensation schemes.

With other labour groups, they are now working on a historic push for a self-written bill to ensure unprecedented work safety and labour protection measures, revealed Ms Somboon.

According to Article 170 of the new Constitution, they need 50,000 eligible voters to sign in support of the bill in order to initiate legislation.

"5,000 voters have already joined our campaign. We hope to finish the job as soon as possible," she added.

The bill is important for workers rights as it will create an independent institute for labour protection. This is especially needed now as the economic crisis has silenced a lot of work-related patients, she said. They are afraid to ask for compensation for fear of losing their jobs. Meanwhile, many have to work even harder and expose themselves to more occupational hazards due to mass layoffs on production lines.

"No one wants to be sick from their jobs. But since we have already been affected, we have no choice. We must fight. Are we wrong in demanding fair play?" Ms Somboon asked.

Info for Donations:

Name of organisation: The Council of Work- and Environment-Related Patients' Network of Thailand (WEPT)

Address: 70/53 Moo 2, Tha Sai, Amphur Muang, Nonthaburi 11000

Contact person: Ms Somboon Sikhamdokkae

Tel: 951-3037

Fax: 951-3037

Savings account name: Fund for Work- and Environment-Related Patients

Saving account number: 241-1-08283-6

Bank name and branch: Sri Ayudya Bank, Tiwanont Branch

Apart from donations, you can be a part of change by supporting WEPT's push for a work safety bill. WEPT is seeking the signatures of 50,000 eligible voters in order to initiate the legislation, according to the Constitution's Article 170.

The Health and Safety Protection Bill would create a national, independent institute that would enforce work safety and labour protection regulations. This will benefit not only unskilled labourers, but the workforce at all levels.

To add your name, contact Ms Somboon on the above number.

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