The document summarizes interviews conducted at a construction site in Bangkok that employs over 200 Burmese migrant workers. It finds that while the migrant workers provide needed labor and earn higher wages than in Burma, there are also significant difficulties from the language barrier, lack of skills/experience, and mistreatment by authorities. The construction company owner acknowledges challenges with ensuring safety, communication and training for the large group of migrant workers. Overall, the document explores both the benefits and burdens of employing Burmese migrant laborers in Thailand from the perspectives of the workers and their employer.

1. Burmese Migrants: Both a Burden and Blessing in Thailand
Sthapanik Toongtong (Nik)

2. For my primary research, I conducted 2 main interviews,
and site survey of the conditions and difficulties both the
employer and the Burmese migrant employees were facing at a
construction site in Bangkok, capital city of Thailand.
I prepared 2 sets of questions; first directed at the
Burmese migrant employees, and the second for their employer.
The questions for the migrants mainly concerned their reason for
coming to work in Thailand, their living conditions back home
compared to here, their process of getting here, difficulties they
face with the Thai locals/authorities/jobs etc. As for the
employer, I asked follow up questions from what the Burmese
migrants said, and the difficulties they face with the migrants
etc.

3. The construction site that I conducted the interviews at is
Suan-lum Night Bazaar Ratchadapisek’s future site, 450 meters x
40 meters, located on Ratchadapisek main road near the center
of Bangkok city. Over 200 Burmese migrants work and live
here, with the addition of about 100 Thai staff who do not live
on site. This site belongs to my father’s company, so I am granted
access to all areas and people.
The construction site consists of a temporary office, a
warehouse to store materials and equipment, 2 separate
temporary dormitories, and bathrooms for the workers. It is
common for a project of this scale to have on site temporary
shelters for the workers to reside in for the duration of the
construction (up to 2 years).

4. Part of the fence at the construction site

5. Me observing the work on the 2nd floor of the future building

6. Me observing and interviewing a Burmese migrant at work

7. A group of Burmese workers and some Thai supervisors working

8. A group of Burmese workers at work on the 2nd floor

9. A group of Burmese workers working on a pillar above ground

10. A group of Burmese workers binding a pillar
under a Thai foreman supervision

11. Construction site

12. Thai workers showing Burmese workers what to do

13. Construction site

14. A foreman, my father and mother, and I on the 2nd floor

15. Crossing over the basement floor

16. Construction site

17. Thai workers communicating to Burmese workers from 3rd floor

18. Toon helping a Burmese migrant worker with his legal paperwork

19. The temporary shelter for workers with a store in front

20. Burmese snacks brought down by bus from the border sold at the store

21. The temporary shelter for workers

22. The temporary shelter for workers

23. Burmese migrant workers watching television in the common area

24. Name: Toon
Nationality: Burmese (Mon tribe)
Description:
Toon is a Burmese immigrant
worker (more permanent than migrant)
who has been working for my family
company for over 5 years. When he started
off as our gardener, he could barely speak
Thai, but now he is quite fluent. I asked
him to be my translator and the
representative of the Burmese migrants
onsite since they all come to him for nearly
everything, therefore he knows all the
problems and situations.
He is not a construction worker
like the majority of our Burmese
employees, but rather a handy-man and
coordinator of the Burmese migrants for
the company.

25. Difficulties:
 Language/communication with Thai locals; most cannot understand or
communicate in the Thai language until after years of staying here.
 Many never worked in companies or have work experiences before...most have
never been out of Burma.
 Bullied by Thai authorities; if found wandering outside the site walls or work
areas, Burmese migrants are often arrested by the police even if they have copies
of their legal documents to prove that they are legal migrants. Then they have to
rely on their employers to bail them out.
 Often seen and treated as a lower class by Thai natives.
 Employer owns their real legal documents (passport etc.) for the duration of their
employment.
 Have to pay the Burmese agent and authorities by the border a big amount of
money to get across to work in Thailand. Those who doesn’t have the money end
up risking their lives crossing the border illegally, and if they survive, have to find
jobs in Thailand on their own.

26. Benefits:
 In Burma male skilled workers gets 180 baht a day, here they get a minimum of 300
baht per day (male or female, skilled or unskilled), and the cost of living is similar.
*300 baht (minimum wage by law) is about $10, to get an idea of living costs in
Thailand compared to the US >> http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-
living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Thailand&city1=Bangkok&
country2=United+States&city2=New+York%2C+NY
 Most migrants come with near to nothing but hopes of better income and life
quality, many are not informed of the work that they will have to do, so it depends
on their luck of where they end up with which employers-good or bad. The ones
lucky enough to work with big companies who abide by the legal rules like this one
gets proper wages, healthcare, and shelter.
 Guaranteed pay, free housing, free electricity and water usage, and up to two free
meals a day, plus insurance (VS lack of electricity and proper healthcare in Burma).
 Opportunity to change jobs or extend stay in Thailand, more likely to gain more
income than back in Burma.

27. Name: Pairojana Toongtong
Nationality: Thai
Description:
Pairojana is P. Thai Architect
and Engineering Co., Ltd.’s head architect
and owner, is an ex-senator in Thailand, a
CEO and owner of Bangkok Night Bazaar
Co., Ltd., and is my father.
As an architect, and unlike
many CEOs, he works close to his
employees on site and directs most of
the work himself in order to ensure the
results he wants. He has a little bedroom
in the office at the site and spends most
of his time there. Therefore, he knows
everything that is going on there and all
the major problems the company
encounters with Burmese migrants, plus
he was a senator so he is quite familiar
with the laws and government policies.

28. Difficulties:
 Language/communication with the Burmese workers proves to be difficult even though
translators have been hired because “we’ve just found out that there are many different
tribe dialects in Burma, and only Burmese who went to school can understand the
standard dialect…So now we are working through body language and hand signals on a
construction site, pretty dangerous and painfully time consuming.”-Pairojana Toongtong
 Out of the 200+ Burmese migrants only about 10% of them can either speak some Thai
or English, and only 30% have done or can do construction work properly. The rest are
still learning their work as they go along, or are relocated to do other jobs in the
company.
 Many Thai police are full of corruption and they look to make money where ever they
can, so they often bully migrants or jail them and wait for employers to bail them out
even though they have done nothing wrong.
 Binding contracts have to be signed with agencies at the border who provided the
migrants worker to the company for legal purposes; stating that the company is
responsible for this # of migrants, for this # of months (duration of project), and that
company cannot charge the migrants for shelter and electricity/water if they live on site,
have to pay them according to Thai law minimum wage like a Thai local, and have to get
insurance coverage for each of the migrants etc.

29. Difficulties (continued):
 “We’ve paid the Burmese-Thai agency by the border over $100,000 to get them to send
us 200 legal, able-bodied workers with specific requests that they should be able to
speak or understand some Thai, know how to work in the construction industry, and be
healthy without fatal diseases. We even sent people from the company up to the border
to pick and choose the migrants ourselves, but when the agency sent them to our site
after we signed a contract with them…less than half were the people we chose. I feel
like they are 200 children I have to take care of sometimes; when they get sick or injured
we have to pay for all the costs that the insurance doesn’t cover, watch over them every
second so they don’t get in trouble, we have to feed them twice a day, provide them
with shelter, pay for their water and electricity usage, pay for their legal papers, teach
them how to work step by step…many of them don’t even know how to hammer a nail
properly. Two weeks ago a bunch of them had an accident because apparently
communication wasn’t clear and they didn’t know how to do the work properly; 5 ended
up in the hospital, 1 of my top foreman included. At least no one died, otherwise the
company would have been held responsible. And there’s also a riot like twice a week due
to misunderstandings. It really slows down the construction, and for a big project like
this costs a lot and effects a lot of people…I don’t know if we made the right decision
bringing them here, but now that they are here we are responsible for them and we all
need to try our best.”- Pairojana Toongtong

30. Benefits:
 Thailand, especially Bangkok lacks labor forces to work in
construction sites. Therefore the Burmese migrants fill in these
spots nicely since many of them do not get picky about what
work they do.
 If the migrants gets skilled, they fill in electricians, metal
workers, plumbers etc. spots very well, and those are key
spots that are lacking.
 Burmese migrants are full of young and eager workers that are
often more enthusiastic (less lazy) to work than most Thai
labors.

31. I wasn’t surprised that there are a lot of difficulties going on in the site
between the Burmese migrants and the company since we have just employed a large
number of migrants to work in an alien environment from their home, but I was
surprised at how tired my dad and the Thai foremen and workers looked after 200+
more people were there to help their work. I thought the new labor would alleviate and
quicken their workload, but after the interview I found out that this past month since the
migrants arrived has been the complete opposite.
Being a neutral person as an interviewer made me sense frustration from both
sides very clearly, but hopefully things will get better as the migrants adopt some skills
and Thai language. As the Burmese migrants are not to blame for this result so far either.
Hearing from their side, they are just innocent people eager to make a better income to
upgrade their living conditions from near poverty back home. They end up where ever
the agents send them and they can only try and hope for the best.
I’ve just realized how strongly a language barrier can effect lives; I mean I’ve
been bilingual and have been in an international environment since I was 3 years old, so I
wasn’t so aware of it first hand. But now that examine this site, I see that everything
would be so much easier if everyone could communicate properly, though it’s not like
the Thais have time to learn Burmese and the Burmese to learn Thai in a classroom, so I
guess that they would have to learn from each other and improvise along the way.