On 18 November 2013, the Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF) has approached and asked the Ranong Welfare Protection and Vocational Training Center (male) to help eight human trafficking victims who have been sued as codefendants in a labour dispute case.
At 10.00 am on 28 November 2013, at the Trang Provincial Court, the Labour Court Region 9 mediated the case between the two parties in the Labour Black Case no. 226/2556 with Boonlap Fishery Part., Ltd. as plaintiff who asks the Court to revoke an order of the Department of Welfare and Labour Protection’s Trang Labour Inspector no. 19/2556 dated 4 September 2013. The Department is sued as the first defendant, Labour Inspector, second defendant, and eight human trafficking victims, their employees, as codefendants.
According to the order issued by the Labour Inspector, (1) Boonlap Fishery Part., Ltd. (plaintiff) is declared as the employer who provided all expenses tohire the three vessel masters and other crew members to fish and bring and share with them the income, and (2) since no payment slips have been made as per the Ministerial Regulation no. 10, it is believed that no payment has yet been made to their employees. As a result, the company was instructed to provide wages to the eight codefendants, 28,000 baht each.
The reasons the plaintiff asks the Labour Court Region 9 to revoke the Labour Inspector’s order include (1) the plaintiff and the vessel masters insist that all the payment has been made to the crew members. They cited documentary and oral evidence including the book used for recording the payment made to each crew member, and the bookkeeper. Though no personal ID card has been issued to each crew member, but the records contain all essential personal information of each of the crew members as per the Ministerial Regulation no. 10 including their names, positions, wage rates, number of payment made, and the last withdrawal of payment, though no signatures of the crew to sign as recipients. And 2) the Labour Inspector was accused of having issued the order later than 60 days since the complaint has been received from the eight codefendants, which was a breach of Article 124 of the Labour Protection Act which requires that such an order is to be made by the Labour Inspector within 60 days after receiving the complaint.
During the mediation, the Labour Judge started from explaining the process and the reasons the two parties were asked to be present on that day. Basically, they were there to negotiate the amount of wages and the issue of delay if the case proceeds to the trial level. The Court tried to convince them that if an agreement could be struck, the codefendants could receive the money today and the case would end and all the eight codefendants were not required to come to the Court anymore. But if an agreement could not be reached, the case would go on to the witness examination, the process of which shall take a long time, and it is not certain if the Court would grant to the full amount requested for by the eight codefendants or not since it will be subject to the taking of evidence during the trial.
Then, the Court asked the eight codefendants if they were willing to settle the amount of wages or not. In the beginning, they insisted on receiving the amount of 28,000 baht each as per the order made by the Labour Inspector. The Court proposed that they receive 20,000 baht each, but the codefendantsproposed 25,000 baht. Then, the Court proposed 18,000 baht, the plaintiff proposed 15,000 baht and the eight codefendants proposed 20,000 baht. Then, the Court allowed staff from the Ranong Welfare Protection and Vocational Training Center (male) and Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF) brought the eight codefendants outside for their private talk.
After the talk, of the eight codefendants, two agreed to receive 15,000 baht each. Then, a legal officer of the Department of Welfare and Labour Protection discussed with the six codefendants and later proposed 18,000 baht. Then, the plaintiff proposed 16,000 baht. After some talk, the six codefendants agreed to accept 16,000 baht.
An out of court agreement has been made by the Court in which the plaintiff agrees to paying the eight codefendants 16,000 baht each on the mediation day and the eight codefendants have received the sum on that day.
The eight codefendants came from Burma and have become victims of human trafficking in fishing trawlers. They arrived in Thailand at different times and were held up at different places. But all of them were lured to work on fishing boats in Kantang District, Trang by the same Burmese agents, Mr. Ko Myo and co. All of the eight victims have been smuggled in the same way. Since then, the eight injured parties had to work on the boats without getting any pay and they were even subjected to physical abuse committed by Mr. Ko Myo and his associates. All the victims were forced to work for around five months, after which they were rescued by officers from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and police officers. All of them have been accorded with protection as injured parties as per the 2008 Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act and were given shelter at the Ranong Welfare Protection and Vocational Training Center (male).
The human trafficking case is still pending with the Trang public prosecutor and an advanced witness examination is taking place prior to the filing of the case with the Trang Provincial Court.
For more information please contact Ms. Natthanan Jaisue: Coordinator of the Anti-Human Trafficking of Labour, Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF)
Phone 02-2776882, Cell phone 089-9257291 E-mail: na*********@***il.comเมื่อวันที่ 18 พฤศจิกายน 2556 ทางมูลนิธิเพื่อสิทธิมนุ
โดยเมื่อวันที่ 28 พฤศจิกายน 2556 เวลา 10.00 น. ณ ศาลจังหวัดตรัง ศาลแรงงานภาค 9 ได้นัดไกล่เกลี่ยคู่ความทั้ง 2 ฝ่ายในคดีแรงงาน หมายเลขดำที่ 226/2556 โดยมีห้างหุ้นส่วนจำกัดบุ
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