Thai workers in Sweden cry Picking berries doesn’t get paid. While the brokerage company said that everything was done according to the conditions – BBC News Thai

not received salary and took the debts back home This is a problem faced by dozens of Thai workers in Sweden. After coming to work picking berries since July, however, the recruitment agency of this group of workers reiterated. do everything on condition

Most recently, the Swedish labor union spoke with employers. which is in the process of checking the details And Thai workers who see that they are not receiving wages according to the conditions can complain to the Department of Employment.

Initially, the workers contacted Chitra Kochadej, a labor rights activist. and coordinator of TRY ARM workers’ cooperative group living in Sweden. Chitra told BBC Thai that dozens of workers It is scheduled to return to Thailand on September 28, but has not yet received clarity on compensation from the employer in any way.

Chitra said that according to the employment contract These workers are required to receive a monthly salary of 23,183 kronor, or over 77,600 baht, no later than the 25th of each month, but until September 27, they have not received a month’s salary.

Star Royal Services Company Limited, which is a recruiting company for this group of workers. Explain to the BBC Thai about the allegations from Chitra and the workers that the company has done everything according to the conditions. and allow this group of workers to contact the Department of Employment Ministry of Labor to meet and clarify everything

“If any party accuses it can’t be stopped There must be a middle ground, the Ministry of Labor, because (the procedure) everything goes through the Ministry of Labor,” a Star Royal Services representative, who declined to be named, told the BBC Thai over the phone on Sept. 27.

On September 26, Chitra told BBC Thai that Star Royal Services, a job recruiting company, Reserve about 130,000 baht each for this group of workers before traveling to Sweden. This is the cost of various arrangements such as airfare, food, accommodation, car rental and fuel costs for berry picking.

She said that workers hope that after working for a little over two months, their salary will be around 160,000 baht, and after deducting 130,000 baht from the company first, the rest of the money will be taken home as a profit. But when the tax is deducted again They have almost nothing or even owe them to the recruiting company.

Chitra said warnings were also issued to some workers that They do not fully pick 60-65 kg of berries per week. and accused “Your fruit picking is below the standard. It is therefore worth noting that you may not have the intention of collecting the fruit, or you may collect the fruit and sell it to another buyer while in the forest. Actions in both of these cases deemed to have committed a serious offense It’s like a fraud on the company’s fruit…”

Chitra said the minimum amount of berries workers had to pick each day was not included in the contract. As for selling it to other buyers, it’s not possible.” (Berry Picking Place) It’s in the middle of the forest. And the workers just arrived (Sweden) can’t speak the language.”

“The motivation the company gives is that if you collect a lot of (berries) more than 130,000 baht, it will be the money of the workers…” Chitra said. If it’s good to collect, nature, forest, it must be conducive. but with a natural forest We don’t know which year there will be many. Which year will be less So the workers have to go to work on weekends too in order to pick as many berries as possible.”

But even if they couldn’t pick as many berries, Chitra said they should have been promised a minimum salary of 23,183 kronor, or 77,600 baht, but it turned out that dozens of workers were told they were in debt. company The person with the highest debt balance is up to 50,000 baht in debt.

“What I would like to reflect is that the Ministry of Labor and the embassy must be aware of these things. You can’t let people come without getting a single baht back,” said Chitra.

A representative for Star Royal Services, however, told the BBC Thai workers “must accept the condition” as originally stated and signed. The company must use capital to reserve for various management expenses and when income comes in The company had to deduct the money back.

Star Royal Services said the contracts with the workers were not salary guarantees. before they left for Sweden. Has been trained that “Collect a lot Keep less, get less All the fruit he had collected was his. Then he sold it to the person who issued the visa. If you will bring fruit to the company Then take it as a salary It will be another condition.”

BBC Thai has seen a labor contract which Chitra said belongs to one of the 61 workers. “Employees must be paid a minimum wage of 23,183 Swedish kronor per month.” However, the BBC could not verify whether other workers’ contracts were the same or different.

Kanchana Phatarachoke, Thai Ambassador to Stockholm Explain to the BBC Thai in this matter that The embassy has acknowledged and has coordinated with the union in the berry picking area to take care of them. The union spoke with employers on Sept. 27 and was told they would talk to employers and employees at the camp in the afternoon.

In addition, Mrs. Kanchana stated that has also notified the Department of Employment The Department of Employment states that it is ready to continue helping employees.

BBC Thai asked to the Department of Employment. by answering that If the employee does not receive justice under the employment contract, he or she can file a complaint at the Department of Labor Protection and Welfare.

Most recently, on September 27, Chitra told the BBC Thai that it had concluded from the negotiations between the labor union and the employer’s company.

1. Minimum deposit because workers have debts with Thai companies The company therefore collects the security deposit to offset the debt. after returning to Thailand will summarize the balance and pay the rest to the workers. for workers who have increased will receive additional money in proportion

2. In the event that the worker is of the opinion that he is not receiving wages according to the conditions can complain to the Department of Employment for inspection

3. In the process of checking how the minimum security deposit will be deducted from taxes and other expenses as a preliminary information about how much the workers will receive the insurance and how much will be paid when deducting debts.

Chitra said that it means that the workers will not have debt. If it meets the agreement the company talks to the union and the workers will have little money left without tax in Sweden. But if tax is deducted, there will be no money left.

This is not the first time that questions have been raised about the practices of brokerage firms or employers against Thai workers.

Back in 2016, a group of 26 Thai workers went to Finland to pick berries. The owner of a berry company in Finland was eventually convicted of human trafficking charges against the berry and mushroom picking workers from Thailand. and to compensate all victims in the amount of 2 hundred thousand euros (7.4 million baht).

The Helsinki Times news website reported on Jan. 28 that the Supreme Court of Finland The business owner sentenced the business owner to one year and 10 months in prison on Jan. 26, increasing the sentence from the Court of Appeal, which sentenced him to one year and four months.

Each year, Thai workers travel to Wild berries and other seasonal fruits are harvested in Finland and Sweden, estimated at 5,000-8,000 people through channels contacted by employers, fruit companies, brokerages and intergovernmental programs. According to the information from the Ministry of Labor Thais who traveled to pick fruit during the 2020 season between July and September, divided into 3,200 Swedes and 2,014 from Finland, remitted more than 618 million baht. In 2021, around 8,200 Thais traveled through the Ministry of Labor. person

Chitra said that the incident was like buying a lottery ticket. That may not be right, but there is hope.

“Thai people have heard that they have been deceived. But believe it might not be me. I might be able to collect more than others. I might be lucky to find a forest full of berries. This kind of hope makes people continue to travel because they lack hope in Thailand. At least it’s like buying a lottery.”

Chitra said that what the Ministry of Labor had to do was to send the workers themselves to reduce the cost of the brokerage firm. She said the labor ministry had to do immediately was to pay off these labor groups. And the embassy must have a list of employers in hand. “When there is a problem, the embassy must contact the employer immediately. Thai people who step on the land must know who their employer is.”