Representatives of the Migrant Workers’ Union of Thailand — led by Coordinator and Educator Oranuch Pholpinyoh, Secretary Maliwan Athanu, and Treasurer Sailom Suwanta — held on March 27, 2025 a press conference at the NGO-COD Northeastern Office in Khon Kaen. They addressed former Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin (now Deputy Minister of Commerce) following his claim in Parliament on March 24, 2025 that only 30 berry pickers had faced injustice abroad.
The minister had stated:
“Out of over 3,900 people who went, only around 30 had problems. Based on investigations, they were all new workers unfamiliar with wild fruit areas. The fruit is weighed — those who pick more earn more. Some complaints about food and earnings came from those who picked less.”
The union strongly contested this, claiming that over 4,000 people had been affected and that Suchart’s statement was inaccurate and downplayed the extent of the issue. They also criticized the 13 measures previously introduced under Suchart’s leadership to protect workers, arguing that they were ineffective and lacked enforcement.
Maliwan Athanu: “What he said is mostly untrue.”
Maliwan, a former berry picker herself, shared that the only accurate part of Suchart’s speech was the contract rate of €9 per hour — which, she emphasized, was not honored.
“Before going, we were trained at the Khon Kaen Labour Office and received two training certificates—for berry and strawberry picking. We were also required to pay 500 baht each to a fund.”
She said they departed on June 27, 2022, expecting to work on farms. Instead, after just 20 days on farms, they were sent to gather fruit in the forests—contrary to the contract.
She also revealed that when Suchart visited workers in Finland, what he saw was staged by recruitment agencies, showing only the well-fed, well-housed workers handpicked to greet him.
“We lived crammed together — 400 people in one building, with only a few bathrooms and 8–12 people per bedroom. We had to queue for showers from 2:00 AM, worked over 8 hours daily with no weekends off, even though the contract promised 40 hours per week.”
After returning to Thailand on September 12, 2022, Maliwan and others filed complaints in November, only to be told by the Khon Kaen Labour Office that they had no right to compensation, as they had “breached the contract” by traveling voluntarily. This response contradicted their belief that the trip was officially coordinated.
She added that although Suchart claimed there were support funds in 2022 (the same year he visited Finland), when they requested compensation, all they received was vague reassurance that they would be “helped.” By 2025, no support had arrived.
“All we got was 3,000 baht in emergency aid from the Ministry of Social Development. It’s nowhere near enough to cover our losses.”
Some workers from Nong Khai were told they had forfeited their right to compensation because they hadn’t filed complaints within two years.
Petchnarin Busathip: “Even the insurance we were promised didn’t exist.”
Another affected worker, Petchnarin, also participated in the press conference. He confirmed that only select workers were shown to Suchart during his Finland visit, while the majority — those truly suffering — were out in the forest and never even knew the minister had visited.
“The bedrooms and kitchens were cleaned and prepared. Only selected workers welcomed him. The rest of us were picking wild fruit.”
He also recalled that while they were promised €9.20 per hour and an income guarantee of 30,000 baht, these assurances never materialized.
“When it came time to collect our wages, we asked about the guaranteed income. They said it didn’t exist. In the end, I got only €50 as a ‘consolation payment’—barely 800 baht.”
Sailom Suwanta: “We lived like slaves.”
Treasurer Sailom Suwanta described the living and working conditions as akin to slavery, with cramped rooms and poor food—mostly wild mushrooms they had to forage themselves. Workdays were long and cold, often below freezing.
“When you visited in 2022 and took photos with traffickers, only 10% of workers received the 100,000 baht you promoted. The rest returned home empty-handed or in debt. Some workers even came back with negative balances—like -86.5 or -70 euros—despite working the whole season.”
She also blasted the 13 anti-trafficking measures as useless:
“They’re as worthless as toilet paper in the workers’ camps—and even that toilet paper was deducted from our wages.”
She questioned why, if the measures were effective, complaints kept increasing: 548 in 2022, and 270 in 2023. Altogether, more than 4,000 people have filed complaints since 2006.
“No labour ministry in any country should send workers into such conditions.”
Oranuch Pholpinyoh: “We demand accountability.”
Oranuch, the union’s coordinator, presented official records and statistics contradicting Suchart’s claims:
Working Conditions: Workers had to work 8–20 hours per day for 70–80 days straight, with no breaks—akin to forced labor.
Number of Victims: From 2006 to 2024, a total of 4,025 workers filed official complaints—760 for Finland, and 2,665 for Sweden. The claim of only 30 affected workers is demonstrably false.
Debt and Financial Loss: Workers were told the upfront cost was only 65,000 baht, with the rest “covered” by their future wages. In reality, most came back with only €88.52 and deep debt—averaging 170,000 baht. The sources of these debts included family loans, village funds, state banks, private lenders, and loan sharks.
“The stress caused by these debts drove some to suicide overseas. Others had to sell their homes, cows, or land to repay what they owed from berry picking.”
“The so-called income guarantee of 30,240 baht never materialized. No support fund money ever reached the workers, not even the COVID-19 relief funds.”
The union ended with a formal rebuttal:
“The Migrant Workers’ Union of Thailand (MWUT) condemns the false and shameful statements made by Suchart Chomklin before Parliament on March 24, 2025.”
“We, the thousands of berry-picking workers—not just 30—are here to demand justice, reparations, and accountability under the 13 anti-human trafficking measures you once proudly endorsed. Our suffering is not because we ‘didn’t know the forest’—as you and officials try to claim—but due to systemic failures, false promises, and exploitation.”
[…] baht in bribes from Thai workers destined for Finland.” His comments about the berry pickers brought refutations. Taking this legal approach to silencing critics seems a Suchart […]