After inquiries from this masthead, Ansell has said the offloaded employees would receive termination payments even if they remained in Thailand, as all but seven of the 42 have done.
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However, the workers say Ansell is shortchanging them on compensation and that they have been subjected to harassment from their former supervisors after refusing to go quietly.
Aged between 20 and 45, comprising both men and women, the Burmese staff had in some cases worked at the Ansell factory in Thailand for more than a decade and were paid based on the average daily minimum wage, which is 388 baht ($17).
Until last year, though, they were outsourced workers, not direct employees of Ansell, and the company has sought to pay them out only for the short time they have been on its payroll.
Chatmanee Taisonthi, an associate lawyer with human-rights focused Bangkok firm Rising Sun Law, said the workers had been offered about half of what she believes they should receive, leaving them underpaid an average of 40,000 baht ($1750). She said Ansell was obligated under Thai law to compensate them for the full period they worked at the factory.
The Ansell factory where the employees work.
“Even if the workers worked for a subcontractor, as they did, Ansell would be considered as their employer,” she said.
“They worked in the manufacturing process at that factory.”
In a statement, an Ansell spokesperson said final payments to the workers comprised remaining wages, an additional month’s pay as notice and severance pay, and the company had been in discussion with Thai authorities about their options to remain in Thailand and find new employment.
“Ansell has met all its obligations under Thai law, including on severance payments, to former employees of its Bangkok plant,” the spokesperson said.
“The company acknowledges the complex situation that migrant workers in Thailand currently face. We have been in contact with our former employees and continue to seek constructive dialogue with their representatives as we work through options for providing additional financial support as they transition to new employment.”
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Independent migrant worker rights specialist Andy Hall said the Burmese workers were in danger of being exposed to forced labour and trafficking with their immigration documents having expired. They feared deportation to Myanmar, where they could be sent to underground camps just across the border, he said.
“These are workers who have worked their arse off during the pandemic when [Ansell] made so much money,” Hall said.
“These are really high-risk people. They’ve failed to adopt a humanitarian approach [so they can] dispose of workers as easily and simply and cheaply as possible.”
Ansell has been grappling with oversupply issues as orders fall for its products coming out of the pandemic.
More than 3900 people have been killed in Myanmar since its armed forces seized power in February 2021, jailing democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and violently cracking down against resistance.
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