Labour Rights Promotion Network

by Paulette Waltz

The area in Samut Sakhon, Thailand thrives on the seafood industry. With the massive amount of seafood processed, a lot of labor is necessary, and migrant workers fill that need. Migrant workers are sometimes forced into work through trafficking or because they lack the resources or language abilities to understand their rights.

The work that LPN does is all encompassing, and “aims to promote quality of life for workers. This includes rights-protection, promoting equality, self-reliance, and peaceful living together in society”.. They do work from research to direct assistance in aspects such as legal aid or education. In this essay, I would like to highlight their work in terms of education, as it is a potential solution to the long-term problems.

Education, or lack of education is one aspect that affects the lives of migrant workers. Since migrant workers who come to this area are not literate in Thai, they get stuck in poor working conditions. Furthermore, a lot of young children end up working in the factories instead of going to school. LPN helps give children opportunities to go to school instead of work. They provide some teachers to ease the transition into Thai schools.

I witnessed how hard the staff and teachers worked day and night, every day of the week. The impact they have is expansive; they are able to help individuals but they also affect larger groups of people, positively influencing both the migrant worker and Thai communities. It is amazing to see them work with such incredible balance. They see what needs exist, and they move incisively yet always with such compassion. Their work seen with the children is an example of this.

Paulette Waltz On behalf of Labour Rights Promotion Network