The Mae Sot Thai Labour Rights Protection Office awarded compensation today to a Burmese migrant worker injured on the job who has complained the amount he was given was dismal.

Zaw Lin worked at the Pau Si Yan cargo handling company in Mae Sot. He was injured last month after being hit by an overhead power cable. Both his hands were broken and he sought compensation from his employer with the assistance of Labour rights organisations and the Thai Labour Rights Protection Office.

“I will be re-employed in my work. They gave me only Baht 5,000 as compensation. I don’t understand all these paper works and afraid of the officials. I have to accept this little amount, I have no choice”, Zaw Lin said.

After the accident he was sent to hospital but as both his hands were broken he was unable to feed himself. He had to wait for help, which he said came only once a day.

He then decided to return to his home town Meiktila, central Burma or further treatment and asked his employer to maintain his salary while he was incapacitated. His employer gave him 1500 baht of his usual 2000-baht salary.

He approached the Joint Action Committee for Burmese, the Thai Labour Law Clinic and the Thai Labour Rights Protection Office and lodged a complaint for compensation last month.

A Burmese housemaid was beaten by her employer last week and received just 200 baht in compensation from the labour office.