The article was originally published by Schyst resande (Fair Travel Network) together with Fair Action. Their ongoing campaign in Sweden looks into how hotel workers are treated in Thailand.
Safe, friendly and affordable. Thailand is a favourite holiday destination. But the tourism industry isn’t all sunshine. For the Burmese migrant workers who clean the rooms, attend to guests and work in the hotel kitchens, the days are long and the wages are low. In a new campaign, Fair Travel and Fair Action in Sweden let staff in hotels used by the leading tour operators speak out about their everyday lives.
Two of the three companies mentioned in the study are British: TUI (owned by TUI Group) and Ving (owned by Thomas Cook Group).
[caption id="attachment_6840" align="aligncenter" width="411"]
Although Phyo Thida Kyaw cleans the hotel seven days a week, she can’t afford to live in a place with a toilet. She shares three outhouses with about fifty other migrant workers. Photo: Jonas Gratzer Photo: Jonas Gratzer[/caption]
The hotel where Phyo Thida Kyaw* works as a cleaner boast with two lovely pools. While she cleans the toilets, guests can cool off with a drink at the bar or indulge in a massage at the hotel spa. The resort is located in Khao Lak. Thailand, 600 feet from the sea, and is hired by Ving, a Swedish tour operator owned by Thomas Cook Group. The hotel is marketed as both family-friendly and affordable. One night in a double room costs about as much as Phyo Thida Kyaw earns in a week.
“I earn 7 pounds a day,” she says.
And that is while working seven days a week. According to Thai labour legislation, employees must have at least one day’s paid leave, but Burmese migrants are the weakest group in the labour market and are forced to accept the terms offered.
After the end of the day, Phyo Thida Kyaw walks home. The family-friendly hotel’s staff live in tin sheds built on swamp-like land. About fifty people share three outhouses. The air is filled with the stench from the sewers. Mosquitoes and other insects thrive in the muddy corridors between the sheds. This is the behind-the-curtains view of the holiday paradise, the part of Khao Lak which is not intended for tourists to see.
[caption id="attachment_6841" align="aligncenter" width="372"]
Phyo Thida Kyaw lives in a tin shed on swamp-like soils. Photo: Jonas Gratzer[/caption]
Phyo Thida Kyaw thinks for a long time when asked what would improve her situation.
Finally, she says: “If I was paid 2 pounds more per day and had maybe one day’s paid leave every month, everything would be fine.”
Trouble in paradise – Thailand's hotel workers tell their stories
