Somboon Srikamdokkan:
11 years of waiting is not to late for a verdict of truth

Pink Asterisk *

In the morning of August 4, 2006, I read Matichon, a local newspaper. Suddenly, I found a small news item stated “11 years of Businosis case still unfinished, the court postponed verdict reading.” The news reported the case of Somboon Srikamdokkae and her 38 colleagues who were the former workers of Bangkok Garment Company. All of them filed the legal case against the garment company due to the bad working condition in the factory. Most of them became sick of the lung disease , sort of pneumonia caused by the dusty environment knowing as “Businosis”. This case was submitted to the Central Labor Court 11 years ago.

Only until September 30, 2003 the worker won in first round. The court's judgment make the workers won the legal battle but it was not an end because the company appealed to the supreme court. It took her more than 11 years throughout this exhausted process. The final verdict reading was postponed since the Labor Court asked the disputes parties to show and submit their additional materials or evidence.

Immediately after I finished reading the article, I called Somboon Srikamdokkan, the Chairperson of the Council of Work and Environment-Related Patients's Network (WEPT), directly. Chatting with her for a while, then I realize that she still stands very firm in her position for more than 10 years. She intends and insists to prove and to convince general public that the work hazardous is real. She tried her best to raise public awareness on health and safety at work.

Somboon Srikamdokkae told me that as a victim/patient, if she kept silence and not active in protecting themselves, then the company management will never improve the working condition and still ignoring that work hazardous is exist..

“If we, the patient, did not speak out but kept silence. Then the public will never know that we are really sick. Most of our fellow workers will not active to take good care of themselves - meaning no self protection. The company, therefore, will not improve the working environment in the factory. There is no standard or social norm on this matter yet. The people are not aware of occupational health and hazardous work. Besides, there is no collective efforts to handle this problem at all. We don't want others to get sick like us. Now our health is not normal, our lung is now uncurable and dysfunction. We lost the job opportunity but have to spend big sum of money for medicine. I think no one know how suffering I am if they are not experienced like me.” Somboon told me over the phone line while I was listening to her cautiously.

Somboon also told me further that the group of patients workers continuingly urged the government to set up an Institute of Health Protection, Safety and Environment in Workplace as an independent agency to be comprised of the representatives from 5 concern sectors/ groups namely the employer, employee, government, patients groups and academic. This functional body should be mandated to supervise investigate, promote, recovering, curing, providing compensation / reparation to those who victims who are affected by the hazardous work. They are hoping that the patients and workers will be look after much better in the future by the state and society.

Eventhough I never have such experience like Khun Somboon and her fellow workers, but when I learned about her story, I really think that her struggle for social justice is obviously benefiting many others. And of course, we should be ready to extend our moral support to her. We are also hope that her wish will be come true in the coming days.

One important point she mentioned and I think this is extremely useful for all of us, She said “when the engine is dysfunction and declined, we can still fix it and find the spare parts. But when our human body is getting sick or dysfunction, then we can't find any spare part for it.”

We may have to ask the employer, as a fellow human beings, that between the value of the machine and the human lives of the workers, what they are going to choose?

Amnesty International Thailand : Quarter 4/2006 July-August