As the embers of this sorry episode cool and the death toll mounts toward
200,
attention will be focused on Hong Kong-backed
Kader Industrial, the company
which owns the factory, and the lack of safety
precautions designed into its plant.
Did the fire start due to faulty wiring? Or improper storage of flammable
materials? Was there a sprinkler system built
in to put out fires? It already
seems clear that there was a lack of exits
and fire escapes, despite the fact
that the factory had already experienced
several fires over the last year.
Needless to say, a full-scale investigation is necessary. The building
apparently collapsed only 15 minutes after
the fire started, and many bodies
have been found along collapsed stairways.
One police officer has already called
the factory's design ``obviously substandard'.
But this should not be considered just an isolated incident. Rather, it
is the
latest in a long line of disasters which
could have been prevented had anyone in
authority cared about workers' safety.
Last month, a fire broke out in Klong Toey when toxic chemicals were stored
improperly at the port, forcing slum residents
to flee their homes and sending
many to the hospital. Following the huge
explosion which took place there two
years ago, many promises were made to improve
handling of hazardous
materials in the area. But none were kept:
last month's fire was the fourth in two
years.
It would be quite convenient to blame all this carelessness on some corrupt
minor officials who have failed to monitor
the situation. But unfortunately, the
problem starts at the top: our leading economic
authorities care more about
promoting investment than they do about the
safety of the workers which make
Thailand such an attractive place in which
to invest.
A public health worker recently described how her investigations into a
factory
in Samut Prakan revealed that workers were
falling sick, even dying, from
exposure to solvents in the workplace. But
when she went to talk to the company
about it, a high-ranking government official
intervened and told her in no
uncertain terms to keep quiet. ``You're hurting
the business environment,' the
official exclaimed.
The ugly truth is that life is cheap in Thailand. Certainly it is cheaper
than
in the industrialized countries, and we market
this ``competitive advantage' in
our search for investors.
It doesn't have to be this way. Experts in occupational health have long
demanded that greater attention be paid to
safety, health and the environment in
and around the workplace, concerns they lump
together under the acronym `SHE'.
But so far, they have been voices crying
in the wilderness.
Politicians and civil servants must begin supporting these concerns with
actions rather than just rhetoric, by forcing
companies to install the necessary
health and safety precautions in their factories
and buildings, even if it costs
a little more money. And that doesn't mean
just putting up more of those
``Safety First' signs.
Tougher safety laws and stricter enforcement might at first put off a few
investors who are out simply to exploit cheap
labour. But such fly-by-night
operators are in any case undesirable, and
would soon move on once labour costs
rise. There are plenty of other investors
who would respect, even admire, a
country which sought economic growth in a
healthy fashion.
The institution which is best suited to promote occupational safety and
health
is probably the newly created Labour Ministry.
It should have an agency
specifically set up to deal with _ or at
least coordinate _ these issues.
Currently, there are ten such agencies scattered
among four different
ministries: Public Health, Interior, Industry
and Environment. They often clash.
It's important not to lose sight of what is at stake here. SHE is definitely
the operative word, because most of the workers
driving our newly
industrializing economy are young women from
the provinces.
They leave the comfort of home for the sake of their families and head
for the
big city to seek their fortunes. Many of
them turn down more lucrative careers
as prostitutes for the drudgery of assembly-line
work, partially because they
assume it is a safer profession.
The bodies being pulled out of the wreckage in Nakhon Pathom yesterday
were
mostly young and female. Some of them may
have been underage. At least two were
heavily pregnant. What a waste.
The experience of the Petchburi Road fireball, the Klong Toey explosion,
the
Khon Kaen molasses spill and other such unnatural
disasters suggests that the
guilty parties will get off easy and the
incident will soon be forgotten.
But development doesn't have to come at the expense of the people. Democracy
means we have power over our own lives. It's
time we stopped allowing ourselves
to be sold cheap.