I had been in and out of the hospital for seven years before I found out what was really wrong with me, and my life has never been the same again, said 43-year-old Somboon Srikhamdokkhae, who worked for 20 years at a textile factory in Bangkok.

Today, she has only 60 percent of her lung capacity left from byssinosis, a permanent lung illness that comes from the prolonged inhalation of textile fibre dust.

Her employer had said she is indeed ill, but says it was not due to her work at the factory. She got money from the state compensation fund, but was sued by her factory, which challenged her position that she had a work-related illness, Somboon says.

Going to bed each night, I am so afraid that I would never wake up again in the next morning, she said.

What happened to Somboon is not far from the experience of eight of her colleagues and other workers.

My husband died last month after he had suffered from byssinosis for six years, said 40-year-old Tuenjai Boonthisud, who also has the illness. She lives with their two children, seven and two years old.

We worked hard for the factory for almost 10 years only to be dismissed when we were sick, she said.

Dr Oraphan Methadilokkul, a specialist in vocational medicine at Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok, says in an interview that many illnesses can be cured or addressed if treated early enough. But often, she said, most workers realise their illness only when it has reached dangerous levels.

Workers unaware

Experts also say that it would help if more doctors at factories had better capability to diagnose work-related illnesses, because many workers do not even know they have potentially serious health problems.

For instance, Pongpicha Boonmanum said that he noticed that he was always coughing and had a hard time breathing, after working eight, sometimes 16, hours a day in a dyeing section of a textile factory for 12 years. His eyes and nose have always been sore.

I was told by the companys doctor that I have either a cold or inflamed bronchus. But I later found out that my respiratory system and skin have permanent damage, resulting from the continued use of chemicals in my work, he explained.

Pongpicha actually lodged a complaint at the Workmens Compensation Fund, an agency under the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, and received compensation of some 30,000 baht (US$700 dollars) from it. Afterwards, he was instructed to stay away from the work environment in order to be cured.

But after his compensation ran out, he had to go back to work under the very same working conditions.

My illness was later reconsidered by the board of the Compensation Fund as not work-related anymore and they refused to pay, said Pongpicha. I am now working on my thirteenth year in the same factory because I simply do not know what to do.

Fund for workers

The Workmens Compensation Fund, designed to help those who fall ill or get injured from work, is collected from employers that pay into it the equivalent of two percent of workers wages. The fund covers factories with more than 100 workers, or some 5.4 million workers.

Payment of 60 percent of workers salaries is given to work-related illnesses and injured workers for up to five years.

In order to look after themselves and workers like them who have had work-related illnesses and injuries and to help inform employees about their rights, Somboon and others in 1994 formed the Council of Work and Environment Related Patients Network of Thailand (WEPT).

This acts as a self-help network for people afflicted with occupational illnesses, giving out some financial assistance and legal advice.

Workers are poorly informed about health risks and unaware of the specific problems that can arise in connection to the work they are doing, said Somboon. Those who realise (the risks) simply do nothing, because they are too afraid to confront their employers and state officials. They think it is not worth it.

This is the first time workers have had such an organisation to turn to, she pointed out.

Prevention a key factor

Indeed, Dr Oraphan says that prevention plays a key factor in controlling work-related health problems — and that this is a good investment on the part of employers too.

Illnesses can be prevented by reducing cause factors in working environment and most importantly, to make workers aware of how to protect themselves, she added.

The preventive cost, comparing to corrective one, can help entrepreneurs save up to nearly 90 percent.

So far, WEPT has been able to get as members about a thousand workers with work-related problems and more than 500 labour unions. But this still lags far behind what the Workmens Compensation Fund says are 179,566 persons with work-related injuries and health problems that it has given payment to so far.

We are fighting for rights of workers, but the money surely cannot make up the life we have lost and the nightmare that will be with us for the rest of our lives, argued Somboon.

I was about to start a food stall when people came to me and said they will not buy my food because they do not want to get the disease from me, said Tuenjai. They thought it (byssinosis) was a contagious disease.

WEPT has suggested that the government enacts comprehensive laws to institute a system of regular physical examinations for workers to monitor their health, but this has not gone very far.

There is no continuity among different governments. From time to time when a new government is in power, we just have to start everything again, said Somboon.

Speaking as a former labour union leader, Somboon said she had never once been trained about occupational health issues. She remarked that the governments budget on the issue is likely to be spent instead on seminars among businessmen and employers and state officials.

Complicated conditions

Critics add that the governments claim of achieving the aim of reducing work-related illnesses and injuries is based on reducing the number ofinjured workers by setting more complicated conditions that can be met by fewer workers.

But compensation fund officials say it is all too easy to blame the agency, which tries to address workers needs. Since the office was established in 1973, we have given out money for more than 2.5 million cases, Jitra Thanodom of the Workmens Compensation Fund said in an interview.

There are only less than two percent of cases that we decline to fund, she said. Those are cases where it is unclear whether they are work-related illnesses.

Jitra cited examples where some workers can get paid within three working days. Workers need to be called in for some cases and the process is then left to how they cooperate.

While considering claims for compensation, the 15 board members of the compensation fund, including doctors, lawyers and other officials, ask for medical records, an assessment of work conditions, and a rechecking of workers health.

We are willing to help those who really suffer because of their work, but not those who do not deserve it, said Jitra. (IPS)