A new UnionAID project will focus on preventing exploitation of migrant workers in Thailand who produce plasterboard now being sold very cheaply in Aotearoa-New Zealand.
While Thai plasterboard will be up to 40% cheaper than locally produced plasterboard, analysis shows this benefit is gained from exploiting migrant workers in Thailand whose wages are up to 20 times lower than here.
The UnionAID joint project between FIRST Union and the Global Workers Union in Thailand will have three objectives:
- To map working conditions in SCG-Knauf factories in Thailand, where the New Zealand construction industry is currently sourcing plasterboard from.
- To organise workers in those factories, and bargain better wages and conditions.
- To build a solidarity relationship between plasterboard workers in Aotearoa and Thailand.
