4,500 baht employment project (the last of the three-part series)
Despite widespread misuse of the fund for the 4,500 baht employment scheme, there is quite a few people, especially those in the low-income bracket, who actually benefit from the scheme.
The followings are examples of people who were employed under the scheme and who admitted that the amount paid, although very modest at just 4,500 baht a month, has enhanced their earnings allowing them to buy more food and other necessities to feed their families.
For Umar Kasor, the only breadwinner in a family of six, the 4,500 baht he has been receiving from the state in return for his job as a village security guard for the past several months means that he will soon be able to afford a bathroom in his "house" which, in fact, is just a 3 X 4 meters dilapidated structure with four walls and a roof without a bathroom and even tap water.
Umar’s "house" as it was called is located in a narrow lane next to the masjid (mosque) Nurulyagin in Ban Klong Chang, Tambon Arnohru, Muang district of Pattani.
Because the house lacks tap water, the whole family bathes in the Pattani river. And if they want to relieve themselves, they had to go to the masjid to use its toilet.
Umar said he had started saving from the pay he received hoping that he would have enough to repair his house and to add a bathroom to it so that they would not be criticized by their neighbors for always using the toilet in the mosque.
Before getting his job as a security guard, the Muslim man earned a living from making crescent kits – a skill which he is good at. He is still making kites during the daytime if there is an order for the kits from someone. When he is free from making kites, he will look for fish and shrimps in the river to supplement the family’s daily diet.
As for the guard’s job, Umar said he and three other fellow guards had to keep watch in front of the mosque every day from 8 p.m. to midnight. He admitted that the job was risky but it was fortunate enough that the only violent incidents in the village involved drunken fishing crews.
Umar’s employment contract lasts one year and he hopes that it will be extended once it expires. "If they (employer) appreciate my performance, I will they will rehire me," he said.
Another beneficiary of the employment scheme is Mrs Tuan Nura-aiyee, a 40 plus widow whose husband was shot dead six years ago.
Working as a house maid, the Muslim mother of seven children admitted that the 4,500 baht monthly pay was not enough to feed her children. She said she took a short course of making sweets at a college and has teamed up with about ten friends to sell sweets to make extra income.
Although the 4,500 baht pay is small, she said that it is a fixed income and it helps ease her financial burden a lot.
An official in charge of the employment scheme, Mr Aroon Madlerm, defended the merits of the project despite widespread criticism of misuse of the fund. He suggested that the project be made permanent rather than year on year basis so that there would be a proper recruitment system so that good people would be screened and employed.
The project, he noted, could provide opportunities to youths in the deep South who normally do not have many opportunities.
Mr Aroon however said that there have been several complaints from employers against employees under the scheme – that they lacked skills or enthusiasm to work. These might stem from the fact that the employees felt that the jobs were unsecured and temporary so they were not so enthusiastic to work hard, he added.
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Captions :
1 Umar's family
2 Mr. Aroon Madlerm