Taking the Taipei Times on a tour of the dormitory, one laborer, who requested that he not be named for fear of repercussions if his employer learned he was speaking to the media, said that 1,716 people were crowded into four houses made of corrugated iron.
"There are about 400 people lodged in each house when it is fully occupied, with the bunk beds crammed next to each other, leaving only a few narrow walkways for us to pass through. All our personal belongings have to be put under our beds. I can't even sit up straight when I'm on my bed," he said.
"As there is no screen window in the iron house, we have no choice but to close the windows all day to keep mosquitoes out. Nevertheless, once the windows are closed, the ventilation is very bad, as there aren't enough electric fans to make the air move," the labor said.
Wu Hao-jen (
In addition, the dormitory also falls seriously short of sanitary facilities. "There are only three hot water heaters, two of which stop providing hot water after 7pm. There are not enough toilets, so laborers have to fight over the toilets each morning," Wu said. He inspected the Thai workers' dormitory along with the Council of Labor Affairs when the riot happened.
Aside from two billiard tables and two TVs, which are not equipped to receive Thai programs or even local cable stations, there is no leisure equipment provided.
One laborer, who had to spend NT$150,000 (US$4,685) in placement fees when he applied for a job told the Taipei Times that what he can't bear the most is the way the employer manages their wages.
"I can work hard and put up with the bad living conditions," he said.
"However, there are so many penalty clauses -- such as NT$3,000 for using a mobile phone or NT$3,000 for riding a bicycle and so on -- it is really too much."
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