Health

Myanmar’s Migrant Workers on Edge in Thailand

Published

12 years ago

February 9, 2013

Bchcomber

Sai Tun Kyai moved to Thailand two years ago to find work in ChiangMai

CHIANGMAI – For Thailand’s estimated 2.5 million migrant workers, 2013 has new bureaucratic hurdles, and promise of a higher minimum wage beyond them. The new year brings new opportunities and new challenges for low-wage workers in Thailand. On January 1st, the country’s minimum wage was raised to 300 baht—or about $10-a day.

Migrant workers from neighboring countries like Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos make up as much as 10 percent of Thailand’s workforce. They should be eligible for the pay bump, if they can prove they’re in the country legally. For workers like those in a worker camp in the San Kham Pang district 30 minutes east of downtown Chiang Mai, that just got a little harder.

About 300 people live here, almost all of them from Myanmar’s Shan State, a five-hour drive north. The camp is set in a field between two blocks

The main road through a worker camp in San Kham Pang district, Chiang Mai province. A car can fit down it, but it’s tight.

of new townhouses. The people in the camp are building the townhouses.

Sai Tun Kyai lives at the end of a row of huts. He moved here from Shan State about two years ago.

He got a work permit soon after he arrived—Thailand has offered these to undocumented migrants on and off since the early 90s. Through an interpreter, he says his employer dropped the ball, his permit expired, and he missed the December 14th deadline for Nationality Verification.

“Right now I’m really confused,” he says. “Because my work permit’s expired, I’m basically illegal. If the police find me, will they arrest me? Will they send me back to the border? I don’t know what to do.”

He’s not alone. There are around two-and-a-half million migrant workers in Thailand. About three quarters are from Myanmar, also known as Burma. Most are manual laborers—construction and agriculture around Chiang Mai, fishing and factories elsewhere.

Less than half of them met the December 14th deadline that would make them eligible for the new minimum wage, national health benefits and schools. For the million-and-a-half workers who didn’t meet the deadline, there’s confusion: It’s been reported that the government will extend the deadline, but at the same time the Thai government has been threatening crackdowns and deportations.

18-year-old Nong Foung lives near Sai Tun Kyai. She pours concrete at a construction site seven-days-a-week. Since her work permit expired

Nong Foung, an 18-year-old immigrant from Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State in Myanmar. She works from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week pouring concrete at a nearby residential construction site.

earlier this year, she hustles between home and the site, she’s afraid to go anywhere else.

A couple months ago, immigration arrested seven people from her worksite. She laughs a bit when she talks about escaping into nearby woods to avoid being picked up.

Andy Hall, a migration researcher and worker advocate at Mahidol University in Bangkok, says that giving migrants a way to work legally is good.

“The process in itself in theory is a good process–to legalize the workers. It’s an original process which we haven’t seen anywhere else in the world.”

In practice, though, Hall says corruption reigns—government agents demand kickbacks and funnel applicants to private, unregulated brokers. He says a process which should cost 30 dollars can end up costing closer to 500–three months wages for a typical worker. The Thai Labor Ministry didn’t respond to questions about these points.

Thai business groups, the Myanmar government, and international workers groups have pressed for a deadline extension. The promised crackdown hasn’t materialized yet. In the past, Hall says, similar crackdowns have opened up an extortion bonanza.

“Every country has a right to define its borders. Every country has the right to deport people in humane conditions and deport them back to their country of origin if they enter the country illegally. I don’t think most people have a problem with that. But what we have a problem with is using this context to extort and undermine the rule of law,” he says.

Thailand’s policy is evolving as the whole region prepares for 2015’s economic integration of ASEAN–a European Union-style collaboration between 10 Southeast Asian countries. Integration will make moving between countries easier for some workers, although mostly in highly-skilled jobs.

Jackie Pollock, who directs Chiang Mai’s Migrant Assistance Program, does see it having a less tangible benefit for the low-skilled workers her group helps.

“There is more of a sense growing of being part of a region,” she says. “Now, in the schools, they’re teaching about ASEAN and they’re teaching ASEAN languages in the schools. Which was unheard of 10 years ago. So I think children now will grow up more of a sense of being ASEANite, and that can hopefully only be a good thing.”

For the moment, though, many are just focused on cementing their identity as legal, migrant workers. – Bruce Wallace

Health

Report Causes Pfizer Stock to Climb Approximately $1 Billion Acquired by Starboard

Published

3 months ago

October 7, 2024

Salman

(VOR News) – According to a rumor that activist investor Pfizer Starboard Value has taken a holding in the struggling pharmaceutical business that is expected to be worth around one billion dollars, the stock of Pfizer (PFE) is on the increase in premarket trading on Monday.

This comes after the report was made public. The report was made available to the general public following this. Starboard Value was successful in moving forward with the acquisition of the position.

Starboard is said to have approached Ian Read, a former chief executive officer of Pfizer, and Frank D’Amelio, a former chief financial officer, in order to seek assistance with its goals of boosting the performance of the company, according to the Wall Street Journal. Read and D’Amelio are both former Pfizer executives.

The purpose of this is to facilitate the accomplishment of its objectives, which include enhancing the overall performance of the firm.

In their previous jobs, D’Amelio and Read were chief financial officers.

It is stated in the report that the hedge fund is of the opinion that Pfizer, which is currently being managed by Albert Bourla, who succeeded Read as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2019, does not demonstrate the same level of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) discipline that Read did. Bourla took over for Read in 2019. Read was succeeded by Bourla in the year 2019.

Pfizer, a multinational pharmaceutical conglomerate, has made substantial investments in the acquisition of more companies that are involved in the research and development of cancer medicines.

These businesses have been acquired for billions of dollars. The biotechnology company Seagen, which was acquired by Pfizer in the previous year for a price of $43 billion, is included in this category. One of the businesses that can be classified as belonging to this category is Seagen.

In spite of the fact that the S&P 500 Index experienced a 21% increase in 2024.

No major trading occurred in Pfizer stock that year.

Due to the fact that the demand for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines fell after the firm reached its pandemic peak in 2021, the share price of the corporation has decreased by over fifty percent since that time.

This drop has occurred ever since the company’s shares reached their maximum peak, which was during the time that this decline occurred. Not only have they not changed at all, but they have also remained essentially stable. This is in contrast to the S&P 500, which has gained 21% since the beginning of this year.

Recently, the corporation was forced to take a hit when it decided to recall all of the sickle cell illness medications that it had distributed all over the world.

Fears that the prescription could lead patients to experience severe agony and possibly even death were the impetus for the decision to recall the product. In spite of the fact that Pfizer’s stock is increasing by almost three percent as a result of the news that followed the company’s decision, this is the circumstance that has come about.

SOURCE: IPN

Health

New Study Reveals Drinking Soda Pop Increases the Risk of Stroke

Published

3 months ago

October 6, 2024

VORNews

If you drink too much soda, fruit juice and coffee, beware!

A recent report from global research indicates that excessive consumption of coffee or soda pop is associated with an increased risk of stroke, although the intake of black and green tea is correlated with a reduced risk. Excessive consumption of soda pop or coffee warrants caution!

Recent research indicates that it may substantially elevate the risk of stroke.

Consuming four cups of coffee daily elevates the risk of stroke, according to studies, although ingesting 3-4 cups of black or green tea daily typically offers protection against stroke. Additionally, consume more coffee; it may reduce your risk of mortality.

Recent findings from global research studies co-led by the University of Galway and McMaster University, alongside an international consortium of stroke researchers, indicate that soda, encompassing both sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened variants such as diet or zero sugar, is associated with a 22 percent heightened risk of stroke. The risk escalated significantly with the consumption of two or more of these beverages daily.

Stroke Risk Fizzy Drinks and Soda Pop

The correlation between fizzy drinks consumption and stroke risk was most pronounced in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. Women exhibit the most elevated risk of stroke from bleeding (intracranial hemorrhage) associated with fruit juice beverages. Consuming over 7 cups of water daily diminishes the likelihood of stroke due to a clot.

Researchers observed that numerous items advertised as fruit juice are derived from concentrates and have added sugars and preservatives, potentially negating the advantages often associated with fresh fruit and instead elevating stroke risk.

Fruit juice beverages were associated with a 37 percent heightened risk of stroke resulting from bleeding (intracranial hemorrhage). Consuming two of these beverages daily increases the risk thrice.

Consuming over four cups of coffee daily elevates the risk of stroke by 37 percent, although lower consumption levels do not correlate with stroke risk. Conversely, tea consumption was associated with an 18-20 percent reduction in stroke risk. Additionally, consuming 3-4 cups daily of black tea, such as Breakfast and Earl Grey varieties, excluding green and herbal teas, was associated with a 29 percent reduced risk of stroke.

Consuming 3-4 cups of green tea daily was associated with a 27 percent reduction in stroke risk. Notably, the addition of milk may diminish or inhibit the advantageous effects of antioxidants present in tea. The lower risk of stroke associated with tea consumption was negated for individuals who added milk.

Disclaimer: This article is intended solely for informational reasons and should not be considered a replacement for professional medical counsel. Consistently consult your physician regarding any inquiries pertaining to a medical problem.

Starbucks Faces Sales Decline Amid Price Fatigue and Rising Competition

Starbucks Faces Sales Decline Amid Price Fatigue and Rising Competition

Health

Following a Diagnosis of Breast Cancer, What Else Should You Know?

Published

3 months ago

October 5, 2024

Salman

(VOR News) – Even though breast cancer affects one in eight American women, receiving a diagnosis can make a woman feel isolated.

Experts in breast cancer from the American College of Physicians (ACS) advise patients on how to manage their disease so that they may better cope with this awful information.

First, the kind and stage of breast cancer dictates the course of your care.

In addition to immunotherapy and chemotherapy, there are various surgical options available for the treatment of breast cancer.

Women of African descent are disproportionately affected by triple-negative breast cancer, an extremely aggressive form of the disease that has never proven easy to treat.

According to the American Cancer Society, pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an immunotherapy, has been shown to be helpful when combined with chemotherapy and is currently the recommended course of treatment for certain combinations of triple-negative breast cancer.

In her presentation, Dr. Katharine Yao said, “It’s really important that the patient and physician discuss the patient’s preferences and values when deciding what type of treatment to pursue and that they have an honest, individualized discussion with their care team.”

She is currently responsible for developing breast cancer treatment recommendations for more than 575 hospitals and institutions nationwide in her role as chair of the American College of Surgeons’ National Accreditation Program for Breast Institutions (NAPBC).

Yao, vice chair of research at Endeavor Health NorthShore Hospitals in New York, pointed out that each decision made about a patient’s treatment plan should take her preferences and diagnosis into consideration.

She ought to think about whether she would prefer a mastectomy—a surgical procedure that involves removing the entire breast with or without reconstruction—or a lumpectomy, which involves a surgical procedure that spares part of the breast tissue.

She stated that “the breast cancer you have may be very different from the breast cancer you hear about in your neighbor, colleague, or friend” in a press release issued by the American Cancer Society (ACS).

“Consider that while discussing breast cancer with others.”

Throughout your journey, it is critical that you look after your emotional health because having breast cancer may have a detrimental impact on your mental health.

“Getting a cancer diagnosis does not mean that everything in your life stops to be normal.” Director of the Fellowship in the Diseases of the Breast program at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas and state head of the American Cancer Society Commission on Cancer for Arkansas, Dr. Daniela Ochoa She thinks adding the burden of a cancer diagnosis and treatment to all the other pressures in life may be taxing.

“Managing stress and emotional health is vital component of a treatment plan.”

Ochoa recommends clinically trained psychologists and social workers who have assisted people in coping with cancer to anyone receiving treatment. Learning coping techniques might also be facilitated by joining cancer support groups or cancer wellness initiatives.

Breast cancer specialists say your care team is crucial.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) defines comprehensive care as having support at every stage of the procedure from surgeons, oncologists, patient navigators, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and other specialists.

After receiving a breast cancer diagnosis, women should see a surgeon or medical oncologist to explore their options; nevertheless, treatment shouldn’t be discontinued after just one appointment or after surgery is over.

Additionally, you can ask trustworthy friends or family members to accompany you to appointments and aid you with research or notes. They could serve as a network of support for you.

Yao stated in his talk that “one of the most important things is that patients should search out a team they have confidence in, that they trust will have their back when they need it, and a team they feel they can get access to and that will help them when they are in need.”

SOURCE: MP