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Published on November 8, 2007

 Workers have told their families there were reports of two Thais being killed but the government claims four were injured.

Department of Employment director-general Manoon Punyakriyakorn said yesterday he feared any returns to Thailand before workers' contracts ended would subject them to compensation demands from employers.

He said the workers, who had applied to return home at the Thai mission in Kuwait, expressed fears employers would not protect them from assaults by hostile workers or provide legal and medical assistance if they sustained injuries from the attacks.

Manoon said he would send two senior department officials to Kuwait to talk with the workers. There are around 5,000 Thai workers in Kuwait.

A news report on Monday said two Thai workers were killed in the brawl between Thai and Egyptian construction workers. The fight broke out after drunken Thais allegedly urinated in an area reserved for Muslim prayers. However, Labour Minister Apai Chandanachulaka said no Thai workers died in the brawl on the night of Nov 1.

The Nation