Laidoff workers

The workers, formerly employed at Sammi Sound Tech (Thailand), started block¬ing both inbound and outbound lanes of the road at 9am after the South Korean owners of the firm did not turn up to pay them promised compensation.

Their leaders said the work¬ers had not received any sever¬ance pay since the plant shut down two months ago.

They said the owners had promised to pay them compen¬sation yesterday.

The workers nearly clashed with police when they were asked to clear at least one lane on each side of the road. They agreed to disperse in the after¬noon after their representatives reached an agreement on a compensation formula with Samut Prakan governor Kamthorn Thavornsathit.

The provincial administration agreed to pay each worker Bt1,400 on January 26 as initial compensation.

The workers were also asked to file a police complaint against the company owners.