Abstract
The social and health problems of construction workers in BangkokThe objective of the study was to acquire social and health-related information of workers in Bangkok construction areas. The cross-sectional descriptive research was carried out, and the construction areas used in the study were divided into internal and external areas of Bangkok. A simple random sampling was used to identify the sampling frame, the representative of the internal and external areas, which Klongtoey and Ladkrabang districts were chosen respectively. The same technique was then used to randomize 10 each of large and small construction sites. A systematic random sampling was used for the selection of the workers of each site.The study showed that 67% of workers in Bangkok were in working age. The ratio of male to female workers was 1.4:1. The study also found that 88% of them were from the northeastern and northern region, that 84% were married, and that 87% completed primary level of education. Additionally, 64% were daily employee with no definite contract. On average the workers had 2 children. Of which, 4% aged under one year, 27% aged between 1 to 5 years, 16% aged between 6 to 8 years, and 33% aged between 9 to 15 years. Only 13% of the children aged 6 – 15 years lived with their parents. There were no differences on basic information of the population between those working in Klongtoey District and Ladkrabang District. Nor were those working in a large construction area and a small construction area. However, for other aspects, such as environment, safety, wages, and other benefits, those working in a large construction area tended to be in better condition than those in a small area. So did the Klongtoey workers as compared to Ladkrabang workers. Serious morbidity rate due to accident while working was 58.7/1,000 workers. For the past 12 months, injury while working was 208/1,000 workers in Klongtoey and 180/1,000 workers in Ladkrabang. This was probably due to the fact that the employer did not adequately provide equipment for personal protection, and the workers themselves did not pay attention to the use of such equipment as their own protection either.Working environment and residential area, including sanitation, were not in a good condition. Most of the workers (53%), especially male, had personal risk behavior, such as drinking, smoking, using drugs and narcotics, and having stress problem. Periodontal disease and dental caries were major problem in dental public health. Moreover, the study showed that most of the workers lack knowledge of labor law, workers’ right and benefits.
