NGOs Question Thai Government Freeze on Migrant Registration

By LAWI WENG

A Thai government decision to suspend registration of new migrants for one year has come under fire from Thai non-government organizations.

Sompong Srakaew, a director of the Labor Rights Promotion Network (LPN), based in Mahachai, Samut Sakhon province said the decision, prompted by rising unemployment in Thailand, was discriminatory.

Jackie Pollock, a founding member of the Thailand-based Migrant Assistance Programme (MAP) said some officials feared that Burmese migrants, if registered, might not return home because of the deteriorating economic situation in Burma.

The Thai government freeze on new registrations might lead to exploitation by employers, Pollock said.

A commentary in the English-language daily Bangkok Post on Thursday said most migrant workers preferred to “remain underground, thus keeping the human trafficking rackets alive and well with support from corrupt police.”

Instances of police corruption in dealing with non-registered migrants are common.

Nai Jon Dae, a Mon migrant in Mahachai, claimed unregistered Burmese migrants pay the police 300 baht (US $8) a month to work unhindered. Some are asked to pay 1,000 baht ($28) in spot checks.

Min Zaw, a Burmese migrant working on a rubber plantation in southern Thailand, said he and his wife paid a total of 2,600 baht ($74) a month to the police.

According to the Thai Labor Promotion Network, about 76,000 Burmese migrants are registered to work in Thailand, while about 224,000 migrants are waiting for registration.

It is estimated that more than 2 million migrants work in Thailand, only about 500,000 of whom are registered.

Burma’s economic woes, inflation and unemployment drive an increasing number of Burmese to seek work in neighboring Thailand, and the flow of migrants was boosted still further by Cyclone Nargis.

In April, 54 Burmese migrants suffocated to death while being transported in a container truck from Ranong, near the Burmese border town of Kawthaung, to the Thai resort island of Phuket.

Although the tragedy prompted officials to step up efforts to stem the tide of illegal migrants into Thailand, Burmese continue to make the trip in a desperate bid to find jobs to support themselves and their families.