Thai worker-registration moves promote extortion

Every worker who has registered for Thai migrant worker documents over the past two decades would like to complete the nationality verification (NV) process and become legal. But these workers face many problems that result not from their own behaviour but the systematic dishonesty and abuse of government officials, employers and recruitment agencies. Although many employers and brokers have taken money from migrants for some time already, workers still have not received a passport. Migrants miss the opportunity to remain legal through no fault of their own.

The NV process for migrant workers in Thailand has descended into a systematically corrupt process of extorting workers, with the collusion of too many senior government officials, agents and bad employers. Now the new regularisation process and formal import of workers from neighbouring countries has, likewise, descended into an extortion process requiring workers to pay more than US$600 (Bt18,000) and leaving them too often in severe debt bondage to employers and brokers.

Migrant workers in Thailand don't want to work illegally and anonymously. Although workers would like to follow Thai law, they can only survive according to the time and situation they are in. We believe most migrant workers would like to obey the law if they could. But this basic human right has been denied to millions of migrants in Thailand for over two decades. Migrant workers play an important role in Thailand's economic and social development. But corrupt officials, recruitment agencies and bad employers continue to act unethically and are causing untold suffering to migrant workers for selfish reasons.

Every day abused and disadvantaged people from neighbouring countries migrate to Thailand irregularly. If the concerned authorities implemented systematic labour exchange and migration programmes, this problem would be solved. But instead, all concerned governments work with smuggling and trafficking agents to ensure the fate of workers is determined not by the rule of law but by corruption and abuse. It is time to act.

Arresting and extorting from irregular workers, as generally happens during deportation processes, is not the way to solve problems of irregular migration. Most deported workers on a day-to-day basis already face serious rights violations with brokers and ethnic militias at border areas of Thailand, particularly at Myawaddy-Mae Sot on the Myanmar-Thai border. If the Thai government deports workers, officials should also transparently cooperate for the handover of workers to their respective governments with respect for their human dignity.

But at the same time, Thailand is a country whose economy depends significantly on foreign labour, and this is just an opportunity by corrupt officials, recruitment agencies and employers to exploit.

We ask that the government:

1. Revoke threats of mass arrests and deportation.

2. Accept that existing NV and MoU processes have become unregulated, expensive and risky for migrants and all parties concerned should find better methods to ensure legal migration in future;

3. In line with the Asean Declaration on the Rights of Migrant Workers and Their Families, and international labour and human rights standards, Thailand and neighbouring countries should enter into regional and bilateral negotiations to address long-term regional migration challenges with primacy given to protecting the human rights of migrant workers.

State Enterprise and Workers Relations Confederation of Thailand; Thai Labour Solidarity Committee; Migrant Workers Rights Network

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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2012/12/30/thai-worker-registration-moves-promote-extortion/