David Boyle and Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
Labourers work at a construction site in downtown Bangkok in December last year. Reuters
THAILAND has ordered that an estimated two million migrant workers from Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos register their presence by a deadline set two months from now or face legal action or deportation.
Under the scheme, migrant workers will be required to pay 3,880 baht (US$128) for health insurance, a medical check-up and work permits that allow their children, if younger than 15, to stay in the country, The Bangkok Post reported on Friday.
The July 14 registration deadline, confirmed by Nilim Baruah, chief technical advisor on Asian regional migration at the International Labour Organisation, drew mixed reactions from civil society organisations in Cambodia yesterday.
While some welcomed the move, others warned the mandatory registration process would either serve as a public-relations stunt with no meaningful impact or could even have unintended negative consequences.
Baruah said registration would regulate migrant worker employment and better ensure the protection of rights. However, he questioned why such a short period of time had been given to register.
“It would have been better if there had been a bit more time given for the information dissemination process,” he said. Mattieu Pellerin, a legal consultant with the rights group Licadho, said the 3,880 baht fee for registration could force legitimate workers underground or encourage debt bondage if employers agreed to cover the expense for them.
“If the process involves relatively large amounts of money for those official’s fees and bribes and corruption fees, I think the end result will be forcing people into unofficial migrant work and you will end up with the opposite effect [to that intended],” he said.
“If this legal work is not accessible to them, then that would be an incentive to entice them into illegal work and then the risk of being trafficked increases,” he said.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said yesterday that the move represented an acknowledgement from the Thai government labour officials that their past labour migration policies had failed, but would not curb either corruption or opaque recruitment methods.
“In July, there will be crackdown on migrant workers. That will last for a couple of weeks while the Thais try to send a signal that: ‘We’re serious this time and a bunch of unfortunate migrant workers will get arrested and deported’,” he said.
“The government is a little schizophrenic on this. On one hand they want workers to fill positions in key parts of the economy but other parts of the government see migrant workers as a security threat,” he said.
“And then another part of the government, the police, just treat them like walking ATM machines – you just grab them and shake until the money comes out.”
Robertson said Cambodian migrants in Thailand mainly worked in palm and rubber plantations, large farms, animal rearing and construction – especially on island resorts such as Koh Chang.
Numerous efforts by the government since 2005 to register migrant workers through nationality verification programs, he said, had failed to give any reliable indication of the total number of migrant workers in Thailand. He described this latest registration push as a “pipe dream.”
International Organisation for Migration statistics show that through a series of registration programmes initiated by the Thai government in 2006, 550,003 foreigners from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar had obtained legal work permits by February 2011, including 103,826 Cambodians.
Thai government officials were unavailable for comment yesterday but permanent secretary for labour, Somkiat Chayasriwong, told The Bangkok Post on Friday the mandatory registrations were intended to encourage foreigners to work in Thailand while preventing abuse.
Deputy General Director at Cambodia’s Ministry of Labour Hou Vuthy, said yesterday: “I cannot say whether the number of illegal workers who go to work in Thailand will reduce after they are made to register because our people will still seek work by hiding from the authorities.”
Under the scheme, migrant workers will be required to pay 3,880 baht (US$128) for health insurance, a medical check-up and work permits that allow their children, if younger than 15, to stay in the country, The Bangkok Post reported on Friday.
The July 14 registration deadline, confirmed by Nilim Baruah, chief technical advisor on Asian regional migration at the International Labour Organisation, drew mixed reactions from civil society organisations in Cambodia yesterday.
While some welcomed the move, others warned the mandatory registration process would either serve as a public-relations stunt with no meaningful impact or could even have unintended negative consequences.
Baruah said registration would regulate migrant worker employment and better ensure the protection of rights. However, he questioned why such a short period of time had been given to register.
“It would have been better if there had been a bit more time given for the information dissemination process,” he said. Mattieu Pellerin, a legal consultant with the rights group Licadho, said the 3,880 baht fee for registration could force legitimate workers underground or encourage debt bondage if employers agreed to cover the expense for them.
“If the process involves relatively large amounts of money for those official’s fees and bribes and corruption fees, I think the end result will be forcing people into unofficial migrant work and you will end up with the opposite effect [to that intended],” he said.
“If this legal work is not accessible to them, then that would be an incentive to entice them into illegal work and then the risk of being trafficked increases,” he said.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said yesterday that the move represented an acknowledgement from the Thai government labour officials that their past labour migration policies had failed, but would not curb either corruption or opaque recruitment methods.
“In July, there will be crackdown on migrant workers. That will last for a couple of weeks while the Thais try to send a signal that: ‘We’re serious this time and a bunch of unfortunate migrant workers will get arrested and deported’,” he said.
“The government is a little schizophrenic on this. On one hand they want workers to fill positions in key parts of the economy but other parts of the government see migrant workers as a security threat,” he said.
“And then another part of the government, the police, just treat them like walking ATM machines – you just grab them and shake until the money comes out.”
Robertson said Cambodian migrants in Thailand mainly worked in palm and rubber plantations, large farms, animal rearing and construction – especially on island resorts such as Koh Chang.
Numerous efforts by the government since 2005 to register migrant workers through nationality verification programs, he said, had failed to give any reliable indication of the total number of migrant workers in Thailand. He described this latest registration push as a “pipe dream.”
International Organisation for Migration statistics show that through a series of registration programmes initiated by the Thai government in 2006, 550,003 foreigners from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar had obtained legal work permits by February 2011, including 103,826 Cambodians.
Thai government officials were unavailable for comment yesterday but permanent secretary for labour, Somkiat Chayasriwong, told The Bangkok Post on Friday the mandatory registrations were intended to encourage foreigners to work in Thailand while preventing abuse.
Deputy General Director at Cambodia’s Ministry of Labour Hou Vuthy, said yesterday: “I cannot say whether the number of illegal workers who go to work in Thailand will reduce after they are made to register because our people will still seek work by hiding from the authorities.”
2 comments:
Thai entitlement by right for 700 years
(this facts is known by Khmers)
Any incidents between Thai and Cambodia Thais medias and Thais government jump to conclusion without verify or thorough investigation the fact because Thais doesn't need too.
Thais soldiers shooting Cambodia civilian is justify because is on Thai soil 100% and Thais soldiers entitle shoot to kill.
In contrast If Cambodia arrested Thai civilians in Cambodia soil is always the Thais territory because Cambodia is being claim by Thais and Thai entitle to roam free without any permission from Cambodia.
Preah Vihear register as the world heritage by Cambodia no! how dare Cambodia register such Temple without Thai permission because the soil underneath the temple belong to Thais the air above the temple belong to Thais and the temple itself being claim by Thais.
Thais attacking and insulting Cambodia because Thai entitle to said Thai foreign minister after 4/2/11" Thais have been hitting Cambodia heads for 700 years because Thai able to and not a dam thing Cambodia can do about it".
After 4/2/11 clashed Thai foreign minister Kasit Pirom remarked at press conference" where Cambodia get those BM 21 from I will send the sample to china to verify the originated of BM 21 and how dare Cambodia fight back against Thais or because Cambodia have the backing of 4 superpowers " and his remarks have been televised on Thais TVs.
Any clashed is consider Khmer start first no Thai never start first even Thai started first Khmer not entitle to fight back Khmer have to back off and let Thais take whatever Thais want because Thai entitle to take from Khmer and Khmer not entitle to claim it back that is the rule set by Thais for 700 years.
Any fighting or border issue is no outsider mediators because Thai doesn't like the outsider to see what Thai doing with Khmer and Thais doesn't like level playing field.
Actions of Thais against Cambodia always described as justify and Thais doesn't need outsiders to act as mediators the words of fairs is not on Thais vocabulary.
Thai actress Suvanan Kongying in 2003 saying that if she was reincarnated, she would rather be a dog than be a Cambodian national.
(thanks from L.C)
Thai Nationalist[Thai Ideology]
Nationalism of abhisit government has become a highly destructive force both in domestic and international politics. team up with the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the Democrat Party, claimed to represent the true face of Thai nationalism. In this, they claimed to stand on the side of righteousness by protecting the nation’s territorial integrity.
The conflict over the Preah Vihear Temple, to the Democrat Party and PAD, was indeed a conflict between those who are true Thais It saw its duty as that of protecting Thailand’s national interests, and the best way to do so was to stir up nationalistic feelings The outcome of these political tactics has been destructive. Thai domestic politics has become increasingly polarized. Thailand’s relations with Cambodia have reached a critical point, verging on full-blown war. Who has gained what out of this nationalistic crusade?
By using unilateral map to create an overlapping territories returned to the attention of the Thai public. The spirit of nationhood was high.
However, the PAD also became a casualty in the game of nationalism. It opened up a Pandora’s box of bewilderment about Thai self-identity. Was the PAD brand of nationalism a reflection of the Thai way to express love for country? Didn’t its call for war with Cambodia run against its earlier representations of Thainess: of being a peaceful nation, as enunciated in the words of Thailand’s national anthem?
The latest clashes near the Thai-Cambodian border demonstrated that the Democrat Party and PAD is not willing to give up its nationalist tactics but has even been re-produced and has re-emerged recently as a political weapon, to justify to go to invade Cambodia and fulfil their predecessors ambitious Ideology.
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