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/MAY DAY/THAILAND: Gov't Eyes Crackdown on Undocumented Workers
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK, Apr 24 (IPS) - As the Thai government's harsh crackdown on the
drug trade draws to an end, the country's law enforcement officials have
named a new group to face the heat of a similar high profile 'war' -
undocumented migrant workers.
The government's next cabinet meeting, on Apr. 29, is due to reveal if
the administration of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will heed this call
for a crackdown led by Thawatchai Pailee, the deputy national police chief.
Thawatchai has already singled out when such a ''war on illegal foreign
workers'' should be launched - May 1, the day marked globally to celebrate
labour rights.
''Such calls are not a surprise. It is typical of them not being
sensitive to the labour movement,'' says Junya Yimprasert, coordinator of
the Bangkok-based Thai Labour Campaign, a non-governmental organisation
(NGO). ''Migrant workers in Thailand are the most vulnerable.''
Last year, in an effort to mount an offensive against undocumented
migrant workers, the government created a special task force, bringing
together units of the police, the army and immigration officials.
The law and the implementing force are in place to go after
undocumented foreign workers, says Sunai Phasuk, an analyst at Forum Asia,
a regional human rights watchdog. ''Immigration officials also want the
government to announce a special, high-profile campaign against the migrant
workers.''
Currently, the bulk of Thailand's undocumented migrant workers,
estimated at over one million, are from neighbouring Burma, to the north,
while the rest are from eastern neighbours Cambodia and Laos.
More than 1.1 million Burmese are in Thailand, followed by 88,000 from
Cambodia and 111,000 from Laos, states the Hong Kong-based Asian Migrant
Centre (AMC) in a study on the region's migrant flows in 2002.
In 2001, when Bangkok initiated an open registration drive for migrant
workers, some 568,000 undocumented workers registered with the labour
authorities. Of them, nearly 460,000 were from Burma, while the rest were
evenly divided between Cambodians and Laotians.
''In some border provinces, the agriculture sector is dominated by
migrant workers,'' says Farooq Azam, regional representative of the
International Organisation for Migration (IOM), an inter-governmental body.
''The Thai fisheries sector will have to close down if you throw out the
migrant workers.''
Like in other countries that receive undocumented labour, in Thailand,
too, the migrant workers are found in occupations labour rights activists
describe as the ''three Ds'' - dirty, dangerous and difficult.
Last year, for instance, there were 69,716 registered Burmese male and
female migrant workers employed on farms, while 58,794 worked in the
fisheries sector and 30,845, as construction workers, according to the AMC.
Registered Burmese women workers, on the other hand, dominated the 47,359
people employed as domestic help.
''These are jobs that do not attract Thais, and the employment
conditions are dangerous,'' says Azam. ''The workers are always at the
mercy of the employers.''
In the agriculture sector, migrant workers tend to earn about 50 baht (1.1
U.S. dollar) per day, while as construction workers they can earn up to 150
baht (3.50 dollars) per day, according to available record.
For human rights activists, the push to mount a ''war on illegal
migrant workers'' will be attractive to the Thaksin government in the wake
of the many high-profile populist campaigns it has launched over the past
two years.
In 2001, for instance, the ruling Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thai)
government triggered a social order campaign, under which all entertainment
venues had to close by 2 a.m. It was aimed at controlling the nightlife of
the country's youth.
In February this year, the government launched its ''war on drugs'' to
crack down on the rampant narcotics trade and consumption in the country.
Since the anti-drug campaign, which is due to end Apr. 30, began, over
2,270 alleged members of the drug trade have been killed.
The drive to deport undocumented workers has happened before and it
always results in mass deportations, says Jackie Pollock of the Migrant
Assistance Programme, based in the northern city of Chiang Mai. ''But it is
an impossible objective to achieve - getting rid of illegal migrants.''
What is more, the Thai authorities cannot guarantee any safety for the
deportees, she adds. ''It is putting people in fear. Migrant workers are
being used and abused.''
Burma's military rulers impose harsh conditions on citizens who have
violated the country's migration laws, of leaving without official
permission. Violations can result in fines and six months to five years
imprisonment.
Military rule in Burma and the country's weak economy will continue to
force people to escape in search of jobs across the border, says Pollock.
''Thailand's economic success is a major draw. Even after being deported,
the migrants return.''
Furthermore, the long porous border that the two countries share has
also enabled Burmese workers to slip into Thailand, even if at great risk.
''The migrants will come, even if they have no rights and even if they have
to work in fear,'' adds Pollock. (END/2003)
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