Lack
of “Legal Opportunities” Making Outcasts of Migrants
THERE may be greener pastures on the other side but the scarcity of "legal opportunities" has caused migrants to be often regarded as outcasts and even suffer from the violation of basic human rights.
"This is where we take a look at the policies of the government and society … why is it they don't want migrants although they are needed in the countries?" the International Organisation of Migration's (IOM) regional representative Irena Vojackova-Sollorano said at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand recently.
"Because migrants come only when there are opportunities - nobody's migrating to the Sahara…'' she remarked.
Yet, some 269 migrant workers here were proven wrong and in December were in the Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) waiting to be deported back to their own countries.
According to Jackie Pollock of the Migrants Assistance Programme in Chiang Mai, the workers had not been paid by their employer and were deprived of agreed terms such as subsidised medical insurance.
Despite having agreed to pay the workers on the 10th of every month, their employer failed to do so and at the end, even resorted to offering leaders of the workers, 3,990 baht (about 100 U.S. dollars) as payoff, she said. But they all stood firm together and refused.
"Migrants have no time to take any legal process… in the previous registration when migrants were registered, they were given seven days to change employers. In that seven days, they could also start the legal proceeding," explained Pollock of the situation now.
Unknowingly, the clause had been taken out when migrants here attempted to register again this year, which meant that they either forego their deposit money of 4,000 baht and return home, or continue working.
Worse, the Committee of the Protection of Rights of the Migrant Workers, which was set up by Thailand's Ministry of Labour, has been disbanded, Pollock added. "Now there is no mechanism in place to protect the rights of migrant workers, whatsoever in Thailand," stated Pollock. Roxanne Toh
