Bangkok (ILO News): The Government of Thailand needs to take decisive steps to develop long-term labour migration policies if it is to be ready for future demographic, economic and labour force trends, according to the International Labour Organization.
“Thailand has, by far, the strongest economy in the Greater Mekong Subregion and it will continue to attract migrant workers,” said Mr Bill Salter, Director of the ILO’s Subregional Office for East Asia. “There are, however, clearly some problems with the present system of registering migrants to work in Thailand. Removing some of the barriers between the State, the migrant and the employer would be a positive first step.”
But improved policies should also be comprehensive in nature, taking into account the real cost of harnessing migrant workers while promoting investment in knowledge-based production for higher skilled and available Thai workers. Without resolving these issues at the same time, the present system of migrant management would be become untenable, the ILO warned.
An estimated two million migrant workers are currently living in Thailand (including a large majority without proper documentation). Over the years, a restrictive labour migration system has discouraged migrants from legally registering for work permits. The majority of those that have registered have, for a number of reasons, chosen not re-register. This makes the migrants more vulnerable to exploitation, extortion and other abuses as they move underground to evade arrest and deportation.
Inadequate legal enforcement and the inconsistency between Thailand’s Labour Protection Act and its restrictive Immigration Act further aggravate the situation of migrant workers, who also experience a range of barriers to cultural and social integration in Thai society and the world of work. These include restrictions related to their ambiguous immigration status, discrimination, negative public attitudes and lack of accessible information about their rights at work due to language barriers and fear of contacting the authorities. Migrant workers are also more prone to occupational safety and health hazards and fall largely outside the national social security system and the workmen compensation fund. Further restrictions are placed on their rights to organize, move around or change employers.
A comprehensive and systematic overhaul of the present system could result in a much more efficient system of migration management – one that could be replicated in other countries of the subregion – especially for ASEAN.
The establishment of an ASEAN Economic Community, which will come into force in 2015, will allow products, services, capital and skilled labour to move more freely around the region. Given Thailand’s reliance on migrant workers, the country is well positioned to take a leading role in migration management if it can develop a sound and long term migration policy that will benefit the State, the worker and the employer.
But there are other challenges for Thailand. The lack of incentives for businesses to leap into high-technology production has retarded innovative growth, leaving Thailand with a labour-intensive production system. If this is allowed to continue it will increase the need for more low-skilled migrants – mostly because Thailand’s average annual labour productivity growth (2000–2007) is declining compared with the period before the Asian financial crisis (1987–1996), its labour force growth is declining, the country’s fertility rate is below the labour replacement rate and the number of young people seeking advanced degrees and decent work is increasing.
This predicament will keep Thailand stuck in a middle income trap and will obstruct both its social and economic development goals.
In response to these issues, and to examine potential comprehensive solutions, the ILO along with the Ministry of Labour and the Migrant Working Group are organizing a seminar on labour migration policy in Thailand.
You or your representatives are cordially invited to attend the seminar at the Amari Watergate Hotel, Bangkok (Room C) on Tuesday, 23 February 2010 beginning at 8.45 am.
For further information, please contact:
Mr Pracha Vasuprasat, Chief Technical Adviser, ILO-Japan Project for Managing Cross-Border Movement of Labour in South-East Asia, Tel: 02 288 1740, E-mail
Ms Krisdaporn Singhaseni, Information Officer, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Tel: 02 288 1664, E-Mail
Print
Email