ILO/Japan - MOL National Seminar on
Agenda for Labour Migration Policy in Thailand
Amari Watergate Hotel, Bangkok, Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Background: The cross-border movement of people between Thailand and its neighboring countries has been governed by the long historical legacy and the social relationship between people living along the borders. In recent decades, economic and political factors have greatly influenced the migration of people in and out Thailand. The cross-border trade and investment, the ethic conflict in Myanmar, and the divergence in economic development between countries are currently the main forces driving labour migration. The incoherent migration policies, the restrictive approach to labour migration and the bottleneck in implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation on the Employment Workers are the main causes for increasing trend of irregular migration and trafficking in human
Many studies indicate that policy measures adopted by the government to promote orderly migration, to partially regularize the irregular migrant workers, and to tighten border control have so far failed to stem the smuggling and the movement of irregular migrant workers. Ironically, many regularized and legally recruited migrants have been plunging into the irregular status, due mainly to restrictive immigration policies in the Thailand. This is because the management of labour migration in Thailand has been conceived from the national security lens, rather than blending the national security concern with the economic and the human securities, i.e. the economic gains and the protection of human’s and workers’ rights.
The recent registration and partial regularization programmes showed that there were 1,310,690 migrant workers in Thailand, of which migrants from Myanmar accounted for 1,076,110 (82%), followed by Cambodia of 124,174 (10%) and Lao PDR of 110,406 (8%). However, there are still a large number of irregular migrants who fail or are unwilling to register with the authority. There were various estimations on the number of legal and irregular migrant workers from the three neighboring countries. These numbers are ranging from 2 million to 2.5 million people. Migrant workers are normally engaging in dangerous, dirty and demeaning jobs all over Thailand in exchange for wages which tend to be lower than the statutory minimum wages.
A study supported by the ILO in 2007 estimated that migrant workers contributed 1.25 percent to Thai’s GDP in 2005, equivalent to US$2 billion at current prices or US$ 1.8 billion at constant prices in 2000 (Philip Martin, ILO, 2007). A similar study showed that migrant workers would generate a net gain to the real GDP (capital gains minus labour losses of 1.5 billion Baht in 2007 at constant prices in 1988.
Recently, Thailand has been alleged for using of forced- and child labour – both Thai and migrants – in its shrimp processing industry. An article in the Washington Post claimed that Thailand was using child - and irregular migrant workers in the production process. The US government is in the process of approving its Customs Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Reauthorization Act. The purpose of this Act is to impose trade barriers on the countries exporting goods and products that use forced- and child labour. Anticipating a quick approval of this Act, the US Department of Labour’s Bureau of International Labour Affairs (ILAB) has recently requested Thailand to provide information on employment and working conditions of domestic and migrant workers in the seafood industry, one of the sectors where the US indicates that there might be labour exploitation.
The United Nations system in Thailand has long attached high priority to the issue of international migration in Thailand. On Tuesday, 15 December 2009, the UN Country Team and the Ministry of Labour hosted a Development Cooperation Seminar on Migration for Development: Towards a Comprehensive Migration Policy, in Bangkok, which brought together government officials, international development agencies, civil society groups, academics and other experts. The some key recommendations emerged from the seminar were:
1) Make use of regional and international instruments to enhance migration policies and implementation in line with Thailand’s international commitments;
2) Raise awareness of migrant workers about work safety, human rights and job opportunities including improving their skills and participation in trade unions.
3) Consider coverage of migrant workers in defining public health, increase accessibility of medical services and facilitate social integration;
4) Review the national verification process for Myanmar migrant workers: make it simpler, cheaper, and more transparent; extend its timeframei; consider rights’ and security’s implication for migrants;
5) Design a long-term plan and coherent policies for migration, and integrate them in Thailand’s 11th National Economic and Social Development (NESD) Plan;
6) Enhance linkages between the free movement of labour and the economic development for both sending and receiving countries;
7) Establish a body or an organization specifically responsible for coordinating immigration policies and plan, as well as place immigration as a national agenda.
In search for the acceptable solutions to the long-term management of labour migration amid the complex social and economic developments in Thailand and in the region and as a follow up to the Development Cooperation Seminar Migration for Development, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Ministry of Labour, Thailand and the Migrant Working Group have agreed to jointly host the technical seminar to brainstorm on the guiding labour migration policies and the effective management of labour migration in Thailand. The seminar will discuss the immediate policies and the management issues with respect to the nationality verification, the admission of migrant workers in accordance with the Alien Employment Act (2008), and the long-term labour migration policies and management.
Objectives: The seminar is aimed to inform policy makers, planners and practitioners on:
(1) The long-term labour migration policies to be considered by the Thai government;
(2) The proposal for the efficient nationality verification process; and
(3) The governance in management of labour migration in Thailand.
Participants and target groups: 70-80 participants from the concerned governmental organizations, workers’ and employers’ organizations, civil society, academics, and other international organizations.
Documents for the seminar: ILO’s documents in Thai language on labour migration will be distributed to all participants, namely, (1) The draft Agenda for Labour Migration Policy in Thailand, (2) ILO Conventions Nos. 97 and 143, (3) A Synthesis Report on Labour Migration Policies, Management and Immigration Pressure in Thailand, and (4) Review of Labour Migration Policy, Strategy Management and Immigration Pressure in Thailand.
Management of the seminar: The seminar will be co-hosted by the Ministry of Labour, Thailand and the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Bangkok. The Ministry of Labour will be responsible for issuing the invitations to participants and resource persons. The ILO will be responsible for funding and providing technical and logistic support for the event. The Migrant Working Group will prepare a report of the seminar.
Date and venue: Tuesday, 23 February 2010 at Meeting Room C, 7th Floor, Amari Watergate Hotel, Bangkok
Issues to be discussed at the seminar:
1. Agenda for labour migration policy in Thailand
2. Measures to ensure efficient, fair and safe nationality verification process
3. Policy measures for long-term management of labour migration
Short-term Policy Framework:
Guideline for the nationality verification
Measures to deal with migrants who are unable to participate in or fail in the nationality verification
Measures for the stateless migrants rejected by Myanmar government
Management of seasonal and border areas labour migration
Long-term Policy Framework:
Framework for the long-term management of labour migration
Review of legislations and regulations pertaining labour migration and immigration.
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