Protection of migrant laborers: law policy and access* Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF) Petitions urge the Royal Thai Government to Revise Labour Laws to Protect Migrant Labourers and Eliminate Discrimination
2013 Information on migrant labour-related cases 197 reveals ongoing problems concerning brokers, wages, access to social security and workmen compensation funds Migrant labourers in Thailand still face a number of obstacles in the fight to claim fair and just treatment. Ms. Aye Mar Cho, representative from the Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF), says the organization has recorded a number of rights violation in the past year which reveal a range of ongoing and emerging issues effecting migrant labourers’ lives in the three areas it operates: Chiang Mai, Samut Sakorn and Mae Sot. In 2013, HRDF provided legal assistance to 197 migrant-labour cases, 60 of which are ongoing. The cases revealed several major/trends issues including: access to justice mechanisms (legal aid etc.), access to compensation for work-place and motor-vehicle related accidents, issues arising from the broker-handling of workers’ birth-certificates, pay-rates (having employers pay minimum wage in accordance with the law), contract-termination payment disputes, documentation for those wishing to leave/change employers, the unlawful seizure of passports by employers and access to social security mechanisms/funds. Ms. Aye Mar Cho commented that, “A number of these issues arise from problems entailed in the 1998 Protection of Labour Act and the ineffective enforcement of the law which has essentially prevented effective outreach to migrant labourers. This includes [the lack of] basic services such as providing/appointing interpreters in legal cases [where migrant labourers do not possess sufficient Thai language skills] and protection for migrants with an irregular legal status.” “The issues and the related laws and policies, which extend to rules and regulations for the fisheries industry and access to social welfare, social security and workmen compensation funds,” she explained further, are among those being raised by HRDF to the Royal Thai Government.” HRDF is proposing a set of recommendations to the Royal Thai Government designed to improve the current situation and address the aforementioned issues. Changes proposed by HRDF include the appointing of regular interpreters to social security offices in areas with large numbers of migrant labourers which will enable them to file complaints/petitions and better utilize their legal rights. HRDF is also recommending more serious punitive measures for employers who do not register their employees as beneficiaries and make the correct contributions to the social security fund scheme, as required by law.
Other points of emphasis to the Government include allowing migrant labourers to form and head labour unions, as guaranteed by the 1975 Labour Relations Act and the Constitution law. To stop migrant labourers from becoming victims of human trafficking – which are first recruited as slave labourers on trawlers – HRDF is also recommending that the Government play a more active role in preventing the deception of prospective migrant labourers by brokers, as well as the smuggling and illegal transportation into the country. HRDF’s recommendations are detailed below: 1) A policy should be formulated which provides regular interpreters – nationwide – to labour protection offices; 2) Migrant labourers in the process of petitioning with labour protection offices – even those that have entered the Kingdom illegally – should be allowed to temporarily remain in the country until the state-assistance process is exhausted; 3) Specific methods to access the social security and workmen compensation funds should be defined for labourers involved in the agricultural and fisheries industries (so as to eliminate discrimination based on which the industry workers/laborers are involved in); 4) The Royal Thai Government should specify the conditions by which migrant labourers can change employers, in accordance with the Labour Protection Act, which prescribes the right to freely change employers. (In reality, migrant labourers cannot change employers until fulfilling their contracts or until their work-permit (which is tied to a single employer registered on the work-permit) expires. The current situation requires employees seeking to change employers to gain the consent of their employer. If the employer has violated the rights of the employee (for example, forced labour or inflicted physical abuse on their employee) the chance of gaining consent is almost non-existent). -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Press release on 17 December 2013 to mark International Migrants Day at the National Press Council of Thailand organized by Migrant Working Group (MWG), Action Network for Migrants (ANM)