.
WORKING IN Thailand is becoming harder and more expensive for unskilled migrant workers from neighboring countries after the government imposed tougher policies addressing illegal |immigration.
Residing
in the Kingdom for more than 12 years, 28-year-old Ei Dhan Dar from
Myamar has already adapted to Thai society and can speak the language
|fluently.
But despite her integration into society, she said she
felt increasingly uncertain about her future in Thailand, since tough
new regulations to register for work permits were issued, which entail a
difficult and expensive process.
“Recently, I had to spend
nearly Bt10,000 for the work permit registration fee and other related
costs just to make my status legal, but I only earn Bt300 salary per
day. It’s like we work hard to pay Thai bureaucrats and we are getting
poorer in Thailand,” she said.
.
“As I’ve lived in this country for a long time, I now feel that I
have a bond with Thailand and I always hope that one day I can live
comfortably in this country, but now I am not sure about this dream.”
Ei Dhan Dar is just one among hundreds of thousand migrant workers who have struggled to legalise their work status.
Labour Rights Promotion Network Foundation coordinator Surachai Mintun
said his organisation had received many calls for help from migrant
workers across the country, who had problems with the recent migrant
worker registration, including some who were facing deportation.
“There are so many workers having problems with the registration because
the regulation is unclear, specifies too short a period to register for
a work permit, and lacks information for applicants,” Surachai said.
.
.
According to the rule implemented this year, migrant workers who hold
temporary pink identification cards have to register certificates of
identity to get a passport and Thai visa, and then they have to register
for a work permit within 15 days. If they fail to register within that
period, their status will be illegal and they will be |subject to
deportation.
The government cancelled its recognition of the
temporary pink identification cards for migrant workers nationwide on
March 31, requiring migrant workers to hold valid visas and work
permits. There were an estimated 1.3 million migrant workers holding the
temporary pink identification cards.
As a result of the rule,
Surachai said migrant workers faced two major issues. First, many
workers were unable to register for the work permit in time for various
reasons, so even if they were |legally registered with authorities and
holding a Thai visa, they |suddenly risked arrest and faced deportation.
The second problem is the cost of registration. Although the official
cost was only Bt910, Surachai said, many workers had to employ an agent
because the entire process was complicated and slow, which could cost as
much as Bt10,000.
“It is very hard for workers to register by
themselves because many of them cannot communicate in Thai and have
limited knowledge about the bureaucratic procedures, so registering
through an agent is the easiest way, but there is an extra financial
burden,” he said.
.
.
The tough new regulations are justified as an effort to tackle human
trafficking and illegal migrant workers by the Labour Ministry.
Labour Ministry deputy permanent secretary Varanon Peetiwan has said the
government wants to control the entire migrant labour system, meaning
that all migrant workers should be brought to Thailand under the
memorandum of understanding (MOU) system only.
Sakultara
Bhupornwiwat, owner of a Samut Songkram squid processing factory, said
she would like the government to reconsider the policy, because the MOU
system was unreliable and unsuitable in practice.
“If I want to
import workers via the MOU system, I have to pay a large amount of money
first before the agent will recruit workers for me and there is no
guarantee that I’ll get the workers. The business cannot rely on that,”
Sakultara said.
“Moreover, the workers in the MOU system have to
pay more than Bt10,000 in their home countries just to apply to work in
Thailand. They cannot afford such an expensive fee. If they could pay
that amount of money, why would they want to work in unskilled jobs in
Thailand in the first place?”
She said that if the situation
remained unchanged under the new policy, there would be a serious
shortage of workers in the near future, which would harm not only her
business but the country’s economy as a whole.
.
Source - TheNation
