An interview with U Htoo Chit, executive director of the Foundation for Education and Development (FED)
Since the military coup, the entry of people from Myanmar into Thailand through legal channels and illegal border crossings has continued to increase due to job scarcity and political unrest. Migrant workers who have entered Thailand face labor rights violations, wage exploitation, and frequent arrests due to their illegal status.
To learn more about the difficulties faced by Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand, whether the military council is providing assistance, and what migrant workers expect from Thailand’s new prime minister, Than Lwin Times interviewed U Htoo Chit, executive director of the Foundation for Education and Development (FED), which has been helping migrant workers for more than 20 years.
Q – First, what difficulties do migrant workers from Myanmar face in Thailand? How does your organization help them?
A – The number of migrant workers from Myanmar has increased after the 2021 military coup. The problem is not only them, but also their families who join them. We mainly help with labor rights violations, when workers know their rights and complain but the government does not deal with it effectively, and we have noticed recently that more and more workers don’t have legal documents.
Q: How does support for migrant workers differ between the NLD government and the military council?
A: From our experience, each government, regardless of political side, has been poor in supporting workers’ rights. More importantly, there is a lack of systematic research and support. Compared to labor attachés in other countries, labor attachés from Myanmar supporting migrant workers are not able to provide effective assistance, which is the most important thing we have seen.
Q: How do you help Myanmar migrant workers who have been arrested for illegal entry?
A: First and foremost, there is also assistance for migrant workers inside Myanmar. Some returning workers who were arrested had problems accessing their rights in immigration detention centers and police stations before being deported to Myanmar. Last year, we also compiled a report on the problems faced by migrant workers in Thai detention centers. These problems are still ongoing and are being identified again and again.
Q: We have heard that even migrant workers who go through the MOU agreement between the two countries encounter all kinds of difficulties in Thailand. Why is this happening?
A: These are workers sent under the bilateral agreement. These workers have their rights. We don’t always demand the rights we want. There are labor rights, social security benefits and compensation benefits that are prescribed by the Thai government. Even these basic rights aren’t accessible to our workers. Workers under the MOU are more exposed to exploitation by foreign employment agencies.
We have found that some employment agencies in Thailand even call workers from Myanmar who have no jobs there. These workers don’t get jobs. They stay here and there and eventually become illegal. We don’t see the government handling such cases effectively. In such cases, the fees had been set differently under previous governments. It’s hard to say exactly.
Some employment agencies don’t follow the rules and regulations set by the successive governments of Myanmar. Now that our country is in civil war, most young people try to go abroad and are cheated in this way. They pay unreasonable fees and come to Thailand. But when they look for work, the brokers don’t find work for them and just take their money.
Another thing is that some workers who came legally became illegal. In the long run, we’re worried. Because compared to 4 to 5 years ago and 2 to 3 years ago, there is a big gap in the situation of migrant workers. I’d like to say that the workers sent under the bilateral agreement should also be supported systematically.
Q: What should be done to protect the rights of migrant workers who lose their rights? Please discuss.
A: The workers themselves also bear responsibility. One or two things – successive Myanmar governments have appointed labor attachés to protect workers by law, they have more responsibility. For example, communication with Cambodian labor attachés is very fast. They can visit factories at any time. They negotiate with employers. If necessary, they ask the Thai government for help. I feel that these things are weak in our countries.
To put it simply, even with the two governments, frankly, neither has been able to provide adequate assistance. If the government really wants to systematically support workers’ rights, the relevant governments have a greater responsibility. Because Thailand also respects and follows the government’s official discussions more. Therefore, they should support their migrant workers more systematically. I’d say the relevant governments have more responsibility.
Q: What can migrant workers, including Myanmar politics, expect from the change of prime minister in Thailand?
A: The current government is Pheu Thai. Pheu Thai is the party that won the second most seats. Any organization involved with Thailand knows that Pheu Thai is notorious for corruption in the past. As far as I know, it is the party of Thaksin, who is serving an 8-year prison sentence. Among the cases against Thaksin is that he lent 4 billion baht to Myanmar during the former military government around 2004.
What I am saying is that former Prime Minister Thaksin’s party has an extremely cozy relationship with successive military governments. They are only interested in their own business interests. We know that it is still a political party that puts its personal business interests first. Therefore, we can say that there is nothing particularly hopeful about Myanmar’s affairs with the new prime minister. At the same time, Pheu Thai campaigned for a daily minimum wage of 600 baht for Thai workers before the elections.
They have advocated that a Thai citizen with a bachelor’s degree should receive a minimum starting salary of 25,000 baht. So if the minimum wage for Thai workers is raised, it is likely that the minimum wage for migrant workers from Myanmar will also rise at least a little. We can assume that this government will raise the minimum wages for migrant workers to some extent.
Q: Finally, would you like to say anything about the rights of migrant workers?
A: From my 20-plus years of experience in migrant workers’ rights, I would like to offer one piece of advice to our fellow migrant workers. For migrant workers who are currently working in Thailand and for migrant workers from Myanmar who will be coming to Thailand, it is important to know the labor rights in Thailand to some extent. You should study the culture and traditions of Thailand.
At the same time, you should learn Thai language to be able to communicate with Thai people, employers and authorities. Regardless of the government, we always say that Myanmar migrant workers are not only bring revenue for the country. They are a social class who use their experience and skills for the development of our country. We can even call them unknown heroes.
Not only in Thailand, but under any government, they should have a strategic approach and allocate funds as needed to provide education, health and labor rights to millions of Myanmar migrant workers . Migrant workers are a very useful social class for the future and reconstruction of Myanmar. Therefore, I would like to say that the rights of migrant workers should be systematically protected.
Sent by Than Lwin Times.