An interview with U Aung Kyaw, President of the Migrant Workers Rights Network (MWRN)
Migrant workers from Myanmar illegally cross the border into Thailand almost every day. This is due to the lack of employment opportunities and political and economic instability following the military coup in Myanmar. Currently, some illegal migrants from Myanmar are often abandoned by human smugglers in the forests on the Thai side and are often arrested.
In an interview with Than Lwin Times, U Aung Kyaw, chairman of Migrant Workers Rights Network (MWRN), talked about the difficulties faced by migrant workers from Myanmar who have illegally crossed the border into Thailand, their employment opportunities in Thailand, and being abandoned by smugglers in the forests.
Q: First, please tell me about the situation of Myanmar migrant workers who illegally crossed the border into Thailand and their arrests?
A: Illegal border crossings in groups still took place last January and February. This is because local job opportunities have become scarce. They have other reasons to find a job. With their country in turmoil, migrant workers from Myanmar are still crossing the border into Thailand with the help of smugglers. Thai news keeps reporting the arrest of migrant workers from Myanmar. Some of them enter Thailand illegally to work, while others use Thailand as a transit country to travel on to Malaysia. Some of them are arrested in Thailand. But for us, such statistics are hard to get. Since Myanmar has a border with Thailand that is more than 2000 kilometers long, we cannot say exactly how many Myanmar migrant workers are entering Thailand. However, multiple groups have estimated that about 4,000 people cross the border illegally into Thailand every month.
Q: We hear that Myanmar migrants get often abandoned in southern Thailand. Please tell me about this situation.
A: Some migrant workers get arrested when Thai authorities stop and check vehicles carrying them. Others get arrested in the forests when their smugglers abandon them and flee when they encounter risks before they can get the migrants to their promised destination. In some cases, only the Myanmar migrants get arrested, not their smugglers, after Thai authorities are informed about them.
Q: What about employment opportunities for MoU workers facing violations? Recently, we have heard that some of them are unemployed or not being paid.
A: Indeed, this is very sad. A worker who has signed an official contract on the MoU between the two governments should be able to start working as soon as he arrives in Thailand. It’s a terrible situation that Myanmar migrant workers can’t start working immediately but are forced to wait. This is due to the malicious conduct of the employment agencies in Myanmar and Thailand. We hear about such cases from time to time. We have been talking about this all the time. Whether the destination is Thailand or Malaysia, the safest and most reliable way to get a job is through the official MoU system. This way, they can fully exercise their rights. We have been urging them to do this all along. Now they’re faced with unexpected situations, such as not having a job even though they entered Thailand with an official contract. So I’d advise them to check their employment agency before making a decision.
Q: What kind of awareness-raising activities does MWRN currently conduct for workers?
A: Since our establishment, we have been working to raise awareness that Myanmar migrant workers in Thai factories fully enjoy the labor rights set by the Thai government and awareness about the risks of crossing the border illegally into Thailand. As for labor rights, we also organize thorough education activities between workers and employers. When workers from Myanmar seek help from us, we try to ensure that they can fully exercise their labor rights by meeting with Thai government officials. We help workers as best we can with any non-legal issues too.
Q: What else would you like to say about Myanmar migrant workers?
A: Those who want to come to Thailand to work shouldn’t enter through the illegal border crossing ybecause the cost is very high. Even the cost of 25,000 or 30,000 baht is too much in Myanmar kyat and it’s not even safe and reliable. And after they arrive in Thailand, they still have to live as undocumented migrants in a state of fear. This is very risky. So I’d encourage them to come to Thailand through trustworthy employment agencies.
Sent by Than Lwin Times.