U-turn in migrant labour policy?

After an abusive and untransparent crackdown, a million migrant workers were finally registered recently. Will the new government continue the positive trend? 

Photo above of migrants from Burma working at a shrimp factory in Mahachai on the outskirts of Bangkok.

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FOREIGN LABOUR: A changing migration landscape for Thailand by Andy Hall

In 2009, Thailand imposed a February 2010 deadline for 1.3 million registered migrants from Burma, Cambodia and Laos who originally entered the country "illegally'', to complete nationality verification (NV) and become fully "legal." Those missing this deadline were threatened with deportation.

Migrants from Burma work at a shrimp factory in Mahachai on the outskirts of Bangkok. Thailand needs to address its migration challenges in inclusive and rights-centred ways.

Few workers had completed NV a month before this deadline due to fear, lack of information, unregulated broker costs and confusion. The cabinet then affirmed the deadline but changed the rules. Migrants had to enter NV by February 2010 but completing the process would be extended until next year

Over 930,000 migrants met the NV deadline but 300,000 fell through the net. Given a million undocumented migrants were already in the country but not entitled to enter NV, just over 17 months ago the majority of migrants in Thailand were undocumented.

An abusive and untransparent crackdown that followed the NV deadline saw migrants spinning into circles of arrest and extortion coupled with deportation abuse in Ranong province and in Mae Sot district of Tak. This all rapidly brought increasing global attention to the suffering of migrants in Thailand.

Migration management had failed to ensure that migrant regularisation, planned for more than a decade, was achieved. Migrant rights protection lagged far behind international standards and domestic law.

Thailand's migration landscape seems to have changed for the better since last year. A policy U-turn allowing an amnesty from June 15 to July 14 this year saw a million undocumented migrants register in a relatively successful regularisation push. The process was employer-led and information to migrants remained very scarce but most migrants - 2 million - are likely now registered anyhow.

After an initial reluctance to take part in NV, over half a million migrants from Burma now possess temporary passports which, as of July 1 this year, are valid for up to six years. Migrants passing NV have more confidence travelling in Thailand unhindered (with notable exceptions). For migrants who can speak Thai (driving tests are still only in Thai, English, Japanese and Chinese), they can even legally ride motorbikes. Access to expansive systems of social protection is apparently guarantee.

The changes in Thai migration management can be explained by employers' insistence to the government that low-skilled labour shortages existed and needed to be addressed. The Board of Investment relaxed rules for hiring low-skilled migrants in BoI-registered companies in 2009. Domestic and increasingly international media coverage of systematic rights abuses facing migrants, and effective rights groups campaigning, and UN and diplomatic pressure - have played a role in moving things forward, too.

Appalling stories from fisheries workers meant this sector remained under close scrutiny.

Burma seems to have been an important factor also. Senior Thai officials report increased cooperation offered by the Burmese government to facilitate NV of migrants. Firstly an NV centre was transferred from Kawthaung to Ranong which, although officially to ensure "safety" during the monsoon season, remains open. Burma issued some basic leaflets to explain NV to its fearful citizens too. The New Light of Myanmar, mouthpiece of the Burmese regime, reported how officials lobbied the Thais to re-open registration for its workers. The Burmese embassy provided support to road accident victims and mediated labour disputes in Thailand. Many still view such moves with deep suspicion however, questioning the motives of this apparent benevolence.

The scales seem close to tipping towards increased protection for migrants working in Thailand. But it remains unclear whether the coming months will see positive gains increase or whether there will be a strong return to security- centric economic and social exploitation that migrants still experience...

Andy Hall is a foreign expert at the Mahidol Migration Centre and a Consultant to the Human Rights and Development Foundation

(Source: Bangkok Post, FOREIGN LABOUR, A changing migration landscape for Thailand, 16/08/2011, Andy Hall, link) 

migration - moving from one place to another to live and work การอพยพ
migrants - people who travel to a different region or country to live and work ผู้อพยพ ในที่นี้หมายถึง คนต่างจังหวัดที่อพยพเข้ามาหางานทำที่กรุงเทพ
imposed - force someone to do something or follow some rule
deadline - a time or day that you must do something before เส้นตาย
impose deadline - force people to do something before some time or date (the deadline)
registered - officially recorded with the government

nationality - the official right to belong to a particular country สัญชาติ,เชื้อชาติ, ชนชาติ
verification - checking whether something is correct, checking if you have permission to enter
Nationality Verification (NV) - the name of the process of registering migrant workers (and making them legal) who are currently working illegally in Thailand

threatened - telling someone that if they don't do it, they will be punished

deportation - the process of forcing someone to leave a country, especially someone who has no legal right to be there or who has broken the law การเนรเทศออกจากประเทศ
outskirts - the areas at the edge of a city, the areas of a town or city that are furthest away from the centre ชานเมือง
address - to deal with a problem จัดการปัญหา
challenges - new and difficult problems to solve, that require effort and determination
inclusive - includes everything and everyone
rights - things that people must or should have as a matter of law or morals, things they are entitled to สิทธิ์ (See Wikipedia)

lack - do not have ขาดแคลน
broker - job broker, a person who provides a worker with a job for a fee

unregulated - an activity without rules or laws governing it
unregulated broker costs - when there is no law or rules about broker fees (so they could be very high and unfair)

confusion - a disorganized situation (people cannot understand and do not know what to do)
process - a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ
fell through the net - not included in the system or activity

undocumented migrants - workers who are not legal (do not have the official government papers or "documents" to show and prove that they are legal)

entitled - having the right to have or do something มีสิทธิโดยชอบ
majority - more than 50 percent of a group, more than half of the people in a group ส่วนมาก

abuse (noun)- cruel, violent or unfair treatment โหดเหี้ยม ทารุณ to use or treat someone or something wrongly or badly, especially in a way that is to your own advantage ใช้ในทางที่ผิด
abusive (adjective)
untransparent - hidden to the public
crackdown - strong action that someone in authority takes to stop a particular activity การใช้กำลังเข้าปราบปรามของเจ้าหน้าที่ strong official action to punish lawbreakers การปราบปรามขั้นเด็ดขาด
extortion - the crime of trying to obtain something by force or threat การขู่กรรโชก รีดไถ
coupled with - combined with, together with
global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก, ทั้งโลก
suffering - physical or mental pain or problems ความทุกข์ทรมาน

ensure - to make certain that something happens or is done รับรอง ให้ความมั่นใจ  ให้การยืนยัน รับรอง

migrant - someone who travels to another place or country in order to find work (an immigrant is someone who comes to live in a country from another country) ผู้อพยพ
migrant regularisation - registering migrants and making their status legal, rather than informal and illegal

decade - a period of ten years ทศวรรษ, ระยะเวลา 10 ปี
standards - an acceptable level of quality or achievement มาตรฐาน

international - ระหว่างประเทศ between countries
domestic - within the country ภายในประเทศ
domestic law - the law in a country (here: Thailand)

Thailand's migration landscape - Thailand's situation with migration (people moving between countries)

U-turn - when you are driving, turning your car so that you are driving in the opposite direction on the same road
policy - a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย (See Wikipedia)
policy U-turn - changing a policy to be the opposite of what the policy was before

amnesty - a situation in which a government agrees not to punish, or to no longer punish, people who have committed a particular crime กฎอัยการศึก

register - make an official record of something with the government; have name put on an official list (and receive permission to do something like vote or marry) ลงทะเบียน ขึ้นทะเบียน (ขอใบอนุญาต)
employer - a person, company, or organisation that pays someone to work for them as a member of their staff นายจ้าง
scarce - not easy to find or get ขาดแคลน, ไม่เพียงพอ, หายาก

initial - early; first ในเบื้องต้น
reluctance - not willing to do something  ความไม่เต็มใจ,ความไม่สมัครใจ ลังเล

possess - to have or own something ครอบครอง, ถือครอง
temporary - done or used for only a limited period of time, i.e., not permanent ชั่วคราว
possess temporary passports - have passports that they can use for a limited short period of time

valid - legally accepted ชอบด้วยกฎหมาย
confidence - the quality of being certain, feeling sure about something ความมั่นใจ, ความเชื่อมั่น

hinder - prevent people from doing something
unhindered - when a person is not prevented from doing something (freely allowed to do something)
travelling unhindered - allowed to travel freely (not prevented from travelling, by constant police harrassment, for example)

exceptions - people or cases that are treated differently from normal
notable exceptions - big and important enough to mention (or "notice")

apparently - based only on what you have heard or think, not on what you are certain is true; seemingly ตามที่ได้รู้มา
guaranteed - will happen for sure (promises have been given)

insistence - saying that something must be done  
low-skilled labour shortages - when a country is said to not have enough people willing to do very simple manual work for very low wages

relaxed rules - making rules that are easier to follow (not very strict or severe)
shortages - when there are not enough goods for people to buy การขาดแคลน
hiring - when a company formally gives a person a job (a contract is signed) การว่าจ้าง

media - radio, television, newspaper, the Internet, considered as a group สื่อ
coverage - the number of people in the programme, the number of participants
media coverage - events and stories in newspapers or TV news and other media

systematic rights abuses - abusive treatment everywhere of everyone (according to some system)
effective - producing the result that was intended ได้ผลดี works well, gets the job done, gets the job done

diplomatic - relating to relations between countries เกี่ยวกับการทูต
diplomats - government officials involved in diplomacy (relations between countries)
pressure - when people are being pushed or forced to so something
diplomatic pressure - pressure by another country to make some change or do something (communicated by diplomats of the country) 

role - the purpose or influence of someone or something in a particular situation บทบาท
played a role - had an influence on the situation (caused something to happen)

apalling stories - shocking stories (surprisingly bad stories)

fisheries - fish farms, places to raise fishes

sector - a part of the economy ภาคเศรษฐกิจของประเทศ (public sector = government, private sector = all businesses, household sector = families and consumers, banking sector,...) (See Wikipedia)
scrutiny - careful examination of someone or something, watching and checking carefully การใคร่ครวญอย่างละเอียด
under close scrutiny -  looking and investigating something very carefully

factor - a fact or situation which influences the result of something ปัจจัย
cooperation - working together to achieve a result that will benefit all sides ความร่วมมือ, การทำงานร่วมกัน

facilitate - to make it possible or easier for something to happen ทำให้สะดวกขึ้น
transferred - moved ย้าย

monsoon - the season of heavy rain during the summer in hot Asian countries มรสุม (See Wikipedia) ฤดูมรสุม

issued - made available ออกใหม่
issued leaflets - make little sheets of paper with information or ads on them (leaflets) available to people

mouthpiece - a person, organisation  (or here: newspaper) that expresses the opinions and beliefs of a government, an organisation, or another person ปากเสียง กระบอกเสียง
regime - a government that controls a country, especially in a strict or unfair way รัฐบาลที่ขึ้นมาปกครองโดยการยึดอำนาจ; รัฐบาลที่มาจากการยึดอาำนาจ

registration - recording in an official list

embassy - a group of officials who represent their government in a foreign country สถานทูต
support - help สนับสนุน

victims - people who are harmed in some way by an event (accident, natural disaster, crime, etc.)
suspicion - a feeling that something bad is probably true or likely to happen ความสงสัย
motives - the reason for doing something (taking an action)

apparent - able to be seen; appears to be true; seems to be true ซึ่งเห็นได้ชัดว่า
apparent benevolence - seems to be kind, looks like it is kind-hearted, appears to be done in a nice way

scale - a tool for weighing things, for finding out how much some object weighs
scales tipping towards - changing a situation so that more importance (or weight) is placed on a different factor than before

positive - something good ในแง่ดี สิ่งที่ดี
positive gains - things that give hope and confidence, or giving cause for hope and confidence ซึ่งมองในแง่ดี

security - the activity of making safe or protecting from harm (here: regarding the military)
security-centric -  centered on the idea of the military protecting the country (which may not actually face a threat)

exploitation - unfair treatment of someone, or the use of a situation in a way that is wrong การใช้หาประโยชน์อย่างไม่ถูกต้อง using something in a harmful way for personal gain