Thailand’s Policy towards Irregular Migration: Situation Analysis of Burmese Migrant Workers under Thailand’s Migration Policy

Main Article Content

Khen Suan Khai

Abstract

The huge economic disparities within the GMS countries will cause labor migration to Thailand to be increased rapidly over the next decade. This paper focuses on the impact of the migration policy toward human rights situation of migrant labors in particular from Myanmar, as these migrants are the largest cheap-labor supply in Thailand. They have the highest potential to be adversely affected by the latest approach of labor migration in the restrictive from. The cause found as influential factors are push and pull factors: push factors are related with economic, social, and political situation in Myanmar while pull factors are the growth of Thailand’s economy, and the labor shortage in low-skilled sector in Thailand. The results show that Thailand’s labor migration policy should aim to obtain maximum benefits for both registered and non-registered migrant workers by enforcing coherent migration policy which meets the need of current situation and dynamics of labor migration.

Article Details

How to Cite
Khai, K. S. (2012). Thailand’s Policy towards Irregular Migration: Situation Analysis of Burmese Migrant Workers under Thailand’s Migration Policy. Connexion: Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(1), 1–25. Retrieved from https://so05.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/MFUconnexion/article/view/241415
Section
Research article

References

Alkire, S. (2003) A conceptual framework for human security, Available: https://www.crise.ox.ac.uk/pubs/workingpaper2.pdf [26 February 2010]

Asian Human Rights Commission. (2010, January 12) Thailand: Managing migration in 2010: Effective registration or effective deportation?, Available: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:2Rt8baVClekJ:www.humanrights.asia/news/forwarded-news/AHRC-FAT-002-2010+AHRC-FAT,+National+Verification,+Myanmar&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=th [26 February 2010]

Boot, W. (2008, December 3) Bleak economic prospects in store for Thailand, Irrawaddy News, Available: https://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=14736 [26 February 2010]

Chantavanich, S., Vungsiriphisal, P. & Laodumrongchai, S. (2009), Thailand policies towards migrant workers from Myanmar, Bangkok: Asian Research Center for Migration Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University.

Committee for Promotion and Protection of Child Rights (Burma). (2009, February) Feeling small in another person’s country: The situation of Burmese migrant children in Mae Sot, Thailand, Burma: The child protection Research Project of the Committee for the Protection and Promotion of Child Rights, Available: https://www.burmalibrary.org/docs08/Feeling_Small.pdf [26 February 2010]

Dpa. (2010, February 21) Myanmar and Thailand agree on registering migrant workers’ earth time, Available: https://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/310429,myanmar-and-thailand-agree-on-registering-migrant-workers.html [21 February 2010]

Fox, J. (2009) Burmese migrants in Thailand: Overview & analysis, Available: https://www.thailawforum.com/Migration-and-Policy-4.html [26 February 2010]

Huguet, J. W. (2007) Thailand’s policy approach to irregular migration, Available: https://pstalker.com/ilo/resources/Thailand%20-Irregular%20Migration%20Policies%20-%20Huguet.pdf [26 February 2010]

Human Rights Watch. (2009) From the tiger to the crocodile, abuse of migrant workers in Thailand, Available: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=1270543c4a529b29&mt=application%2Fpdf&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fmail%2F%3Fui%3D2%26ik%3D54a74d0a15%26view%3Datt%26th%3D1270543c4a529b29%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dattd%26realattid%3Df_g63kk2ec0%26zw&sig=AHIEtbS14tME2_xFc5nj0GVad9s9keQItA&pli=1 [26 February 2010]

International Organization for Migration. (2009) Migrant Information Note, Registration and Nationality Verification 2009 at a Glance, Bangkok: International Organization for Migration.

IOM. (2007), Situation report on international migration in East and South-East Asia, regional thematic working group on international migration including human trafficking, Bangkok, Thailand, Available: https://www.iom-seasia.org/resource/pdf/iomsituationreport.pdf [26 February 2010]

Karen Human Rights Group. (2010) Abuse between borders: Vulnerability for Burmese workers deported from Thailand, Burma: Karen Human Rights Group.

Lom, C. (2008) Thailand grapples rights and obligations of Burmese migrant workers, international organization for migration, feature stories, Asia & Oceania, Available: https://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/featureArticleAS/cache/offonce?entryId=16365 [26 February 2010]

Machiavelli. (n.d.) Life threatening journey of Burmese migrants at the border town Mae Sot, Available: https://www.thebestfriend.org/2010/04/03/the-life-threatening-journey-of-burmese-migrants-at-the-border-town-of-maesot/ [26 February 2010]

Migrant Justice Program. (2010) Unofficial English translation by Migrant Justice Program, Available: https://www.Myanmarlibrary.org/docs08/Nationality-verification%28en%29.pdf [26 February 2010]

Minister of Foreign Affair (MOFA), Myanmar. (2003) Bagan summit issues press statement, Available: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:hS2ACEqDaM8J:www.mofa.gov.mm/declarations/bagan_press_statement.html+Nov+2003,+Bagan+Declaration&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=th [26 February 2010]

Muntarbhorn, V. (2005) The Mekong challenge: Employment protection of migrant workers in Thailand: National laws/practices versus international labour standards, Bangkok: International Labour Organization.

O’toole, J. & Titthara, M. (2010, February 24) Migrants abused in Thailand, The Phnom Penh Post, Available: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010022432608/National-news/migrants-abused-in-thailand.html [26 February 2010]

Pitayanon, S. (2001) Migration of labour into Thailand, Chulalongkorn Journal of Economics, 13, pp. 1-42.

Rukumnuaykit, P. (2009) A synthesis report on labor migration policies, management and immigration pressure in Thailand, Bangkok: ILO/Japan Project on Managing Cross-border Movement of Labor in Southest Asia; ILO.

Sakaew, S. & Tangprapakoon, P. (2009) Brokers and labor migration from Myanmar: A case study from Samut Sakorn, Bangkok: Green Print.

United Nations Development Program. (1994) Human development report 1994, Available: https://hdr.undp.org/en/media/hdr_1994_en_overview.pdf [26 February 2010]

Vasuprasat. P. (2009) Interstate cooperation on migration: Lessons learned from MOUs between Thailand and neighboring countries, Bangkok: ILO Asian Regional Program on Governance of Labor Migration, Available: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/documents/publication/wcms_106181.pdf [26 February 2010]

Verification deadline poses risk to migrants. (2010, February 24) Bangkok Post, Available: https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/33405/verification-deadline-poses-risk-to-migrants-says-hrw [26 February 2010]

Winn, P. (2009) Why this face frightens the average Thai, The New York Time, Available: https://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/thailand/091009/analysis-thailand-fear-illegal-immigrants-parallels-america [26 February 2010]

Yashoikane, A. (2010, February 10) In Thailand, migrant workers struggle with new verification policy, Working in These Times, Available: https://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/5537/migrant_workers_in_thailand_struggle_with_new_verification_policy/ [27 February 2010]