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