Clarity urged on Thai-Myanmar migrant policy
ORGANISATIONS are urging the Thai and Myanmar governments to clarify their migration policies and practices, as this could affect the future of 3 million migrant workers in Thailand.
In a joint statement, the State Enterprise Workers’ Relations Confederation of Thailand, the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee, the Migrant Worker Rights Network and the Human Rights and Development Foundation said they were deeply concerned about the lack of clarity.
“We therefore would like to urgently ask Thailand and Myanmar governments to clarify policy and practice,” they said.
A key point concerns the migrant workers who have passed the nationality verification (NV) process and who have entered Thailand under a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries in 2003. To date, Myanmar has issued more than 1.7 million passports to migrants in Thailand. However, Thai statistics show that only about 750,000 Myanmar workers with passports have applied for Thai work permits. Only about 200,000 of them are registered for social security and eligible for health protection.
According to the 2003 MoU, after migrants from Myanmar have remained in Thailand for four years, they must return home for three years before becoming eligible to return to Thailand.
“This policy has never been realistic [either] for workers, employers, [or the] Thai and Myanmar governments and their respective economies. Workers need to remain in Thailand to support their families in Myanmar,” the statement said.
