Key Issues for Suu Kyi/Prayuth Meeting Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN)

1324 24 Jun 2016

22^nd June 2016: Key Issues for Suu Kyi/Prayuth Meeting Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN)  

• MWRN acknowledge an increasingly productive relationship between Thai and Myanmar authorities on issues of migrant workers/migration policy
• MWRN acknowledge the developments in migrant regularization processes since 2009 in Thailand such that a higher number of migrant workers are registered with nationality verified than before with greater rights access
• MWRN acknowledge a reduction in the number of officially regularized/ passport migrant workers with documents confiscated in Thailand and more freedom of movement and greater access to improved labour rights for these fully regularized workers
• MWRN acknowledge improvements in migrant worker confidence in Thailand and increased ability of migrant workers to individually and collectively negotiate for more access to rights and justice
• MWRN acknowledge higher levels of protection for migrant fishery workers in Thailand and greater levels of regularization in this sector given increased focus for improvements in this industry by the Thai Government
• MWRN acknowledge and encourage the latest engagement by the Director General of Employment within Thailand’s Ministry of Labour in working intensely with MWRN to reduce risk factors leading to migrant exploitation, particularly in issuing a new regulation outlawing the import of workers from overseas by outsource or subcontract companies and in drafting of a new law and regulations to control the activities of brokers or subagents involved in migrant recruitment
• MWRN acknowledge and encourage the latest project and engagement with MWRN by Thai Union in moving forward a best practice model of business and civil society relations in recruitment (zero recruitment fees) and social dialogue (welfare committees)
• MWRN acknowledge limited increase in the prosecution of those involved in trafficking for forced labour by Thai law enforcement authorities and increased discussion of commitments as such
• MWRN acknowledge a decrease in the use of child labour in Thailand

  However:

• MWRN holds deep concerns regardingan ongoing poorly planned and short term migration policy, a systematic break down in the rule of law, exploitative recruitment systems, ineffective trafficking enforcement and protection systems,ineffective labour protection and welfare enforcement, the continued failure to provide living wages to workers, a lack of social dialogue and limited freedom of movement for migrant workers across all of Thailand
• MWRN holds deep concerns on international recommendations to the Thai Government and how these recommendations are implemented in practice in the context of intense IUU and trafficking engagementwith great speed and with a failure to pay enough attention to potential negative impacts on migrant workers requiring urgent remedial action
• MWRN holds deep concerns that international advocacy and engagement concerning migrant worker conditions in Thailand has been too focused on the seafood industry and fishing boats at the expense of systematic migrant exploitation that exists across the country and in most industrial sectors
• MWRN holds deep concerns internationally funded programmes concerning migrant worker conditions in Thailand are not prioritizing enough worker education and social dialogue/worker empowerment/organising
• MWRN holds deep concerns on lack of transparency in international supply chain data/public procurement systems of developed countries purchasing from Thailand’s growing export markets and how these powerful supply chains contribute to abusive conditions for migrant workers in Thailand

  MWRN’s Thailand Migration Policy Recommendations

• A national development plan mentioning a long term, sustainable and holistic migration policy should be developed inclusively in accordance with national, economic and human security principles
• A migration authority should be established under the Prime Minister’s office responsible for the interactive development of Thailand’s migration policy and all issues relating migrant workers
• Thailand should ensure the rule of law in all areas of migration is enforced through law enforcement activities of all officials to prevent ongoing systematic corruption and ensure compliance with basic human rights, labour rights and social protection laws
• Regular, cheap and simple formal migration across Thailand’s borders should be prioritised through development and implementation of a zero recruitment fee policy to reduce smuggling and trafficking in persons with awareness raising on safe and regular migration channels undertaken
• Labour recruitment agencies involved in migration processes should be strictly regulated with a legal instrument through adequate enforcement by fully trained law enforcement agencies with translators speaking migrant languages and ensuring work is available for recruited workers, contracts are complied with and no debt bondage or document confiscation exists
• Thailand should develop cheap and non-complex processes with neighboring countries that ensure sustainable issuance of citizenship and identification documents with regularization for unregulated migrants that are linked to origin country civil registration systems planned for long term policy
• Thailand must comply with obligations under ILO C87/98 in allowing non-Thai nationals to form trade unions themselves and collectively bargain to enhance positive workplace social dialogue
• Thailand should have a policy on migration that doesn’t cause forced labour through restricting freedom of movement for regulated migrant workers with registration schemes preventing travel outside province of registration or unreasonable limits for migrant workers on change of employer (particularly concerning restriction of movement outside of the fishing industry for fishery workers)
• Thailand should develop a policy to enhance skills of migrant workers with training in business creation and personnel management alongside the link in with provision of funds and training in origin countries to provide the impetus for returning migrants to set up small to medium scale enterprises
• Thailand should ensure a living wage policy as a minimum wage
• Thailand should ensure social protection/saving systems for migrant workers that spans borders as well as give increased focus to migrant worker health and safety
• Thailand should devise a strong and practical migration protection policy together with all relevant stakeholdersincluding migrant worker origin country Embassies to address exploitation bytoo often abusive actors, respectively unregulated brokers and recruitment agencies, employers and officials
• Thailand should ensure protection for human rights defenders working on issues of labour migration exploitation and trafficking in persons and ensure an end to using defamation and computer crimes legislation against such individuals in line with international business and human rights obligations
• Thailand should ensure identification, integration, education and health care for children of migrant workers and support for community schooling

  Thailand Trafficking Recommendations

• Thailand trafficking system should ensure a victim protection policy that is: voluntary and doesn’t result in forced incarceration in trafficking shelters; ensures with victims consent for reliable and just working to provide a living for victim’s families that can be immediately undertaken after victim identification; and ensures immediate or swift compensation for suffering and loss and provision of social welfare to reduce civil society burdens.
• Trafficking victim protection policy (protection) should carry equal importance as law enforcement (prosecution) and prevention to ensure the willingness of victims to come forward to access rights and engage in processes to prosecute perpetrators and to ensure the engagement of important civil society actors like MWRN in these continually ineffective and non-victim friendly processes.
• Thailand’s trafficking enforcement system should move from the too oft focus only on arresting and prosecuting the smaller low level agents in systematically engrained and corrupt systems to mapping out and addressing the higher level responsible actors

  Thailand SeafoodSector Recommendations

• Increased inspections of fishing boats for welfare/labour rights/trafficking violations and provision of victim services should be improved, with effective presence of trained and capable translators who speak migrant worker languages
• Punishment on fishing boat owners for late entry into ports/other violations having negative impacts on migrant workers with workers being essentially sold to other boat owners should be urgently addressed. Decommissioning of boats should result in new work provided to impacted workersby concerned stakeholders to prevent increased migrant fishery workers’ victimization.
• Thailand government should ensure measures to prevent negative impacts stemming from the no under 18’s policy in the seafood processing industry and on fishing boats policy implemented without consultation of civil society and businesses
• Formal recruitment into Thailand’s fishing sector should be developed and promoted with clear safe migration workshops for these workers, training and effective protection centers developed
• The Thai Government should focus on ensuring fishing workers at a minimum are paid on a monthly basis and additional benefits paid no longer than 3 months at a time with no unlawful deductions
• The Thai Government should focus on ensuring fishing workers have reasonable hours of work
• The Thai Government should focus on ensuring fishing workers have occupational health and safety

  Thailand Poultry Recommendations

• The Thai government should ensure increased inspections of all poultry facilities in Thailand for ingrained and systematic welfare, labour rights and potentially trafficking in persons violations (particularly relating to wage deductions) and provision of victim services should be improved with effective presence of trained and capable translators during inspections and enforcement processes
• The Thai government should urgently address recruitment system abuses in the Thai poultry sector resulting in forced labour, debt bondage and potentially trafficking in persons whereas many migrant workers in this sector still do not have proper work permits and work permission documents or social securityaccess whilst ID documents/passports are still routinely confiscated
• The Thai government should consider hygiene and safety conditions at work and at living places for poultry workers in Thailand

  Recommendations to International Actors

• International actors should increasingly engage genuine and active migrant worker groups and trade unions in development of policy recommendations to the Thai Government on migrant workers living and working conditions in Thailand through systematic data collection process
• International actors should work to ensure transparency in supply chain data to allow civil society to campaign on and hold importers of Thai export products responsible for abuses in their supply chains
• International actors should carefully look at public procurement systems in their respective States/Countries and the responsibility of these powerful systems for rights violations, particularly in poultry, seafood and medical equipment/rubber glove sectors procurement from Thailand
• Internationally funded projects concerning migrant workers in Thailand should ensure enhanced social dialogue in migrant workplaces alongside support for worker organizing, education for workers and ownership and leadership by migrant organisations and unions overseen by national level task forces