Countdown to chaos: Thai experts sound alarm over migrant worker registration

Experts and civil society groups have raised the alarm over a new government policy they say could criminalise a huge chunk of Thailand’s workforce.

Under the policy, Thailand’s 2.3 million migrant workers Myanmar ,Cambodian ,Laotian and Vietnamese have less than 40 days to register for or renew work permits.

Under the policy, Thailand’s 2.3 million migrant workers have less than 40 days to register for or renew work permits.

Failure to meet the deadline on February 13 next year would result in them becoming illegal workers at risk of criminal punishment, extortion, and various kinds of other abuse.

“I don’t know why the Labour Ministry only recently asked for a Cabinet resolution on migrant worker registration when this request should have been made at the start of this year,” Adisorn Keramongkol, coordinator of the Migrant Working Group (MWG), said.

The Cabinet passed the resolution on September 24, but it took another two months of preparations before registration could actually begin.

Registering name lists of migrant workers – the first step of the process – started on November 27. Four more steps are needed, requiring at least 40 working days.

Given the tight timeframe, Adisorn says millions of migrants in Thailand face the threat of becoming illegal workers and falling prey to slavery-like working conditions, human trafficking, and bribe-paying to avoid arrest and deportation.

Complicated and costly process

Nilubon Phongphayorm, from the Network of Entrepreneurs with Foreign Workers, says she disagrees with the Cabinet resolution on registration for foreign workers, describing it as costly and complicated.

It contains five steps: 1) Name list registration, 2) Name list screening and approval by the local Employment Department branch, 3) Employers’ submission of relevant documents to workers’ embassies or Myanmar embassy’s three offices in Ranong, Bangkok and Chiang Mai, 4) Worker health checks at hospital, and 5) Visa stamp at an immigration bureau.

“The process is too complicated,” said Nilubon, who is also a representative for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), a major employer of migrant workers.

She asked why the government had not just set up one-stop-service centres that integrated all the steps – health checks, the Employment Department, the Immigration Bureau, and regional registration centres – along with an online payment system to reduce corruption risks.

Nilubon also complained that the cost of foreign worker registration was now much higher than before.

Registration two decades ago under Thaksin Shinawatra’s administration cost just over 9,000 baht. Today, she said, the cost has soared to over 21,000 baht – not including money under the table.

Nilubon listed the full costs involved as follows: 500 baht for the health checkup, 1,900 baht for the two-year work permit, 500 baht for the visa, 2,000 baht for name list registration, 2,400 baht for Myanmar taxes, 350 baht for a Thai-language certificate, 1,000 baht for the security deposit, 6,000 baht for a passport, 1,500 baht “contract signing fee” at the Myanmar Embassy, and 4,000-5,000 baht for travel expenses.

“The government should consider scrapping the name-list registration fee and Myanmar taxes,” she said.

Nilubon pointed out that numerous employers had also experienced difficulties accessing the Employment Department’s online system for name list registration.

“The system crashes repeatedly. Employers have resorted to visiting their local department office, only to find that they can’t even get a place in the queue to register name lists,” she said.

Some employers are so worried about the registration deadline that they end up paying “tea money” to obtain a queue slot, she added.

Authorities, moreover, are vague about the time required for each step.

Migrants in Thailand

Thailand is now officially home to nearly 4 million foreign workers. Of them, about 2.3 million must register for or renew work permits by February 13.

Of these workers, 2 million are from Myanmar, where an ongoing civil war has complicated their status and decisions.

The MWG says many Myanmar workers do not want to contact Myanmar embassies for their worker-status registration in Thailand out of concerns about other possible impacts.

Myanmar’s military regime has enacted a conscription law that requires men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to serve in the armed forces for two years.

Most of the 2.3 million workers required to complete the registration process in just a few weeks work in the construction industry, farms, agriculture-related businesses, food & beverage sector, and service industry.

Time for a rethink?

Chon Buri MP Sahassawat Kumkong of the opposition People’s Party said the government should reconsider the worker-registration process introduced under its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Myanmar’s military regime.

“We can re-adopt the MoU when normalcy in Myanmar is restored. But it will be too complicated to proceed with the steps it prescribes now,” he cautioned.

Instead, Thai authorities should register Myanmar workers unilaterally through one-stop service centres, he said.

“We must recognise the reality that Myanmar is now practically a failed state,” Sahassawat said, echoing MWG’s concerns about how Myanmar’s junta – which is facing a popular armed uprising – will respond to each case of worker registration.

The opposition MP said international protocol calls for “simple and low-cost registration” of foreign workers, but Thailand has done the opposite.

Dr Kiriya Kulkolkarn, an economics lecturer at Thammasat University, agreed that Myanmar nationals now fear possible repercussions from registering as migrant workers because of the turmoil in their home country.

“They are worried about possible leaks of their personal information. Has the Thai government discussed such concerns with the neighbouring country?” she asked.

Kiriya also voiced concern that some private sector employers may no longer be prepared to legally employ migrant workers because of the complicated registration process and relatively high costs.

“Having to go through such a complex registration process, with vague explanations and a time limit is bound to spawn corruption,” she added.

In contrast, making the process simple and clear would allow small-scale employers to handle registration on their own without the need to hire middlemen or agents at an extra cost, Kiriya said.

The expert said that if the government wants to avoid registration being plagued by corruption, it should at least consider extending the deadline.

“Foreign workers are crucial to Thailand. We should manage these issues carefully and well,’ she said.