To meet the conscription quota enforced by the Junta, a booming market has emerged in Mon State where migrant workers are hired as substitutes, Than Lwin Times has learned.
Township and village administrators under the Junta, collect the lists of young people for conscription. However many of these young people have refused to serve, or fled. Hence
it is difficult to meet the conscription quota, which has led to a new recruitment scheme turning to hiring migrant workers to fill the gaps in registration.
Migrant workers who consent to be substitutes for conscription, are frequently hired by administrators for millions of MMK. There are also pre-hires of substitute conscripts for upcoming batches, thus gradually evolving into a market, sources close to Junta-appointed administrators said.
Hiring a migrant worker who accepts conscription typically costs between 2 million and 5 million MMK, prompting administrators to collect money from the community to cover this expense.
“Administrators often go door to door in the wards, collecting money under the guise of hiring substitutes for conscription. This echoes the past practice of collecting funds for porters. Now young migrant workers in Mon State are also accepting paid roles as conscripts, leading to the emergence of a new market trend. The administrators collect between MMK 100,000 –150,000 from each household, claiming it is for advance preparations for the next batch of conscription call-ups. However, they are actually exploiting these funds”, a source from Mon State who did not want to be named said.
A report by the Burma Affairs and Conflict Study (BACS) on April 13 revealed that during the initial conscription call by the Junta, over 200 youths from Mon State had been recruited.
On the other hand, the youths called up as second batch conscripts from Mon State are currently undergoing training at the No. 4 military training academy located in Weakali village, Thanbyuzayat Township
In Mon State, comprising 468 wards and villages, the Junta directed administrators to recruit an average of one conscript per village for each batch. Wards and villages falling short of this mandate often face pressure from the Junta.
U Than Soe Naing, a veteran political analyst, criticized the replacement of conscripts with migrant workers, warning of a reduction in the labor pool and decreased production capacity, while also emphasizing that relying solely on this method, will not address the decline in the Junta's manpower.
“Domestic work performance will definitely be reduced. Many of our young workers are leaving the country in large numbers. They are going to foreign nations like Thailand for manual labour. This means we have fewer workers here at home, which is really bad for our manufacturing industry. Putting these workers into the military will not help the Junta either. This is not the right way to rebuild its declining strength”, he said.
Businessmen have also cautioned that migrant workers agreeing to serve as paid substitutes for conscription, could worsen an already severe labor shortage and negatively impact the country's GDP.
As per data released by the Junta, Mon State is home to over 70,000 migrant workers, with the majority originating from Ayeyarwady and Bago Regions.
