Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A labor rights group on Monday condemned the Thai government for denying Burmese migrants access to a workers compensation fund through Thailand’s Social Security Office.
Monday's statement, forwarded to the U.N. Special Rapporteur Homayoun Alizadeh, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)'s Regional Representative for South-East Asia and the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, was jointly produced by the Human Rights and Development Foundation and the Thai Labor Solidarity Committee.
The groups argue that it is necessary to use an international mechanism on human rights to urge Thailand’s Ministry of Labor to cease in discrimination which denies basic rights to migrant workers from neighboring countries.
“This action violated the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,” affirms the statement.
“We have tried to make high level officials of the Labor Ministry aware that there are many migrant workers from Burma who have accidents on work but do not get compensation or get less than the rate as noted in the law,” say the rights groups.
However, "The ministry not only denied our previous request but also opposed our court appeal," continued the groups in defense of their current measures.
The action stems from a 2008 case in which Nang Noom, a Shan migrant worker from Burma, appealed to the Chiang Mai Administrative Court's refusal to rule on her discrimination claim against the Social Security Office (SSO), which denied her compensation for injuries suffered in a job-related accident.
Nang Noom was paralyzed from the waist down following an accident at the construction site for the Shangri-la Hotel in Chiang Mai on December 4, 2006. The case eventually made its way to the Supreme Administration Court, where it was again refused.
The case was first submitted to the Chiang Mai Administrative Court on April 11, 2008. On April 25, the Court issued notice of its refusal to consider the case, ruling that the legality of the SSO's existing policy falls within the jurisdiction of the Labor Court because it is a dispute related to labor protection laws.
According to SSO policy, only migrant workers who have passports can receive compensation from the workers compensation fund. Few Burmese migrant workers hold passports. Regulations say that every employer must pay into the fund, designed to provide compensation to a worker in case of an accident at the workplace, but the policy excludes non-passport holding workers.
In the middle of 2008, the International Labor Organization (ILO) submitted a letter to the Ministry of Labor in Thailand inquiring about the case and its potential violation of international labor laws. However, the ministry denied that it partook in any form of discrimination and ignored suggestions from the Human Rights Commission of Thailand, according to the ILO.
The Thai Labor Solidarity Committee consists of 24 labor associations and organizations while the Human Rights and Development Foundation works closely with migrant workers in Thailand, particularly in providing assistance related to labor rights and the legal process.
