Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - Thai employers are anxious that Burmese workers employed by them could be forcibly repatriated if they bring them over for nationality verification, according to the Thai Labour Minister.
Phaitoon Kaewthong, Minister of Labour said on Monday after his visit to the Nationality Verification Center for Burmese migrant workers in Mae Sai district, Chiang Rai Province on Saturday that only 80 Thai employers are bringing in their workers each day to make passports and visas to work in Thailand. The center can provide services to 200 workers a day.
“Employers and employees fear that if they go through the process, they would not be allowed return to work in Thailand. They are scared that their family members in Burma would be taxed heavily. But the Burmese ambassador to Thailand who accompanied him on the trip insisted that worker’s families in Burma would not be taxed, ” Phaitoon said, according to a report on the Thailand National News Bureau’s website.
The minister added that nationality verification for Burmese workers, which was scheduled to be completed on 28 February 2010 cannot be done on time. However, the authorities will wait to see the total number of verified workers and would find a solution, or extend the last date of verification.
On 15 November, 2009, the Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN), an organization made up of migrant workers from the Samut Sakorn area, organized a seminar entitled “Benefits and Challenges of Nationality Verification for Migrant Workers from Burma” in Samut Sakorn Province, about 30 Kilometers from Bangkok, one of the biggest fishery industries centre in the country. More than 350 migrant workers participated in the seminar, according to a statement released on Monday by the Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF), Migrant Justice Programme which supported the conference and MWRN.
“Most migrants talked about their lack of confidence in the Burmese Government’s style of functioning, which is the main reason why nationality verification is proceeding so slowly. In addition, migrants discussed rumours that have been spreading in their communities; concerns about the overall high costs of completing the process; general confusion over exactly what the steps of the process are; and concerns that there does not seem to be a clear policy by the Thai government to address the status of children of workers who complete the process.” The group noted these in the statement.
During the closing session of the meeting, when asked whether they would take part in the process or not, more than 90 per cent of the participants said they agreed with the idea of national verification and were willing to do it. However, participants pleaded with the Thai government to immediately launch a more meaningful information dissemination campaign.
This meeting’s conclusion sharply contrasts with the discussion in a similar meeting on the issue held in Chiang Mai on 9 November 2009, hosted by the Workers Solidarity Association (WSA) and the Migrant Workers Federation (MWF), which was also supported by the HRDF. At the conclusion of this meeting about 300 Shan migrant workers attending rejected the existing process and instead demanded the Burmese Government allow nationality verification to take place in Thailand.
Last month, Phaitoon revealed that, so far about 2,000 migrants from Burma have gone through the nationality verification process, while 700,000 have registered with the Labour Ministry.
