The plight of Thailand’s migrant workers

Nang Kham, a migrant from Burma’s Shan State, works at a farm near the Thai city of Chiang Mai. “The situation in Burma is very bad,” she says. “But I hope that I will be able to return some day. I miss my home very much.” Photo: Peter Biro/The IRC.

About an hour’s drive west of Thailand’s second largest city of Chiang Mai is Pong Yang Nai, a cluster of small farms surrounded by hills covered with lush vegetation. At this time of year, a merciless sun beats down on the agricultural workers ploughing the fields or planting chilies, flowers and vegetables. On any given day as many as 800 people labour here - the majority are impoverished migrant workers from neighbouring Burma.

In the shade of a bamboo shelter by a row of small flowers that will later be picked and sold for use in Buddhist ceremonies, I sit down with Nang Kham, 37. She says that she left her village in Burma eight years ago.

“I worked on a farm there too,” Nang Kham says. “But life was much harder. I couldn’t make any money because the Burmese army forced me to give them some of my money every month. Since we were so poor, I couldn’t send my children to school.”

Nang Kham’s plight is shared by almost two million Burmese migrant workers in Thailand. The majority have fled armed conflict in Burma, also known as Myanmar. Nang Kham is a member of the Shan minority group. Like the Karen and Karenni minorities, the Shan have long suffered from poverty and the effects of armed conflict in eastern Burma. Last year an estimated 66,000 people of various ethnic backgrounds were forced to leave their homes because of civil strife, political upheaval and economic stagnation. Those who don’t end up in a refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border toil in dirty, dangerous and low-paying jobs in factories, on construction sites and farms or on fishing boats.

“The migrants, many of whom are in Thailand illegally, live on the fringe of society,” says Nilar Myaing, an International Rescue Committee aid worker who is responsible for training local aid groups that work with migrants. “They are underpaid, at risk of being trafficked into involuntary servitude in agricultural work, factories, sex work and begging, and are unable to access health services or enroll their children in schools.”

The IRC and its local partner organizations, Nilar Myaing tells me, are helping about 350,000 migrant workers obtain services, such as healthcare, clean water and education.

The sun is beginning to set as I head to a construction site in a Chiang Mai suburb. There I meet another Burmese migrant worker, Kor Lung Ta. He spends his days on a bamboo scaffolding clinging to the sides of a four-storey building. Originally from a small Shan village, Kor Kung Ta has worked on construction sites in Thailand for the past 20 years. The site is filled with planks, cement bags, piles of brick and debris, and none of the workers at the site are wearing helmets, safety harnesses or any other protective gear.

“It is common for workers to get shocks from electric cables or fall off high buildings,” Kor Lung Ta says as he shows me around the naked building. “Over the years, I have seen many people die.”

Sandee Pyne, the IRC advocacy coordinator in Thailand, says that the IRC negotiates with employers to improve the working conditions for migrant workers. And should a migrant worker get killed or injured, a lawyer hired by one of the IRC’s partners is negotiating compensation claims.

“Thai employers hiring migrant workers seldom adhere to even the most basic safety standards in the workplace,” Sandee Pyne says. “We help migrants negotiate with employers about everything from proper ventilation systems and fire exits to protective clothing. When employers understand that they may face legal action or that they will lose their workers, they normally improve conditions.”

The IRC is a founding member of the Migrant Working Group, comprised of local and international non-governmental organizations and U.N. agencies working to protect the rights and improve the quality of life for migrant workers in Thailand. Recently, the group negotiated the payment of compensation to the families of 54 Burmese migrant workers who suffocated as they were being smuggled into Thailand inside a cold storage container. Although the Thai government says it is making efforts to improve the situation for migrant workers, the IRC and other aid groups warn that their situation remains dire across the country.

“We are working closely with the government to improve conditions for the migrants,” Sandee Pyne says. “But life is still desperate for them. There is a lot still to be done.”

Kor Lung Ta (left) has worked on Thai building sites for 20 years. Employers never issue workers protective equipment, such as helmets. “I have seen many people die,” he says. Photo: Peter Biro/The IRC.