Minimum Wage for Burmese Migrants in Thailand

"hree out of four low-skilled migrants in Thailand are from Burma. They do the dirty, dangerous and demanding jobs and are often exploited by their employers."

A garment factory in northern Thailand – it’s noisy and cramped. For those working here, the days are long and sometimes dangerous.

Many are undocumented Burmese migrants who earn as little as 4 US dollars a day.

Three out of four low-skilled migrants in Thailand are from Burma. They do the dirty, dangerous and demanding jobs and are often exploited by their employers.

In an effort to improve living conditions the Thai government has just introduced a minimum wage of 10 US dollars per day. 

For some workers this will mean having a sufficient wage and a legal employment status. For most though, it could mean they will be out of a job says this migrant worker in Thai border town of Mae Sot.

“They said they set up factories at the border because here is cheap labour and now that they have to pay 300 Baht here, they’ve begun dismissing workers, planning to shut down the factories because they don’t want to pay compensation.”

Many businesses who employ cheap foreign labour can no longer afford to pay their workers. Dozens of factories have been forced to close. And others are sending their workers to bigger cities, far away from their families.

This man is a steel worker in Mae Sot.

“It started on the 7th of January, we received an instruction letter that 10 of us are being transferred to Bangkok. Without asking for the workers’ opinion, they set the time for departure on January 12th,. But on the 12th of January we skipped the transportation and instead resumed work here.”

He works at the Jaguar Stainless Steel factory in Mae Sot where eight workers were transferred to Bangkok.  Those who refused to go were fired. 

“When I showed up at work this morning, they kicked us out. They also refused to issue our resignation forms nor the dismissal forms. They said our name list was already sent to Bangkok and not here anymore and they just kicked us out like that – there’s eight of us.”The workers are angry and frustrated.

“Have we no right at all? We’ve been working at this factory since we first arrived in Thailand – at 50 Baht a day wage and people had lost their arms and legs. Now that they have to pay us 300 Baht equally, they are making us go to Bangkok against our will. We are going to have to quit automatically with no compensation.”

There are many reports that new law is making it easier for companies to exploit illegal Burmese labour. There are stories of overtime, benefits and even bathroom breaks being cancelled. And some employers are refusing to pay the increased wage and are paying off the police to turn a blind eye. 

“Over 200 factories apart from about 3-4 legitimate ones do not want to pay 300 Baht.”

Now the Thai government has threatened to deport all unregistered migrants. Of which there are around 2 million. A national verification process was introduced in December. All undocumented migrants had to register before a deadline. They would then become legal workers - with access to health benefits and schools. Those who failed to register would be arrested and deported. 

The one and a half million migrants who failed to register are now even more vulnerable to exploitation, illegal job brokers and traffickers.  

“The migrant workers are harassed by Thai streets fighters every day. Or Thai police arbitrarily arrest them to ask money, something like that. And there are also exploited in work places.”

A labour agreement between the Thai and Burmese government broke down last month. 

And civil and business groups are calling for an extension to the registration period. But a decision is yet to be made.

For now the migrant workers still face deportation and corruption on a daily basis.

• Burma
• Thailand
• illegal workers
• deportation
• DVB