International Migrants Day Celebration in Thailand December 18, 2006

Labor activists marked International Migrants Day on Monday in Bangkok, while representatives submitted a letter to the Thai government urging greater migrant labor rights protection.
The group urged the Thai government to change policies toward migrant workers Burma, Laos and Cambodia to allow open-ended worker registration.

It also urged the government to establish special migrant worker registration centers that would help find workers employment and coordinate more contact between migrant workers and employers.
Moe Swe of Young Chi Oo, a Mae Sot-based NGO, said about 50 labor activists gathered in front of government house in the morning until an official met with the group and promised to send the letter to Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont on Monday afternoon.
More than 20 Thai-Burmese labor organizations recently organized a collective union between Thai workers and migrant workers, which consist of non-government organizations, labor associations and special interest groups.

Juthathawat Inthornsuksri, a permanent secretary of the Thai Ministry of Labour, said that if migrant workers in Thailand are here legally, they are protected under the same law as Thai laborers. Illegal migrant workers are arrested and deported to their home countries.
A poll recently conducted by Assumption University in Bangkok revealed that among 4,148 people, 58 percent believed that there is no need for Thailand to accept more migrant workers in the agricultural and industrial sectors, because they could have a negative impact on Thais who want jobs and depress their wages.

Although most respondents agreed that migrant workers are diligent, they said migrant workers are neither honest nor loyal to their employers.
The poll found that 67 percent of the respondents did not want migrant workers to be permitted to work in all fields, while 50 percent said foreign workers should not be able to work under the same conditions and receive the same wages as local workers. Forty percent said that migrant workers should receive the same wages as local workers.

Meanwhile, the latest statistics from Thailand's Ministry of Labour found that local businesses want to hire more migrant workers.
In 2006, Thai employers have sought 1.3 million unskilled workers from Burma, Laos and Cambodia, but the Thai government was able to supply only about 700,000 workers, according to the ministry.