Asia Times Online: Thai shrimp workers battle low pay, abuse

Asia Times Online reports on conditions of migrant workers in Thailand's shrimp industry.

"Sakhon or modern Mahachai, a central Thai province that is home to over 6,000 seafood factories. This fishing and factory town at the mouth of the Tha Chin Klong river, which empties into the Gulf of Thailand, also hosts a huge percentage of the estimated 2.5 million migrant workers who underpin much of Thailand's burgeoning economy. People from Myanmar comprise 82%of these migrants, while the rest come mostly from Laos (8.4%) and Cambodia (9.5%)... smaller processing factories "force workers to work overtime for less pay. The legal minimum wage is 300 baht [US$10] per day and overtime is 56 baht per hour, but they usually pay 50-100 baht overall, and no overtime. Most workers are confined to the compound in these factories. Often, they are locked up and their documents confiscated to prevent them from escaping." This is especially true in smaller factories, which handle the shrimp peeling for larger enterprises, where "shifts start at 4 am and finish late at night," according to U Aung Kyaw. Thailand's seafood industry employs more than 650,000 people. Its exports totaled US$7.3 billion in 2011, with the United States, Japan and Europe importing nearly 70% of the country's seafood."

DVB: Burmese migrants face ‘systemic’ exploitation near border

DVB provides a very good report on the "systematic exploitation" of migrants in Mae Sot, with information on the recent case at the "Champion" (SD Fashion Co. Ltd) case.

“I was fired two days after my child was born,” explains Zaw Lay, gesturing to his infant son cradled in his mother’s arms on the dusty floor. “I begged them not to do it, but it didn’t work.”

DBV: Migrants protest Mae Sot passport company

According to DVB ("Protest against a company doing temporary passports," DVB, 10 June), 45 Myanmar migrants protested outside the office of "Ko Charlie's" passport company (a franchise of NIK Global Manpower company) after they were arrested by the Thai police on their way out of Mae Sot to collect their passports.  Although the passport company had accepted their applications for work permits with Bangkok employers, Mae Sot government authorities subsequently revoked the rights of Mae Sot passports companies to distribute within Mae Sot passports registered with employers outside Mae Sot (see also "Prisoners of Mae Sot," Mizzima, 23 May 2013).

The Irrawaddy: More Than 500 Workers Demand The Release of Detained Furniture Factory Workers

"More Than 500 Workers Demand The Release of Detained Furniture Factory Labour," The Irrawaddy, 11 June 2013.

These workers are protests the recent arrest of some of their fellow workers who had protested in violation of some legal restriction.

The Irrawaddy: Low Wages in Burma Threaten Thailand’s Hold on Japanese Investors

"Low Wages in Burma Threaten Thailand’s Hold on Japanese Investors," Thai Business News, 11 June 2013.

Japan’s industrial investors stayed with Thailand through the army coups, the Bangkok-paralyzing massed Red-Shirt protests, and the mismanaged floods of 2011 that swamped so many Japanese-owned factories. But a huge labor force in Burma ready to work for one-sixth of a Thai wage could be a turning point.
The visit to Burma earlier this week by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s has certainly got the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in Bangkok worried. It helps explain why last week during a trade promotion visit to Tokyo she apologized to Japanese business leaders for “any inconvenience caused” to them and their businesses in Thailand in recent years and promised to do better.

“Please be patient with Thailand and we will amend and change the regulations for you and other investors,” Yingluck told a Tokyo conference. “Our government will try to make sure that Thailand will be a good place for investments for you all in the future,” she said in response to calls for changes in Thai rules on investment.

“We will try to work out and implement regulations that will suit the investors, as we want to make Thailand the regional hub,” Yingluck said.

Analysis of Myanmar's garment sector

"After Bangladesh Tragedy, Questions for Burma’s Garment Sector," The Irrawaddy, 11 June 2013.

...Burma’s low-wage workforce of some 33 million people could prove tempting to manufacturers globally. But labor rights groups are urging Burma to get it right when it comes to responsibly managing any new wave of labor-intensive job opportunities...

Reports of Thai police extorting Myanmar migrants

"Thai police accused of extorting labourers," Bangkok Post,

Myanmar’s labour minister has expressed concerns about Thai policemen extorting money from workers from his country regardless of whether or not they hold legal passports. U Maung Myint said he had heard reports that Thai policemen were intentionally arresting even workers holding temporary passports, which are considered legal... He said the workers had to pay between 500 and 1,000 baht each time they were arrested, which Maung Myint said was a form of exploitation and “is not good for the relations between the two countries”... It is estimated that UScopy92 million is generated annually from smuggling about 500,000 migrants from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia into Thailand. 

"Labor Min Accuses Thai Police of Extorting Burmese Migrants," The Irrwaddy, 11 June 2013.

Burmese Labor Minister Maung Myint has accused police in Thailand of extorting money from Burmese workers. In an interview with The Bangkok Post, the Burmese minister said he had heard that migrant workers, including those with legal documentation, are routinely arrested and forced to pay between 500 and 1,000 baht (US $16-32). He added that the practice “is not good for the relations between the two countries” and said that he had raised the issue with his Thai counterpart. According to Maung Myint, 1.5 million of the estimated 2 million Burmese nationals believed to be working in Thailand hold passports.