Cambodian migrants have begun to trickle back
to Thailand, but the process remains bureaucratic and fraught with hidden
costs, dangers and conflicting information
It’s
long, it’s complicated and it’s fraught with hidden costs. Registering migrants
in Cambodia and Thailand has become a punishing process after a month of chaos.
In June, about 225,000 Cambodian workers fled Thailand after the Thai junta
launched a crackdown on illegal labour.
Since
then new procedures have been put in place in both countries to help these
workers return. Cambodia has promised a $4 passport system for migrant workers
and scholarship students. Thailand has opened a number of fast-track centres on
the border to register workers. Both have been hit by difficulties or delays.
“Thailand’s
policy is not to clear [migrants] out. [We] want to avoid Cambodian labourers
being cheated,” said Pakkarathorn Teainchai, Sa Kaeo provincial governor.
The
majority of those who fled last month were illegal Cambodian migrants in the
construction, fishing and agriculture sectors, especially in Chanthaburi, Trat,
Rayong and Chon Buri provinces. Such labour benefits both countries – boosting
production in Thailand and helping Cambodian workers send money home.
It was
an ideal, if mainly illegal, relationship until rumours started to circulate of
army round-ups of migrant workers, beatings and shootings by the Thai army and
police. This in turn sparked an exodus. Most left of their own volition,
however, paying their way on trains and buses, carrying as many of their
belongings as they could.
The
National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), Thailand’s ruling military body,
claimed later there was a misunderstanding, that they only sought to register
illegal Cambodian workers in order to protect them. Workers from Laos and
Myanmar, the junta said, were left unaffected, which pointed to a possible
political reason for the exodus.
Migrant
expert and workers’ rights advocate Andy Hall is convinced that was the case.
“Such rumours don’t start without a reason,” he said by telephone from Bangkok.
“There was probably a political cause.”
Analysts
believe it was related to the anti-junta red-shirt dissidents living in
Cambodia, and Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ties to Thailand’s former prime minister
Thaksin Shinawatra. It was also likely linked to the fact that Thailand was
demoted by the US State Department to the lowest tier of its human trafficking
list. Attempts to regulate the migrant work force has long been mired by corruption
by police officials and politicians who profit from trafficking, exploitation
and slavery.
The
costs and paperwork for working legally in Thailand have long been prohibitive.
“[Few labourers in Cambodia can afford] the passport fees of $130 to $300,
coupled with broker and placement costs of up $700 to $800,” said Hall. This
means they often have debts of $1,000 before earning a single cent – a form of
indentured servitude.
Thailand
has more than 2.2 million legal migrant workers, according to their Labour
Ministry. There are 1.74m Myanmar nationals, 95,888 from Laos and 395,356 from
Cambodia. There are also about one million illegal workers normally in the
country, though this fluctuates according to demand and the political
situation.
Attempts
have been made in the past two weeks to control the fallout. Cambodian Interior
Minister Sar Kheng was photographed shaking hands with a Thai foreign ministry
official after coming to an agreement on ending runmours of a crackdown.
For its
part, the Cambodian government announced a new $4 passport process for
migrants. Thailand began opening one-stop migrant centres to process illegal
workers. Cambodia released imprisoned Thai “yellow-shirt” activist Veera
Somkwamkid on Wednesday, and on Thursday Thailand released 14 Cambodian workers
who had been arrested for having fake documents.
This
has led to optimism that the détente will lead to improved conditions for
migrant workers.
The
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) voiced cautious optimism on new
health care and workers’ compensation policies for migrants in Thailand.
“We
will need to see how this is implemented both in terms of greater coverage and
increased access in the coming months,” an IOM spokesperson wrote in an email.
Thailand
has already opened several processing centres, with the most prominent in
Mahachai, Samut Sakhon, 50km southwest of Bangkok. Other temporary coordination
centres were set up on the border in Sa Kaeo, Trat, Surin and Chanthaburi
provinces. These will close after the provinces set up one-stop service
centres. A further 22 are being prepared in coastal provinces, according to
NCPO chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha, and will open their doors on July 14.
The
centre in Mahachai serves Myanmar, Laotian and Cambodian workers and is open
from 8.30am to 4.30pm every day until July 30. The temporary centre registers
more than 2,000 migrant workers a day, taking up to 30 minutes and costing
1,305 baht ($45) per applicant. Problems at the centres have included computer
glitches, insufficient information in registration forms and the excessive
numbers of foreign workers.
In the
new processing centre in Mahachai, Hall said brokers are very active. “Even
with the right documents the workers may still not be legal,” he said, “because
their agents are registered as their employers.”
This
also means that if workers want to leave an abusive job they must recover their
passport, pay their debt and exit the country in order to re-register. Despite
the recent changes, it may still be cheaper, easier and even safer to work
illegally.
Despite
the problems, agents have a role to play, according to Hall. They make it
easier for employers to find workers, who need someone to process their
paperwork. While many brokers are registered in Cambodia, this is not the case
in Thailand, where the industry is unregulated and often unscrupulous.
“No
passport should be confiscated,” Hall said, “and brokers should be registered.
There are a lot of hidden costs for workers that should be eliminated.”
Those
who pass medical checks at the processing centres are issued 60-day work
permits, valid for two months. After that, they are issued a permanent one-year
permit if key details are confirmed.
The IOM
explained the process. “Obtaining a work permit is dependent on completion of a
medical exam and enrolment in the health insurance scheme,” the spokesperson
explained in an email. “The health examination is a general check-up costing
600 [baht], now reduced to 500 [baht].”
The new
fast-track service centres may have the effect of making health coverage more
accessible to migrants. “Fully regular migrant workers . . . are eligible for
health care provision under the Social Security Fund and Workmen’s Compensation
Fund.
Migrants
. . . are required to enrol in the migrant health insurance scheme. The
coverage is . . . now at a reduced price of 1,600 [baht] for one year,” the
spokesperson said.
Cambodia
was lauded for announcing a $4 passport scheme last month for migrant workers
and students with foreign scholarships. The new programme, however, has yet to
be implemented and applicants reported little change. One student, who asked
not to be named, was told this week by the passport office that the total for
the new passport would come to about $50 after it took effect. If she had a
scholarship the paperwork needed to be approved and validated by the Ministry
of Education, Youth and Sport. To get a passport now would cost her $120, she
was told, and take 45 days to process.
In
practice, most passports end up costing far more. One worker heading back to
Thailand paid $300 last week, according to Hall. With only four passport
offices in the country – in Phnom Penh, Koh Kong, Battambang and Banteay
Meanchey – for farmers and labourers in rural villages the trip can be
prohibitively expensive.
Chan
Kimseng, Deputy of the General Directorate of Identification at the Ministry of
Interior, said the cost would be reduced for everyone after a new passport
system, including an electronic chip, takes effect on July 15. This would make
foreign travel quicker and easier for everyone. But some non-government
organisations are sceptical, pointing to previous promises of $20 passports for
workers that were never put into practice.
If the
current registration systems in the two countries leads to more humane
treatment of migrant workers, then it is a positive development. Past
experience, however, means unethical practices will quickly resurface as long
as official corruption, police extortion and agent greed go unchecked.
The
ASEAN Economic Community, set to launch late next year, will help the free flow
of skilled workers in many sectors, although labourers will not be included.
The best option for Cambodian workers remains for their country to have a more
competitive labour market. This would provide enough jobs with salaries to live
on.
With
additional reporting by Vandy Muong
Business & Investment Opportunities
Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC) is incorporated
in Singapore since 1994.
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