BP: June 1, 1998: Burmese workers k

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

June 1, 1998


                                     



                   LABOUR / ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS POSE
                                PROBLEMS

              Burmese workers
              keep crossing Thai
              border

              The influx creates a great opportunity
              to unscrupulous Burmese officials and
              Thai syndicates to earn some easy
              money.

              Supamart Kasem
              Mae Sot 

              As the government starts rounding up and deporting illegal
              immigrant workers, an estimated 1,000 Burmese still make their
              way across the border each day here to find work in Mae Sot,
              and hopefully in Bangkok and central provinces.

              Informed sources said this seemingly endless influx in the face of
              Thailand's economic woes and closure of the Myawaddy-Mae
              Sot checkpoint by the Burmese in mid-April has presented a
              great opportunity to unscrupulous Burmese officials and
              well-connected Thai syndicates to earn some easy money.

              These corrupt Burmese officials charge workers 200-500 kyats
              per head to let them through, while Thai syndicates demand
              3,000-5,000 baht to bring them to Bangkok or other provinces
              outside Tak, sources said.

              No concrete evidence can be found to suggest that the two
              groups are colluding, but each obviously knows the other's
              activities and enjoy the mutual benefit.

              The sources estimate that half these workers, mostly from
              Burma's ethnic minority groups, cross the border daily to work
              as labourers and return in the evening, but the other half opt for
              the risky road to Bangkok and other provinces, hoping to find
              higher-paying jobs.

              The sources said few of the workers seeking jobs outside Tak
              succeed as the syndicates usually fail to deliver after pocketing
              the fee. "Many are abandoned along the Mae Sot-Tak highway
              or other roads. Sometimes these gangs intentionally run into
              police checkpoints and the workers are arrested and sent back,"
              they said.

              Pol Capt Preecha Suwanronasorn, an inspector of the
              Immigration Police in Mae Sot has a lower estimate of the daily
              influx of 600-700 workers.

              "All are illegal of course because Burmese authorities have
              closed its side of the border," he said.

              An informed observer pointed out that a number of factors in
              both Burma and Thailand were making it impossible to stop
              Burmese workers from leaving their homes and for Thai
              authorities to absorb jobless Thais.

              First, the "push factor" on the Burmese side remains. The
              political situation under the Burmese military government in
              Rangoon whose focus is said to have changed from "restoring
              law and order" to establishing "peace and development" still
              guarantees no safety for ethnic minority groups.

              There is no work for them and supplies of consumer goods are
              limited in markets.

              Second, Thai authorities have not reciprocated when their
              Burmese counterparts closed their side of the Myawaddy-Mae
              Sot border simply because the Thai private sector still needs
              cheap labour.

              Tak governor Huekharn Tomorasak responded by announcing a
              measure to "temporarily" allow these Burmese workers to cross
              into Thailand to buy supplies between 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

              Pol Capt Preecha said the governor made the decision following
              a meeting on May 13 with the Tak Chamber of Commerce.

              He admitted the authorities knew of the presence of illegal
              workers in certain factories, but were not taking legal action
              because it would affect the government's export promotion drive.

              Third, the Chuan Leekpai government has been clear on its
              policy to deport illegal workers to make way for jobless Thais.
              May 1 was the deadline for voluntary repatriation but
              implementation measures remain unclear.

              Prior to May 1, Thailand allowed unskilled foreign workers from
              neighbouring countries to be employed in 13 northern and 22
              coastal provinces.

              In Mae Sot alone, there are 8,072 registered Burmese workers
              with work permits in accordance with two cabinet resolutions of
              March 17, 1992 and June 25, 1996. In other parts of Tak, there
              are also 26,150 Burmese workers employed in over 100
              factories making ready-to-wear clothes, canned vegetables and
              fruits, dolls and electronic components, according to Pol Capt
              Preecha.

              Fourth, it is yet to be proven that jobless Thais are taking up
              work previously held by their repatriated foreign counterparts.

              Certain academics dispute a direct correlation. They argue that it
              is not so simple, as jobs held by foreign workers are mostly
              unwanted by Thais because they are dangerous, physically
              demanding, dirty and lowly paid.

              Since the government announced its new policy on foreign
              labour, some 270,000 Burmese have been deported.

              Pol Lt-Gen Chidchai Wannasathit, commissioner of the
              Immigration Police has ordered that his men facilitate the return
              of foreign workers employed in central provinces. They are to be
              assisted to border crossings in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai;
              Wienghaeng, Chiang Mai; Muang, Mae Hong Son; and Kraburi,
              Rayong. Most return by land, except in Rayong where they have
              to take a boat.

              But often these workers are extorted of all their savings and left
              penniless by the time they reach the border.

              Earlier this month, a traffic accident killed one Burmese worker
              and injured over 30 others who were on their way to Mae Sot.

              Aye Naing, 32, a survivor said the two officials escorting them to
              the border just disappeared along with the bus driver.

              He said the factory owner in Samut Sakorn who employed them
              had hired the bus to take them to the border but before the bus
              could leave the terminal uniformed officials boarded the bus and
              forced each one to pay 3,000 baht as fare.

              But despite all the problems Thailand remains a land of dream
              and opportunity for many who face hardships at home.

              Suu Suu is a 23-year-old woman from Pa-an in central Karen
              State. She and her cousin arrived in Mae Sot last week. Each
              paid 500 kyats to cross the border and Suu Suu paid 3,000 baht
              more come to Bangkok.

              "There were others who went with Suu Suu. I can't say for sure
              she managed to get to Bangkok safely and found the work she
              hoped for, I haven't heard from her since we split here in Mae
              Sot," Suu Suu's cousin said.

              Saw Tun, a 30-year-old father of three said he does not want to
              go back to Burma. "I have nothing there after I sold a small plot
              of land I had," he said. "I now have a wife and family to take
              care of."

              Saw Tun, also from the Karen State said he first came to
              Thailand to escape the Burmese army which was recruiting
              ethnic minorities to be porters of arms and supplies. He has been
              working for a construction company without a permit and living
              in a slum outside Mae Sot for the last four years since his
              escape.

              But the company, hard hit by the current economic crisis, left
              Saw Tun jobless recently. "I won't go back now since I have a
              family. I thought it would be temporary and the political situation
              would improve in Burma. I planned to go back, but not
              anymore."

              He now relies on odd jobs to make a living.




                                     




© The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. All rights reserved 1998
Contact the Bangkok Post
Web Comments: Webmaster 

Last Modified: Mon, Jun 1, 1998