Cheating the System: Burmese Migrants and Nationality Verification

> Cheating the System: Burmese Migrants and Nationality Verification - Bangkok Post Feature Sunday 18th Oct 2009

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/25873/cheating-the-system
News » Investigative Report
Cheating the system
Despite a new nationality verification programme, Thailand's immigrant
workers still face problems trying to stay legal
Published: 18/10/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Spectrum

Earlier this year, a colourful leaflet written in Burmese script, began
circulating in Samut Sakhon, Mae Sot, Rayong and migrant communities all
over Thailand.

SCANT INFORMATION: The leaflet explaining the nationality verification
programme.
The leaflet, prepared by the Burmese government with assistance and funding
from international organisations, provided instructions for Burmese migrant
workers on how to become legalised after verifying their nationality. It
pictured three new centres in Burma where, from July 15, workers could
receive temporary passports that allow them to apply for work permits in
Thailand, and ultimately receive the same benefits and protection as Thai
workers. Expenses, it said, would be only 3,000 kyats (100 baht).

The front flap of the cover was stamped with a Burmese police logo and
promised that the process will involve "No Arresting, No stop/check, No
Tax".

To the many the pamphlet was targeting, the programme sounded too good to
be true. And in many ways, though perhaps not in the ways they were
expecting, they've been right.

The Labour Ministry has set Feb 28, 2010, as the deadline for nationality
verification for all workers (1.2 million are eligible). Those that are
unverified at that point are theoretically subject to arrest and
deportation.

SATISFIED CUSTOMERS: Some of the success stories at the Thai-Myanmar
Development Cooperation Co. LEGALISED: The proud owner of a new Burmese
passport.
Yet more than three months into the process, only 2,000 Burmese migrants
have had their nationality verified. Burmese nationality verification
centres say they are now processing 200 people per day on average (the
capacity for the three centres is said to be 1,000 per day), a rate that
many advocates have pointed out will legalise Thailand's Burmese migrant
population only after a number of years.

But the policy has been panned by international organisations and migrant
advocacy groups for being complicated, costly, time-consuming,
non-transparent, insensitive, under-publicised and not fully explained to
migrant workers.

"It's a train wreck," says Philip Robertson, the technical adviser on
migration and workers' rights for the South East Asian Refugee Community
Home, and a seasoned expert on migration policies in the Asean region.

While most believe the nationality verification effort was borne of good
intentions and is, in theory, a step towards better management of a growing
migrant population, observers charge the programme has become a
seriously-flawed policy, and at worst, a corrupt and insincere "paper
exercise" designed to exploit the country's migrant workers.

ALL IN A DAY’S WORK: Many Burmese migrant workers are involved in
Thailand’s fishing industry.
The process has drawn the watchful eye of the United Nations Inter-agency
Project on Human Trafficking (Uniap) and enough concern that the UN Special
Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants was petitioned by a number of
migrant advocacy groups in September. The Special Rapporteur requested an
investigatory visit, which Thailand has denied.

Though only a tiny fraction of Thailand's migrant workers have been through
the process, there is already abundant evidence to bear out the concerns.

Aung, a 26-year-old worker who has been in Thailand for 10 years, is one of
the 2,000 Burmese migrants who has had his nationality verified.

He received his temporary passport on Aug 18, and spent 6,450 baht in the
process - 100 baht for his passport in Burma, 2,000 baht for a visa for
Thailand and the remainder for services provided by a company called CEO
Enterprise.

Among CEO Enterprise's services were a 250 baht plastic membership card
(much like a gym ID), submission of personal documents to the Department of
Employment (DoE) and a bus ride to and from the nationality verification
centre in Tachilek.

His work permit will cost him an additional 3,800 baht, and he will be a
legal worker after spending a total of 10,250 baht. He also paid 3,800 baht
earlier this year, to extend his visa.

Like many in Samut Sakhon, he earns less than 200 baht a day, and his
employer is deducting the cost of these fees from his wages at a rate of
2,000 baht every 50 days.

Yet, the cost to Aung turns out to have been a relative bargain.

ONE-STOP SHOP: One of several government-approved brokers offering services
to migrant workers.
The price at the Thai-Myanmar Development Cooperation Company, another
nationality verification service provider, is 7,300 baht, while CEO
Enterprise has been known to charge varying rates (it would not disclose
its price when contacted by Spectrum). Aung's sister was asked to pay
12,000 baht. Others, according to the Human Rights Development Foundation
(HRDF) and Rak Thai Foundation, have been charged up to 15,000 baht.

CEO Enterprise, the Thai-Myanmar Development Cooperation Company and NIK
Global were endorsed by the DoE as registered companies with Thailand's
Ministry of Commerce to assist in the nationality verification process. The
DoE issued the endorsement after the Burmese Embassy asked about the
legalities of the service providers.

In some provinces, workers have been told by DoE employees they must use
one of the brokers; in others, that the brokers will expedite the process.

The swift and non-transparent entrance of these three companies into the
process in which there are 1.2 million potential clients has made observers
suspicious. Some of the firms have connections to military and former
labour ministry officials, according to human rights workers and employers
familiar with the process.

The steep fees being charged by the three has exacerbated those concerns,
and earlier this week provoked a demand from Burmese officials - NGOs have
been making similar demands for weeks - for regulation of the companies and
a price cap of 1,000 baht.

In a news release last Tuesday, the DoE said the companies would be
regulated and their prices capped at 4,000 baht.

"Any time third parties are involved, costs go up, and ultimately those
costs are paid by the migrant," says Federico Soda, a regional programme
development officer with the International Organisation for Migration, who
points out that the current costs of nationality verification through a
broker service and a work permit amounts in some cases to four months'
salary of a migrant worker earning the minimum wage (4,000 baht per month,
but many make less). Without a broker, it costs about two months' wages. In
either case, "it's too expensive", he said.

There have been other cost irregularities. The DoE says the price of the
Thai visa will be reduced from 2,000 to 500 baht - what Cambodian and Lao
workers are charged. But it is unclear when this will happen, why Burmese
migrant workers are charged more, or if they will be reimbursed. There is
also the problem of unregistered brokers recently entering the business and
in some cases, disappearing with workers' money.

An employer in the seafood industry in Samut Sakhon who did not wish to be
identified says the system is mired in corruption. Knowing the inflated
prices of the brokers' services, the employer chose to register the
factory's thousands of migrant employees without using a broker.

When the employer took the applications to the Samut Sakhon employment
office, the employer was told that it was not the company's scheduled day
for submissions. The company had never been informed there was a schedule.
Only after paying a fee, were the applications accepted. The employer also
says that influential factories in the area have managed to pay a fee to
have their workers exempted from the process.

An official with Thailand's Department of Labour Protection and Welfare
(DLPW) conceded corruption was a problem in the process and there were
investigations underway.

Mr Robertson says: "Brokers exist because the system doesn't work - it's so
complicated that employers have no choice but to outsource the task to a
third party." He adds that in the region, foreign labour recruitment and
servicing has "always been seen as a business opportunity for
well-connected elites".

Yet there is also evidence that the nationality verification business has
not been the boon many were expecting.

The day I visited, the brand new Samut Sakhon branch of the Thai-Myanmar
Development Cooperation Company was empty, aside from its 12 staff and a
few workmen installing light fixtures.

Employees were busying themselves, creating information boards with
photographs showing the company's success stories.

A Thai staff member explained the company helped Burmese workers get
passports. He explained they charged 7,300 baht for "full service", which
is a vague package that includes "transportation, food and other services".

He admitted that their first two months in the business had been tough.

The office had seen only about 200 applicants, only 29 of whom had been
approved and sent by bus to the border to obtain their temporary passports.

Business had been dampened by widespread rumours, fear and ignorance of the
process, he explained.

This, by all accounts, is true, and is due in large part to the lack of
foresight that was given to implementing and communicating the policy, as
well as a lack of consideration for those most affected by it.

Where nationality verification takes place has been a contentious issue -
this was the point that prevented agreement until last year, when Thailand
conceded and reportedly funded the border centres and provided computers
for the Burmese officials.

The Burmese reportedly feared centres based in Thailand would be targeted
by political groups, even though travel to Burma is costly, inconvenient
and time consuming for migrants and their employers.

The trip for many migrants - notably those from ethnic minorities that in
the past have been terrorised by Burmese authorities through forced labour,
displacement or worse - is also unnerving.

The nationality verification process, which requires submission of personal
and family details to Burmese authorities, has stirred suspicions that such
information is being collected for more sinister purposes. Many also
suspect that the urgent implementation of the process before an election
year is not a coincidence.

Rumours are widespread within migrant communities that Burmese authorities
are physically threatening and/or extorting money from the families of
applicants. There are also stories circulating that busloads of applicants
have been arrested at the border and taken to Insein prison.

While many advocates admit such behaviour would not be out of keeping for
Burma's military junta, they caution, that, despite much effort to do so,
none of the stories have been substantiated. Many suspect political
opposition groups and people traffickers who have made large sums of money
smuggling and extorting illegal Burmese workers over the years are
spreading the stories.

Even so, fear persists. Many migrant workers receive phone calls from their
families in Burma, pressing them not to go through with nationality
verification for fears over their safety. The majority of the migrants
interviewed for this story either refused to complete a nationality
verification application or, if forced to do so by their employer,
submitted false information.

The official with DLPW said half the applications that had been received
had incorrect information. In those cases, the applications are sent back
to employers, who ask workers to correct the forms.

Advocates stress that disinformation has flourished, largely because the
process has not been clearly explained. Aside from the leaflet produced by
international organisations on behalf of the Burmese government, there has
been no formal information to help migrant workers.

The Thai government's public relations effort was limited to alerting
employers of the policy and asking them to inform and distribute
nationality verification forms to workers.

There seems to have been little awareness that minority ethnic groups
persecuted by the regime would not want to be labelled ''Burmese'' or in
fact that some may not be given such a status. Muslims from Burma, such as
the Rohingya, are excluded from the process.

In focus groups conducted by the HRDF with 80 workers from Chiang Mai,
Bangkok and Samut Sakhon, lack of awareness of, and a lack of trust in the
national verification process, was prevalent. For instance, they were
unaware whether they had to verify their nationality, the costs involved,
what benefits it would bring and what the consequences would be if they did
not.

''I don't understand anything about this issue. It's like they are ordering
us to go into a cave, but we don't know what's inside. Is it dangerous?''
asked one man.

While some in the focus group had sworn off the process _ including a woman
who makes 110 baht a day and finds it far too expensive, and a man who
believed it was simply a disingenuous ploy to win votes in the upcoming
election _ most migrants interviewed seemed to be at various stages of
weighing up the personal costs, benefits and risks. There are reports that
the process has driven workers home to Burma and to seek refugee cards in
Malaysia, though most observers doubt there will be significant migrations,
because those journeys are also costly.

Mr Soda of the International Organisation for Migration concedes the
process puts migrants in a difficult position. ''If migrants do not accept
these conditions, they risk being dismissed by their employers. Migrants
will be assessing the cost of the process, versus the benefits.''

How robust those benefits will be is also being questioned. While most
observers agree that it should improve the legal status of workers, they
are also quick to point out that it won't necessarily improve workers'
rights.

''It's a thin layer of protection,'' says Paul Buckley of Uniap, noting
that the longstanding problems of employers holding on to the passports of
workers they fear would otherwise run away, will likely continue.

''This happens with documented Cambodians and Laos,'' says Mr Soda. ''Even
when they go through the proper channels. Suddenly they have this precious
piece of ID. It cost a lot, it took time and employers will still withhold
it and they'll still have debts to pay. That won't go away.''

Mr Robertson advocates a system in which workers are registered
independently and allowed to change employers freely. ''This would force
good practices and place an upward pressure on standards.''

Others suggested solutions include reducing the costs, extending the time
period (which everyone I spoke to called ''impossible''), eliminating
third-party brokers, moving jlnationality verification to Thailand and
better educating migrants and employers on the process.

There are signs some of these doubts are starting to receive attention. The
MoL has tinkered with the policy in recent weeks, extending the programme
to workers' children and vowing to regulate the nationality verification
brokers.

While these are improvements, observers are concerned by the failure of
both governments involved to acknowledge the migrants' security concerns.
''There is no easy solution. Thailand is dealing with one of the most
difficult migration flows in the region, and probably beyond. It's a
process which is virtually impossible to implement without a proper
structure on the other side. Thailand often benefits from these workers,
but it's not always easy,'' says Mr Soda.

As for the few who have been through the process, they seem to be happy, if
considerably poorer. Aung is proud, and quick to show off his passport. In
the two months since he obtained it, he's returned to Burma three times. He
enjoyed the easy passage through the provinces and crossing the border,
these times, without the smuggling fees.

The DoE did not respond in time for publication of this article.

About the author
Writer: Erika Fry

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/25874/long-standing-problems
News » Investigative Report

LONG-STANDING PROBLEMS
Published: 18/10/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Spectrum

Thailand's Burmese migrant community, estimated to number two to three
million, comprises a number of ethnic groups. Among these migrants are few
who have passports, and many who left their native land bankrupt and broken
by years of physical and economic persecution.

TAKE FIVE: Burmese migrant labourers enjoy a break outside a fish market.
Some have no identification, and some, like the Rohingya, are simply denied
that they ever lived in Burma at all.

For years, Thailand has attempted to formalise a process to import workers
from Burma, and to legalise those already here. Thai and Burmese officials
signed a memorandum of understanding to do so in 2003, but the governments
were unable to reach agreement on the process until last year, when it was
settled that verification of the nationality of workers - the key to
legalisation, since so few migrant workers have passports - would take
place in Burmese territory.

Similar agreements with Cambodia and Laos were also agreed in 2003, and
have been in effect for several years, with all activities taking place in
Thai territory.

The process, as outlined in the Operational Manual for Burmese Nationality
Verification published by Thailand's Department of Employment, involves 13
different steps and actions to be taken by at least six separate Thai and
Burmese governmental agencies.

Basically, a worker is required to submit personal information, which is
passed from the provincial Employment Office to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, and then to officials in Burma for verification and approval.

Once approval is received, the employer is notified that the worker
(accompanied by their employer or an appointed substitute) may travel to
one of the three border centres to obtain a temporary passport, which
permits them to return to Thailand to acquire a visa and obtain a work
permit, which is valid for two years and renewable for a period of four
years.

Theoretically, under this new system, migrants will have more freedom and
protection - they will be allowed to travel around the country freely (as
opposed to being restricted to a single province), apply for a motorbike
licence and be granted access to the Social Security Office's workers'
compensation fund.

On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:03:20 -0400,
wrote:
>
>
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/25701/migrants-in-a-bind-over-rule
>
>
> Migrants in a bind
> Published: 16/10/2009 at 12:00 AM
> Newspaper section: News
>
> There is no question about it. Thailand needs to solve the problem of
> underground migrant workers, now estimated at 3 million strong. The
> challenge is how to do it right.
>
> The annual registration system has failed miserably because the
procedures
> are too complicated and costly, and job registration does not
automatically
> extend to migrants the medical and welfare protection that Thai workers
> receive.
>
> Given the registration's failure, the government is now requiring all
> migrant workers to verify their nationalities with their home countries
so
> they may enter Thailand legally with passports and may continue working
in
> Thailand. Like the ineffective annual registration, this nationality
> verification system is bound to fail. It is not only because the complex
> system offers little benefit. For many migrant workers, it is simply too
> dangerous. The majority of underground workers are from Burma and a large
> number of them are from ethnic groups facing violent persecution at home
> from the Burmese military junta. The Mon, Karen and Rohinya, for example.
> Turning themselves in and revealing their identities will likely put
their
> lives at risk, as well as those of their families back home.
>
> The nationality verification deadline has been set for the end of
February
> 2010. According to the cabinet resolution, only those carrying
nationality
> verification documents may stay and work. Those who do not will be
> deported. There is little chance of the 3 million migrant workers meeting
> the deadline, which is only four months away.
>
> The nationality verification system requires the migrant workers to go
> through different layers of bureaucratic red tape in both Thailand and
> Burma. Yet, the migrant communities have received little information
about
> how to go about it. Nor any systematic support. Confused and fearful,
they
> have become easy prey for brokers who work in hand in glove with corrupt
> officials on both sides of the border. The problem is not only about
being
> enormously overcharged. Many have become victims of cheating by bogus
> brokers.
>
> Given the confusing situation, uncertain benefits and fear of
persecution,
> many migrant workers have chosen to play wait-and-see, despite the threat
> of deportation. For them, it would not be too difficult to cross the
porous
> border and pay their way back into Thailand when there are still many
> corrupt officials and greedy employers looking for cheap slave labour.
>
> Labour and human rights groups have come up with recommendations to ease
> the knots in nationality verification. Among these are: extending the
> deadline, allowing the ones who have not yet completed the verification
> process to continue working, supplying the workers with clear and exact
> information, and regulating the brokers to prevent fraud, debt bondage
and
> human trafficking.
>
> Making the verification system transparent, accessible and affordable is
> crucial for it to succeed. So it would be a mistake for the government to
> ignore these recommendations, the most difficult of which to implement
> would be the one calling for Burmese authorities to set up nationality
> verification centres in Thailand, as talking sense with the junta is
easier
> said than done.
>
> Which brings home the fact that the root cause of the problem is in
Burma.
> So long as the junta continues to terrorise its people, this problem will
> not go away. But until these knots can be unravelled through internal and
> external pressures, Thailand cannot deny its responsibility to regulate
and
> provide migrant workers with decent welfare and work benefits.

***migrantjustice@hrdfoundation.org**

Cheating the System: Burmese Migrants and Nationality Verification - Bangkok Post Feature Sunday 18th Oct 2009

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/25873/cheating-the-system
News » Investigative Report
Cheating the system
Despite a new nationality verification programme, Thailand's immigrant
workers still face problems trying to stay legal
Published: 18/10/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Spectrum

Earlier this year, a colourful leaflet written in Burmese script, began
circulating in Samut Sakhon, Mae Sot, Rayong and migrant communities all
over Thailand.

SCANT INFORMATION: The leaflet explaining the nationality verification
programme.
The leaflet, prepared by the Burmese government with assistance and funding
from international organisations, provided instructions for Burmese migrant
workers on how to become legalised after verifying their nationality. It
pictured three new centres in Burma where, from July 15, workers could
receive temporary passports that allow them to apply for work permits in
Thailand, and ultimately receive the same benefits and protection as Thai
workers. Expenses, it said, would be only 3,000 kyats (100 baht).

The front flap of the cover was stamped with a Burmese police logo and
promised that the process will involve "No Arresting, No stop/check, No
Tax".

To the many the pamphlet was targeting, the programme sounded too good to
be true. And in many ways, though perhaps not in the ways they were
expecting, they've been right.

The Labour Ministry has set Feb 28, 2010, as the deadline for nationality
verification for all workers (1.2 million are eligible). Those that are
unverified at that point are theoretically subject to arrest and
deportation.

SATISFIED CUSTOMERS: Some of the success stories at the Thai-Myanmar
Development Cooperation Co. LEGALISED: The proud owner of a new Burmese
passport.
Yet more than three months into the process, only 2,000 Burmese migrants
have had their nationality verified. Burmese nationality verification
centres say they are now processing 200 people per day on average (the
capacity for the three centres is said to be 1,000 per day), a rate that
many advocates have pointed out will legalise Thailand's Burmese migrant
population only after a number of years.

But the policy has been panned by international organisations and migrant
advocacy groups for being complicated, costly, time-consuming,
non-transparent, insensitive, under-publicised and not fully explained to
migrant workers.

"It's a train wreck," says Philip Robertson, the technical adviser on
migration and workers' rights for the South East Asian Refugee Community
Home, and a seasoned expert on migration policies in the Asean region.

While most believe the nationality verification effort was borne of good
intentions and is, in theory, a step towards better management of a growing
migrant population, observers charge the programme has become a
seriously-flawed policy, and at worst, a corrupt and insincere "paper
exercise" designed to exploit the country's migrant workers.

ALL IN A DAY’S WORK: Many Burmese migrant workers are involved in
Thailand’s fishing industry.
The process has drawn the watchful eye of the United Nations Inter-agency
Project on Human Trafficking (Uniap) and enough concern that the UN Special
Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants was petitioned by a number of
migrant advocacy groups in September. The Special Rapporteur requested an
investigatory visit, which Thailand has denied.

Though only a tiny fraction of Thailand's migrant workers have been through
the process, there is already abundant evidence to bear out the concerns.

Aung, a 26-year-old worker who has been in Thailand for 10 years, is one of
the 2,000 Burmese migrants who has had his nationality verified.

He received his temporary passport on Aug 18, and spent 6,450 baht in the
process - 100 baht for his passport in Burma, 2,000 baht for a visa for
Thailand and the remainder for services provided by a company called CEO
Enterprise.

Among CEO Enterprise's services were a 250 baht plastic membership card
(much like a gym ID), submission of personal documents to the Department of
Employment (DoE) and a bus ride to and from the nationality verification
centre in Tachilek.

His work permit will cost him an additional 3,800 baht, and he will be a
legal worker after spending a total of 10,250 baht. He also paid 3,800 baht
earlier this year, to extend his visa.

Like many in Samut Sakhon, he earns less than 200 baht a day, and his
employer is deducting the cost of these fees from his wages at a rate of
2,000 baht every 50 days.

Yet, the cost to Aung turns out to have been a relative bargain.

ONE-STOP SHOP: One of several government-approved brokers offering services
to migrant workers.
The price at the Thai-Myanmar Development Cooperation Company, another
nationality verification service provider, is 7,300 baht, while CEO
Enterprise has been known to charge varying rates (it would not disclose
its price when contacted by Spectrum). Aung's sister was asked to pay
12,000 baht. Others, according to the Human Rights Development Foundation
(HRDF) and Rak Thai Foundation, have been charged up to 15,000 baht.

CEO Enterprise, the Thai-Myanmar Development Cooperation Company and NIK
Global were endorsed by the DoE as registered companies with Thailand's
Ministry of Commerce to assist in the nationality verification process. The
DoE issued the endorsement after the Burmese Embassy asked about the
legalities of the service providers.

In some provinces, workers have been told by DoE employees they must use
one of the brokers; in others, that the brokers will expedite the process.

The swift and non-transparent entrance of these three companies into the
process in which there are 1.2 million potential clients has made observers
suspicious. Some of the firms have connections to military and former
labour ministry officials, according to human rights workers and employers
familiar with the process.

The steep fees being charged by the three has exacerbated those concerns,
and earlier this week provoked a demand from Burmese officials - NGOs have
been making similar demands for weeks - for regulation of the companies and
a price cap of 1,000 baht.

In a news release last Tuesday, the DoE said the companies would be
regulated and their prices capped at 4,000 baht.

"Any time third parties are involved, costs go up, and ultimately those
costs are paid by the migrant," says Federico Soda, a regional programme
development officer with the International Organisation for Migration, who
points out that the current costs of nationality verification through a
broker service and a work permit amounts in some cases to four months'
salary of a migrant worker earning the minimum wage (4,000 baht per month,
but many make less). Without a broker, it costs about two months' wages. In
either case, "it's too expensive", he said.

There have been other cost irregularities. The DoE says the price of the
Thai visa will be reduced from 2,000 to 500 baht - what Cambodian and Lao
workers are charged. But it is unclear when this will happen, why Burmese
migrant workers are charged more, or if they will be reimbursed. There is
also the problem of unregistered brokers recently entering the business and
in some cases, disappearing with workers' money.

An employer in the seafood industry in Samut Sakhon who did not wish to be
identified says the system is mired in corruption. Knowing the inflated
prices of the brokers' services, the employer chose to register the
factory's thousands of migrant employees without using a broker.

When the employer took the applications to the Samut Sakhon employment
office, the employer was told that it was not the company's scheduled day
for submissions. The company had never been informed there was a schedule.
Only after paying a fee, were the applications accepted. The employer also
says that influential factories in the area have managed to pay a fee to
have their workers exempted from the process.

An official with Thailand's Department of Labour Protection and Welfare
(DLPW) conceded corruption was a problem in the process and there were
investigations underway.

Mr Robertson says: "Brokers exist because the system doesn't work - it's so
complicated that employers have no choice but to outsource the task to a
third party." He adds that in the region, foreign labour recruitment and
servicing has "always been seen as a business opportunity for
well-connected elites".

Yet there is also evidence that the nationality verification business has
not been the boon many were expecting.

The day I visited, the brand new Samut Sakhon branch of the Thai-Myanmar
Development Cooperation Company was empty, aside from its 12 staff and a
few workmen installing light fixtures.

Employees were busying themselves, creating information boards with
photographs showing the company's success stories.

A Thai staff member explained the company helped Burmese workers get
passports. He explained they charged 7,300 baht for "full service", which
is a vague package that includes "transportation, food and other services".

He admitted that their first two months in the business had been tough.

The office had seen only about 200 applicants, only 29 of whom had been
approved and sent by bus to the border to obtain their temporary passports.

Business had been dampened by widespread rumours, fear and ignorance of the
process, he explained.

This, by all accounts, is true, and is due in large part to the lack of
foresight that was given to implementing and communicating the policy, as
well as a lack of consideration for those most affected by it.

Where nationality verification takes place has been a contentious issue -
this was the point that prevented agreement until last year, when Thailand
conceded and reportedly funded the border centres and provided computers
for the Burmese officials.

The Burmese reportedly feared centres based in Thailand would be targeted
by political groups, even though travel to Burma is costly, inconvenient
and time consuming for migrants and their employers.

The trip for many migrants - notably those from ethnic minorities that in
the past have been terrorised by Burmese authorities through forced labour,
displacement or worse - is also unnerving.

The nationality verification process, which requires submission of personal
and family details to Burmese authorities, has stirred suspicions that such
information is being collected for more sinister purposes. Many also
suspect that the urgent implementation of the process before an election
year is not a coincidence.

Rumours are widespread within migrant communities that Burmese authorities
are physically threatening and/or extorting money from the families of
applicants. There are also stories circulating that busloads of applicants
have been arrested at the border and taken to Insein prison.

While many advocates admit such behaviour would not be out of keeping for
Burma's military junta, they caution, that, despite much effort to do so,
none of the stories have been substantiated. Many suspect political
opposition groups and people traffickers who have made large sums of money
smuggling and extorting illegal Burmese workers over the years are
spreading the stories.

Even so, fear persists. Many migrant workers receive phone calls from their
families in Burma, pressing them not to go through with nationality
verification for fears over their safety. The majority of the migrants
interviewed for this story either refused to complete a nationality
verification application or, if forced to do so by their employer,
submitted false information.

The official with DLPW said half the applications that had been received
had incorrect information. In those cases, the applications are sent back
to employers, who ask workers to correct the forms.

Advocates stress that disinformation has flourished, largely because the
process has not been clearly explained. Aside from the leaflet produced by
international organisations on behalf of the Burmese government, there has
been no formal information to help migrant workers.

The Thai government's public relations effort was limited to alerting
employers of the policy and asking them to inform and distribute
nationality verification forms to workers.

There seems to have been little awareness that minority ethnic groups
persecuted by the regime would not want to be labelled ''Burmese'' or in
fact that some may not be given such a status. Muslims from Burma, such as
the Rohingya, are excluded from the process.

In focus groups conducted by the HRDF with 80 workers from Chiang Mai,
Bangkok and Samut Sakhon, lack of awareness of, and a lack of trust in the
national verification process, was prevalent. For instance, they were
unaware whether they had to verify their nationality, the costs involved,
what benefits it would bring and what the consequences would be if they did
not.

''I don't understand anything about this issue. It's like they are ordering
us to go into a cave, but we don't know what's inside. Is it dangerous?''
asked one man.

While some in the focus group had sworn off the process _ including a woman
who makes 110 baht a day and finds it far too expensive, and a man who
believed it was simply a disingenuous ploy to win votes in the upcoming
election _ most migrants interviewed seemed to be at various stages of
weighing up the personal costs, benefits and risks. There are reports that
the process has driven workers home to Burma and to seek refugee cards in
Malaysia, though most observers doubt there will be significant migrations,
because those journeys are also costly.

Mr Soda of the International Organisation for Migration concedes the
process puts migrants in a difficult position. ''If migrants do not accept
these conditions, they risk being dismissed by their employers. Migrants
will be assessing the cost of the process, versus the benefits.''

How robust those benefits will be is also being questioned. While most
observers agree that it should improve the legal status of workers, they
are also quick to point out that it won't necessarily improve workers'
rights.

''It's a thin layer of protection,'' says Paul Buckley of Uniap, noting
that the longstanding problems of employers holding on to the passports of
workers they fear would otherwise run away, will likely continue.

''This happens with documented Cambodians and Laos,'' says Mr Soda. ''Even
when they go through the proper channels. Suddenly they have this precious
piece of ID. It cost a lot, it took time and employers will still withhold
it and they'll still have debts to pay. That won't go away.''

Mr Robertson advocates a system in which workers are registered
independently and allowed to change employers freely. ''This would force
good practices and place an upward pressure on standards.''

Others suggested solutions include reducing the costs, extending the time
period (which everyone I spoke to called ''impossible''), eliminating
third-party brokers, moving jlnationality verification to Thailand and
better educating migrants and employers on the process.

There are signs some of these doubts are starting to receive attention. The
MoL has tinkered with the policy in recent weeks, extending the programme
to workers' children and vowing to regulate the nationality verification
brokers.

While these are improvements, observers are concerned by the failure of
both governments involved to acknowledge the migrants' security concerns.
''There is no easy solution. Thailand is dealing with one of the most
difficult migration flows in the region, and probably beyond. It's a
process which is virtually impossible to implement without a proper
structure on the other side. Thailand often benefits from these workers,
but it's not always easy,'' says Mr Soda.

As for the few who have been through the process, they seem to be happy, if
considerably poorer. Aung is proud, and quick to show off his passport. In
the two months since he obtained it, he's returned to Burma three times. He
enjoyed the easy passage through the provinces and crossing the border,
these times, without the smuggling fees.

The DoE did not respond in time for publication of this article.

About the author
Writer: Erika Fry

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/25874/long-standing-problems
News » Investigative Report

LONG-STANDING PROBLEMS
Published: 18/10/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Spectrum

Thailand's Burmese migrant community, estimated to number two to three
million, comprises a number of ethnic groups. Among these migrants are few
who have passports, and many who left their native land bankrupt and broken
by years of physical and economic persecution.

TAKE FIVE: Burmese migrant labourers enjoy a break outside a fish market.
Some have no identification, and some, like the Rohingya, are simply denied
that they ever lived in Burma at all.

For years, Thailand has attempted to formalise a process to import workers
from Burma, and to legalise those already here. Thai and Burmese officials
signed a memorandum of understanding to do so in 2003, but the governments
were unable to reach agreement on the process until last year, when it was
settled that verification of the nationality of workers - the key to
legalisation, since so few migrant workers have passports - would take
place in Burmese territory.

Similar agreements with Cambodia and Laos were also agreed in 2003, and
have been in effect for several years, with all activities taking place in
Thai territory.

The process, as outlined in the Operational Manual for Burmese Nationality
Verification published by Thailand's Department of Employment, involves 13
different steps and actions to be taken by at least six separate Thai and
Burmese governmental agencies.

Basically, a worker is required to submit personal information, which is
passed from the provincial Employment Office to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, and then to officials in Burma for verification and approval.

Once approval is received, the employer is notified that the worker
(accompanied by their employer or an appointed substitute) may travel to
one of the three border centres to obtain a temporary passport, which
permits them to return to Thailand to acquire a visa and obtain a work
permit, which is valid for two years and renewable for a period of four
years.

Theoretically, under this new system, migrants will have more freedom and
protection - they will be allowed to travel around the country freely (as
opposed to being restricted to a single province), apply for a motorbike
licence and be granted access to the Social Security Office's workers'
compensation fund.

On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:03:20 -0400,
wrote:
>
>
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/25701/migrants-in-a-bind-over-rule
>
>
> Migrants in a bind
> Published: 16/10/2009 at 12:00 AM
> Newspaper section: News
>
> There is no question about it. Thailand needs to solve the problem of
> underground migrant workers, now estimated at 3 million strong. The
> challenge is how to do it right.
>
> The annual registration system has failed miserably because the
procedures
> are too complicated and costly, and job registration does not
automatically
> extend to migrants the medical and welfare protection that Thai workers
> receive.
>
> Given the registration's failure, the government is now requiring all
> migrant workers to verify their nationalities with their home countries
so
> they may enter Thailand legally with passports and may continue working
in
> Thailand. Like the ineffective annual registration, this nationality
> verification system is bound to fail. It is not only because the complex
> system offers little benefit. For many migrant workers, it is simply too
> dangerous. The majority of underground workers are from Burma and a large
> number of them are from ethnic groups facing violent persecution at home
> from the Burmese military junta. The Mon, Karen and Rohinya, for example.
> Turning themselves in and revealing their identities will likely put
their
> lives at risk, as well as those of their families back home.
>
> The nationality verification deadline has been set for the end of
February
> 2010. According to the cabinet resolution, only those carrying
nationality
> verification documents may stay and work. Those who do not will be
> deported. There is little chance of the 3 million migrant workers meeting
> the deadline, which is only four months away.
>
> The nationality verification system requires the migrant workers to go
> through different layers of bureaucratic red tape in both Thailand and
> Burma. Yet, the migrant communities have received little information
about
> how to go about it. Nor any systematic support. Confused and fearful,
they
> have become easy prey for brokers who work in hand in glove with corrupt
> officials on both sides of the border. The problem is not only about
being
> enormously overcharged. Many have become victims of cheating by bogus
> brokers.
>
> Given the confusing situation, uncertain benefits and fear of
persecution,
> many migrant workers have chosen to play wait-and-see, despite the threat
> of deportation. For them, it would not be too difficult to cross the
porous
> border and pay their way back into Thailand when there are still many
> corrupt officials and greedy employers looking for cheap slave labour.
>
> Labour and human rights groups have come up with recommendations to ease
> the knots in nationality verification. Among these are: extending the
> deadline, allowing the ones who have not yet completed the verification
> process to continue working, supplying the workers with clear and exact
> information, and regulating the brokers to prevent fraud, debt bondage
and
> human trafficking.
>
> Making the verification system transparent, accessible and affordable is
> crucial for it to succeed. So it would be a mistake for the government to
> ignore these recommendations, the most difficult of which to implement
> would be the one calling for Burmese authorities to set up nationality
> verification centres in Thailand, as talking sense with the junta is
easier
> said than done.
>
> Which brings home the fact that the root cause of the problem is in
Burma.
> So long as the junta continues to terrorise its people, this problem will
> not go away. But until these knots can be unravelled through internal and
> external pressures, Thailand cannot deny its responsibility to regulate
and
> provide migrant workers with decent welfare and work benefits.

***migrantjustice@hrdfoundation.org**