Burmese Migrant Workers In Thailand

In June 2004, NZCTU staff member Nick Henry travelled to Thailand to meet with the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB). The article below is a summary of the situation of Burmese migrant workers and FTUB activities in Thailand.Up to two million Burmese migrants live and work in Thailand, of whom around 250,000 have official work permits.

Migrants I interviewed during my visit had left Burma to escape the conditions imposed by the military dictatorship. These included systematic forced labour in both rural and urban areas, starvation wages, food shortages, and political persecution.

By Thai law migrant workers should have equal rights to other workers, including minimum wages. In practice this is not observed. For instance in Mae Sot, garment workers receive only 60 baht per day (NZ$2.50) where Thai workers get the minimum wage of 133 baht (NZ$5.30).

Problems for migrant workers in the factories include:
- Long shifts, up to 24 hours
- Over-crowded and unhygienic accommodation
- Sickness, and trouble getting treatment
- Insecurity, targetting by immigration authorities

Almost all the factory workers (98-99%) are women, and almost all workers are Burmese. Supervisors and bosses are usually Thai males. Factory bosses think women are easier to control, and can be paid lower wages. If a woman becomes pregnant she will lose her job without compensation, usually after about two months.

The FTUB plans to work with existing Thai union federations such as the Textile Workers Federation to organise Burmese workers. The main demands of the workers are to have their basic rights under Thai law respected ? minimum wages, voluntary paid overtime, paid days off, and the right to organise.

The majority of the children of migrant workers, especially in fishing areas, have no access to education. The FTUB has started a project to set up bridging schools for basic language and education. There are two FTUB schools in Mae Sot.

A major activity of the FTUB is training and education of workers. Volunteer organisers, both workers and activists, are paid an allowance for expenses. Worker representatives are trained and form a contact network for the union.

FTUB organisers often travel inside Burma to stay with Internally Displaced People, take care of escaped prisoner-porters and child soldiers, and collect information on human rights abuses and forced labour. In the last two years, union teams have run May Day celebrations, discussion and training in villages inside Burma.