Plan to hire Bangladeshis draws flak: Labour shortage in Thailand

[webfact]

LABOUR
Plan to hire Bangladeshis draws flak
Saowanee Nimpanpayongwong
The Nation

Govt urged to register illegal workers first amid fear trafficking may worsen.

BANGKOK: -- A government plan to hire 50,000 Bangladeshi workers to tackle labour shortages in the fishing industry could worsen human trafficking in Thailand, the Labour Rights Promotion Network (LPN) warned yesterday.

It advised the government to first resolve problems by legalising the vast number of unregistered migrant workers.

Meanwhile, police from the Anti-Human Trafficking Division (AHTD) said crackdowns on human traffickers had resulted in about 85 arrests every month in the first half of this year.

LPN director Sompong Srakaew urged the government to think twice about bringing Bangladeshis in, saying they had a different culture and lifestyle to migrants Thais were familiar with and it could lead to forced labour and worsen human-trafficking problems.

He urged the government to understand that trafficking takes many forms - including forced labour to pay off high-interest debts and workers being held captive via the seizure of their passports or ID cards.

Rarintip Sirorat, deputy permanent secretary of the Social Development and Human Security Ministry, said the United States' 2012 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report had placed Thailand in its "Tier 2-Watch List" for the fourth consecutive year. She said the ranking had not improved despite Thailand's moves to tackle human trafficking, because the US used information from other sources, including international organisations and NGOs.

One concern was that though more people were being arrested in Thailand on human-trafficking cases, from 84 in 2011 to 305 in 2012, few suspects get prosecuted because the process has many steps and takes a lot of time.

Another concern was corrupt law enforcers and a lack of coordination between agencies, which failed to exchange and use information, she said. The US is urging Thailand speed up the investigation process as well as prosecuting more wrongdoers and corrupt officials, Rarintip said.

If Thailand fails to implement these points, it could end up on "Tier 3-Watch List" and face trade and aid barriers from next year.

Pol Maj-General Chawalit Sawaengphuet, who oversees AHTD, said officers had arrested 241 human-trafficking suspects over the past five years - 170 were related to forced prostitution, 56 for forced labour and 15 for forced begging. Last year, trafficking arrests rose dramatically due to police crackdowns and an average of 85 people have been arrested each month in the first half of this year. It estimated there could be over 1,000 human-trafficking arrests this year, he said.


-- The Nation 2013-07-03

[Thai at Heart]

They have a different culture.

Haha. This translates to, if people treat them like absolute crap they fight back. Bring them in, that will clean up the fishing industry quick sharp.

[noitom]

It is inevitable that the Thai fish industry will be boycotted in the future by global human rights organizations and countries.

[OzMick]

Why don't they offer employment to Burmese Rohingya on the condition the Myanmar government gives them passports? This would help resolve the citizenship issue and send some money to an impoverished area.

[phosphorescent]

Not too long ago, there was a story about fishermen being pushed overboard and killed while at sea so as to avoid paying them. With 50,000 lemmings on the way, it seems the practice is set to continue.

[Docno]

They have a different culture.

Haha. This translates to, if people treat them like absolute crap they fight back. Bring them in, that will clean up the fishing industry quick sharp.

Not really ... we have loads of them in Singapore, and they're sometimes treated pretty miserably. I suspect the real reason may be that they are predominantly Muslim ... gov't might have unspoken concerns around that.

Funnily enough, Bangladeshi workers have largely displaced Thai workers in Singapore.... apparently, the Thais were too prone to drunkenness and fighting. The drinking->fighting issue is much less of a problem among the Muslim Bangladeshis.

[Kilgore Trout]

They just don't get it; it doesn't matter how many people you arrest; what matters is how many are prosecuted and proved guilty.

Arrests mean nothing.

[joeaverage]

the thai fishing industry should unionize.

then maybe the fisheries would have a chance -- having to pay an honest wage would likely cut the fleet to a tenth of its current size.

you know its bad when the locals refuse to do it.

either that or use prison labour. if you are going to use slave labour it might as well be composed of those who have forfeit liberty.

[Pib]

Funnily enough, Bangladeshi workers have largely displaced Thai workers in Singapore.... apparently, the Thais were too prone to drunkenness and fighting. The drinking->fighting issue is much less of a problem among the Muslim Bangladeshis.

But the drunkenness only occurred during lunch time and the fighting after work....all off-duty time--what's the problem.

[Neilly]

Today many of the Bangladeshi community are now part of the Curry Industry in Britain, more than 8 out of 10 Indian restaurants in the UK are owned by Bangladeshis

- wikipedia

Might get a few decent curry shops here then

[PaulHamon]

Why don't they offer employment to Burmese Rohingya on the condition the Myanmar government gives them passports? This would help resolve the citizenship issue and send some money to an impoverished area.

because then the country would loose a tourist attraction.

[jbrain]

Labour shortage should read as shortage of Thai people who want to work.

No doubt however the next news headline will say, Thai's protest because Bangladeshi take their jobs.

[alant]

what about all these farangs they are finding now working illegally or overstaying their visas. why not let them do it instead of the expense of deporting them

[rametindallas]

Why don't they offer employment to Burmese Rohingya on the condition the Myanmar government gives them passports? This would help resolve the citizenship issue and send some money to an impoverished area.

From the Myanmar's government point of view. what does it stand to gain by giving passports to Rohingya?

[rametindallas]

Poor Thais hate Bangladeshis as much as the hate Indians and Pakistanis in my experience.

[robblok]

Labour shortage should read as shortage of Thai people who want to work.

No doubt however the next news headline will say, Thai's protest because Bangladeshi take their jobs.

Labour shortage and still a foreigner needs to have 4 Thais working for him so he can get a work permit. Crazy rules Thais can't survive in an open market.

[robblok]

Labour shortage should read as shortage of Thai people who want to work.

No doubt however the next news headline will say, Thai's protest because Bangladeshi take their jobs.

Labour shortage and still a foreigner needs to have 4 Thais working for him so he can get a work permit. Crazy rules Thais can't survive in an open market.

[rametindallas]

Why don't they offer employment to Burmese Rohingya on the condition the Myanmar government gives them passports? This would help resolve the citizenship issue and send some money to an impoverished area.

From the Myanmar's government point of view. what does it stand to gain by giving passports to Rohingya?

[John Egil]

the thai fishing industry should unionize.

then maybe the fisheries would have a chance -- having to pay an honest wage would likely cut the fleet to a tenth of its current size.

you know its bad when the locals refuse to do it.

either that or use prison labour. if you are going to use slave labour it might as well be composed of those who have forfeit liberty.

Why not use the ilegal taxi drivers in Phuket

[OzMick]

Why don't they offer employment to Burmese Rohingya on the condition the Myanmar government gives them passports? This would help resolve the citizenship issue and send some money to an impoverished area.

From the Myanmar's government point of view. what does it stand to gain by giving passports to Rohingya?

Most countries appreciate having citizens working abroad earning foreign currency and sending to dependents back home. If the offer was specifically for Rohingya, the Burmese have a take it or leave it choice - taking it would help solve Thailand's refugee problem.

[rametindallas]

Why don't they offer employment to Burmese Rohingya on the condition the Myanmar government gives them passports? This would help resolve the citizenship issue and send some money to an impoverished area.

From the Myanmar's government point of view. what does it stand to gain by giving passports to Rohingya?

Most countries appreciate having citizens working abroad earning foreign currency and sending to dependents back home. If the offer was specifically for Rohingya, the Burmese have a take it or leave it choice - taking it would help solve Thailand's refugee problem.

The Burmese are going to drive all the Rohingya out in any case and don't care where they go. If they give them a passport, they may return to Burma someday. Thailand doesn't want refugees; it's been taking in refugees since the war in Vietnam. On a per capita basis, Thailand may have taken in more refugees than any other country I can think of. The Rohingya refugees should really try to go to Bangladesh which is where they originally came from and whose culture they have the most in common. When the Thai military isn't setting them adrift at sea, they are selling them as slaves. The authorities in Thailand simply don't want or need them; labor shortage or not.

[MaxLee]

There are plenty of jobs in Thailand,... but most of the domestic people don't want to do them, or lets say the Bangkok community doesn't wanna do these jobs, because they'd rather not to lose face...,

Burmese slowly go home, and now it's time to make another nationality their b****tch in slavery work...

[OzMick]

Why don't they offer employment to Burmese Rohingya on the condition the Myanmar government gives them passports? This would help resolve the citizenship issue and send some money to an impoverished area.

From the Myanmar's government point of view. what does it stand to gain by giving passports to Rohingya?

Most countries appreciate having citizens working abroad earning foreign currency and sending to dependents back home. If the offer was specifically for Rohingya, the Burmese have a take it or leave it choice - taking it would help solve Thailand's refugee problem.

The Burmese are going to drive all the Rohingya out in any case and don't care where they go. If they give them a passport, they may return to Burma someday. Thailand doesn't want refugees; it's been taking in refugees since the war in Vietnam. On a per capita basis, Thailand may have taken in more refugees than any other country I can think of. The Rohingya refugees should really try to go to Bangladesh which is where they originally came from and whose culture they have the most in common. When the Thai military isn't setting them adrift at sea, they are selling them as slaves. The authorities in Thailand simply don't want or need them; labor shortage or not.

I'm not suggesting that Thailand accepts them as refugees, but that Thailand makes it worthwhile for Burma to accept the Rohingya as valuable citizens earning foreign currency. Thailand HAS a refugee problem caused by Burma's attitude - it makes more sense to exert pressure on Burma to stop causing this problem than to ask other countries to take them on.

Whether the Rohingya are economic migrants (to Burma??) or people caught on the wrong side of an arbitrary border, or a combination of both, is arguable. Either way, they ARE there, and Burma's xenophobic attitude helps nobody.

[steveyinasia]

Why don't they offer employment to Burmese Rohingya on the condition the Myanmar government gives them passports? This would help resolve the citizenship issue and send some money to an impoverished area.

Hi Oz Mick....way too much common sense there for the Thais to cope with...great idea however you may need to break it done to a couple of hundred steps, set up a committee to implement and then look at ways to skim some money from it.

[belg]

thailand will get a nice

governement 2 governement deal

for some human slaves

in return... well they can give a few tonnes of ... rotten rice

[Payboy]

There are plenty of jobs in Thailand,... but most of the domestic people don't want to do them, or lets say the Bangkok community doesn't wanna do these jobs, because they'd rather not to lose face...,

Burmese slowly go home, and now it's time to make another nationality their b****tch in slavery work...

There's always shortage of labour for 3D work in Thailand. Dirty, Difficult & Dangerous. But the riceberg should take care of that soon.

[MaxLee]

There are plenty of jobs in Thailand,... but most of the domestic people don't want to do them, or lets say the Bangkok community doesn't wanna do these jobs, because they'd rather not to lose face...,

Burmese slowly go home, and now it's time to make another nationality their b****tch in slavery work...

There's always shortage of labour for 3D work in Thailand. Dirty, Difficult & Dangerous. But the riceberg should take care of that soon.

Very well said,... today's THAI-tanic would hit the RICE-BERG in the near future

[CIHUAHUA]

The Thai government wants to hire 50,000 foreigners to do work the Thais don't want or don't know how to do. Does this mean that the government does not think Thais are capable or they just want a free lunch. It sounds like a complicated solution to a simple problem. The correct attitude would be “get off the mobile, get out of debt, and go to work.” This is directed to the youth.

[Thait Spot]

Chalerm has his first project if he ever assumes his station

[rotary]

This is a terrible idea. It almost appears that the govt has employed Nancy Pelosi as consultant for their think tank.