Thai editorial: Migrant workers hit by iron fist

[webfact]

EDITORIAL
Migrant workers hit by iron fist
The Nation

Reports of thousands fleeing for the safety of their homeland are a worrying sign for Thailand

BANGKOK: -- Seizing power was the easy part; the everyday task of running the country is proving far more difficult for the Thai military. Chief among those difficulties is management of the workforce, which the junta must now realise is not primarily a security issue.

Pictures emerging last week of Cambodian workers fleeing the Kingdom are a worrying development. Cambodians searching for work have of course flowed back and forth over the border for years, but the Thai junta's declaration that it would "manage" illegal migrant workers has prompted an unprecedented exodus.

Last Tuesday the junta announced its 59th order, setting up a committee chaired by General Tanasak Patimapragorn, chief of the Defence Forces and deputy leader of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), to oversee management of migrant workers.

The order sparked reports on the social media of a crackdown on foreign labourers in the Kingdom. The reports and pictures of fleeing migrants were branded "rumours" by the authorities, but they spread like wildfire through Thailand's migrant-worker community, causing fear and panic among both "legal" and "illegal" workers. Many rushed for the border and the safety of their homeland.

Thailand is a second home to more than two million migrant workers, most of them from neighbouring countries. The greatest number come from Myanmar, followed by Cambodia and Laos, according to the Labour Ministry. Thailand also sees a considerable number of illegal migrants from other Asian countries, such as Vietnam, but authorities tend to turn a blind eye to them.

The foreign workers are much in demand. They are crucial to business, forming a major segment of the workforce for industry, agriculture and trade and service sectors. Households want them for chores and taking care of children, while restaurateurs employ them for their fluent, if accented, Thai. They have been a familiar part of life in Thailand for decades, crucial to the smooth running of the economy. They represent a threat to neither security nor peace. Of course, a few commit crimes, but no more than our own citizens.

However, our security forces - notably the military - have always considered migrants to be potential troublemakers. Military leaders see them "stealing" jobs from Thais, even though most Thais spurn the menial jobs in question. Some generals even worry that some of the foreigners could be spying on Thailand for their countries. Meanwhile an ultra-conservative elite has paranoid visions that "alien" workers could eventually assimilate into Thai society and come to dominate. (This group prefers, conveniently, to forget its own multiracial ancestry.)

There is nothing wrong with deciding to regulate migrant workers, but formulating such a policy under military rule with an agency headed by the top brass sends the wrong signal.

The authorities have been dealing with this matter for decades and come up with many different methods to handle it. Thailand has a memorandum of understanding with Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to recruit and regulate these workers. Registration and nationality-verification processes are ongoing. Intervention by the military junta was unnecessary. The Labour Ministry might be far from perfect, but it has pre-existing instruments and mechanisms to handle the job.

Managing migrant workers is a complex task that must take into account both supply-and-demand economics and human rights. Thailand already suffers a poor reputation over its efforts to combat human trafficking. An immigration policy that places too much emphasis on security concerns creates more problems than solutions.


-- The Nation 2014-06-17

[Suriya4]

Junta say it is not a crack down, just like they say it was not a coup. Maybe the Cambodian knew something Thai don't.

[bangkokheat]

i would have thought the junta would have more pressing tasks than "managing" an alien workforce thats here to do the jobs of the lazy locals,,, wake up, the thais need to be saved from themselves, not from the alien workforce

[EricBerg]

Same as with tourism things will be back to normal soon. Panic based on rumours will soon enough be gone. The foreign workers need the jobs as much as Thai companies need the workers. Pragmatism will prevail within a week.

Where does the "iron fist" from the title come from by the way?

Edited June 17, 2014 by EricBerg

[phutoie2]

At last the Nation is publishing some good stuff.

[thumper101]

Jeez.... It's like 5% of the entire migrant workforce... That still leaves 95% of them here.

What is all the hoo haa about?

So now it is 5% more difficult to find a worker..... The sky is falling down.

[thumper101]

At last the Nation is publishing some good stuff.

You got to be kidding me.... Go have a coffee, wake up and then come back on.

[tonbridgebrit]

There's a bit of writing that is ["Meanwhile an ultra-conservative elite has paranoid visions that "alien" workers could eventually assimilate into Thai society and come to dominate. (This group prefers, conveniently, to forget its own multiracial ancestry.)]

I have a naughty grin on my face, they're not actually saying who this group is !!

[ezzra]

I don't see any thing wrong with it, for too long now all sorts of " cowboys" operators

had a free hand in bringing unchecked number of foreign workers in to the kingdom

with all the good and bad implications, it's about time some one will put the whole loose

business of migrant workers in to proper order....

[tonbridgebrit]

At last the Nation is publishing some good stuff.

You got to be kidding me.... Go have a coffee, wake up and then come back on.

Thumper101, do you reckon this article from THE NATION is a load of nonsense ???

[phutoie2]

He's just a little pissed that his Cambodian maid, gardener, chauffeur has not turned up for work.

Same as my Norwegian buddy, he has 20 builders working on his new place.

[thumper101]

At last the Nation is publishing some good stuff.

You got to be kidding me.... Go have a coffee, wake up and then come back on.

Thumper101, do you reckon this article from THE NATION is a load of nonsense ???

It is pure alarmist.

5% of the migrant workforce is hardly going to bring the economy down.

New people will come in and fill the gaps.

I think it is a godsend... Makes it a lot more difficult for the big exploiters now that the supply of workers is slightly depreciated. Means they will probably have to pay a bit more for loyalty and provide better living standards etc....

In short, it is probably ironing out some creases in the system.

Pictures emerging last week of Cambodian workers fleeing the Kingdom are a worrying development. Cambodians searching for work have of course flowed back and forth over the border for years, but the Thai junta's declaration that it would "manage" illegal migrant workers has prompted an unprecedented exodus.

Last Tuesday the junta announced its 59th order, setting up a committee chaired by General Tanasak Patimapragorn, chief of the Defence Forces and deputy leader of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), to oversee management of migrant workers.

What are they doing The Nation???.... managing migrant workers or 'manage' illegal migrant workers?????

They have basically mutated the order No59 into someything it wasn't.

As far as I am aware, this order 59 came on the heela of The Guardian report on 'slavery' in Thailand. If they want to cure the slavery problem, then they have to manage the actual target of these abuses.... the migrant workers.

But that doesn't make as good news as this load of old bollo-x

[chainarong]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

He's just a little pissed that his Cambodian maid, gardener, chauffeur has not turned up for work.

Same as my Norwegian buddy, he has 20 builders working on his new place.

I lost my driver, so I relaced him with a Thai , I now get to town in a quarter of the time

[thumper101]

He's just a little pissed that his Cambodian maid, gardener, chauffeur has not turned up for work.

Same as my Norwegian buddy, he has 20 builders working on his new place.

Actually I have three Myanmar staff..... They are going nowhere..... They know this is just politically motivated BS.

[UbonRatch]

Last 2 paragraphs:

"The authorities have been dealing with this matter for decades and come up with many different methods to handle it. Thailand has a memorandum of understanding with Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to recruit and regulate these workers. Registration and nationality-verification processes are ongoing. Intervention by the military junta was unnecessary. The Labour Ministry might be far from perfect, but it has pre-existing instruments and mechanisms to handle the job.

Managing migrant workers is a complex task that must take into account both supply-and-demand economics and human rights. Thailand already suffers a poor reputation over its efforts to combat human trafficking. An immigration policy that places too much emphasis on security concerns creates more problems than solutions."

Absoulte rubbish!.. The different methods to handle it obviously DO NOT work, as over half of migrant workers are still illegally present, and unregulated. Registration is not ongoing, and the proof is in the pudding, in all the illegal workers running home. As for "pre-existing instruments and mechanisms to handle the job"... &lt;deleted&gt;...

Last sentence: "An immigration policy that places too much emphasis on security concerns creates more problems than solutions."

How to finish off a brash and far for truthful news reel in style, with more &lt;deleted&gt;. Emphasis on Security creates more problems than solutions? Really? Please tell me how, in the context of SLAVERY, dear author.

[Prbkk]

The honeymoon is over..

[gemini81]

i would have thought the junta would have more pressing tasks than "managing" an alien workforce thats here to do the jobs of the lazy locals,,, wake up, the thais need to be saved from themselves, not from the alien workforce

They have been managing LOADS of tasks. Tasks that haven't been dealt with due to the fact that politicians have done nothing other than to benefit themselves. You're missing the point that they're trying to bring about orderliness and try to put it in place before October rolls around-by showing that there are consequences to actions. Lots to be done!

Edited June 17, 2014 by gemini81

[gilliam]

Where does the "iron fist" from the title come from by the way?

From no where, much the same with the rest of this "editorial".

[gilliam]

The honeymoon is over..

Indeed, it does sound like the honeymoon of having hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens working in Thailand is over.

[Hawk]

Both sides will suffer, Thais will no longer have any cheap labour and the foreign workers will no longer have any Thai currency. Thais desperately need these workers as the Thais have grown lazy and greedy, uneducated Thai students demanding jobs in air con offices along with a fat salary otherwise they will simply stay home and sponge off the rest of the family forever.

[gilliam]

There's a bit of writing that is ["Meanwhile an ultra-conservative elite has paranoid visions that "alien" workers could eventually assimilate into Thai society and come to dominate. (This group prefers, conveniently, to forget its own multiracial ancestry.)]

I have a naughty grin on my face, they're not actually saying who this group is !!

It's writing about an imaginary "group", thus it's unidentified.

[Fat Haggis]

He's just a little pissed that his Cambodian maid, gardener, chauffeur has not turned up for work.

Same as my Norwegian buddy, he has 20 builders working on his new place.

Actually I have three Myanmar staff..... They are going nowhere..... They know this is just politically motivated BS.

Are they working in Thailand legally or illegally?

[larsjohnsson]

Jeez.... It's like 5% of the entire migrant workforce... That still leaves 95% of them here.

What is all the hoo haa about?

So now it is 5% more difficult to find a worker..... The sky is falling down.

5% left Thailand in one week. And every day more leave. The high rise condo building close to my apartment that they have been working on from 7 morning to midnight every day in the week. It has been empty and none have been working there in the last 9-10 days. All workers where from Cambodia.

[Fat Haggis]

Just like the face book outage last week was blamed on "technical" difficulties, when the Norwegian owner of DTAC contradicted what the Junta said and as in they were not behind it... yes they were, and they were behind this as well, and now are back peddling to save face.

This didn't just happen overnight, it's been happening since 9th June, it's only starting to make the news now due to the numbers, it's very simple, either the Junta said they were going to start looking at illegal immigrants or they didn't. ..

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-12/thai-junta-vows-to-arrest-migrant-workers/5517100

The above article is from the 12th, that's 5 days before all this blew up into epic proportions.

http://article.wn.com/view/2014/06/11/Thai_junta_vows_to_arrest_illegal_migrant_workers/

The above article is from the 11th almost a week ago.... so it's hadn't just suddenly happened overnight, it's been going on for over a week.

http://www.pattayamail.com/news/officials-crack-down-on-illegal-workers-in-chiang-mai-38532

The arrest in Chiang Mai of illegal workers last week was a JOINT police and ARMY Operation.

[Chupup]

EDITORIAL

Migrant workers hit by iron fist

The Nation

Reports of thousands fleeing for the safety of their homeland are a worrying sign for Thailand

BANGKOK: -- Seizing power was the easy part; the everyday task of running the country is proving far more difficult for the Thai military. Chief among those difficulties is management of the workforce, which the junta must now realise is not primarily a security issue.

Pictures emerging last week of Cambodian workers fleeing the Kingdom are a worrying development. Cambodians searching for work have of course flowed back and forth over the border for years, but the Thai junta's declaration that it would "manage" illegal migrant workers has prompted an unprecedented exodus.

Last Tuesday the junta announced its 59th order, setting up a committee chaired by General Tanasak Patimapragorn, chief of the Defence Forces and deputy leader of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), to oversee management of migrant workers.

The order sparked reports on the social media of a crackdown on foreign labourers in the Kingdom. The reports and pictures of fleeing migrants were branded "rumours" by the authorities, but they spread like wildfire through Thailand's migrant-worker community, causing fear and panic among both "legal" and "illegal" workers. Many rushed for the border and the safety of their homeland.

Thailand is a second home to more than two million migrant workers, most of them from neighbouring countries. The greatest number come from Myanmar, followed by Cambodia and Laos, according to the Labour Ministry. Thailand also sees a considerable number of illegal migrants from other Asian countries, such as Vietnam, but authorities tend to turn a blind eye to them.

The foreign workers are much in demand. They are crucial to business, forming a major segment of the workforce for industry, agriculture and trade and service sectors. Households want them for chores and taking care of children, while restaurateurs employ them for their fluent, if accented, Thai. They have been a familiar part of life in Thailand for decades, crucial to the smooth running of the economy. They represent a threat to neither security nor peace. Of course, a few commit crimes, but no more than our own citizens.

However, our security forces - notably the military - have always considered migrants to be potential troublemakers. Military leaders see them "stealing" jobs from Thais, even though most Thais spurn the menial jobs in question. Some generals even worry that some of the foreigners could be spying on Thailand for their countries. Meanwhile an ultra-conservative elite has paranoid visions that "alien" workers could eventually assimilate into Thai society and come to dominate. (This group prefers, conveniently, to forget its own multiracial ancestry.)

There is nothing wrong with deciding to regulate migrant workers, but formulating such a policy under military rule with an agency headed by the top brass sends the wrong signal.

The authorities have been dealing with this matter for decades and come up with many different methods to handle it. Thailand has a memorandum of understanding with Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to recruit and regulate these workers. Registration and nationality-verification processes are ongoing. Intervention by the military junta was unnecessary. The Labour Ministry might be far from perfect, but it has pre-existing instruments and mechanisms to handle the job.

Managing migrant workers is a complex task that must take into account both supply-and-demand economics and human rights. Thailand already suffers a poor reputation over its efforts to combat human trafficking. An immigration policy that places too much emphasis on security concerns creates more problems than solutions.

-- The Nation 2014-06-17

Sent from my Z130 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[gemini81]

The honeymoon is over..

yeah the honeymoon of graft and fiefdom and no consequences is over.

Good time to pack your bags and close your account.

[Maggusoil]

I don't see any thing wrong with it, for too long now all sorts of " cowboys" operators

had a free hand in bringing unchecked number of foreign workers in to the kingdom

with all the good and bad implications, it's about time some one will put the whole loose

business of migrant workers in to proper order....

Its just commerce. You got a job to do, someone wants to do it. You don't want to do it. Someone else will.

I ran a contract labouring outfit in my home country doing jobs, the labourers in big companies refused to do.

Hard and dirty work. We got lots of it and made good bucks.

That's all that's going on here. People who are worse off have to come across the border. Think about them.

They have every right to feel nervous, they don't get put in jail for working harder than the locals will.

[gilliam]

The high rise condo building close to my apartment that they have been working on from 7 morning to midnight every day in the week. It has been empty and none have been working there in the last 9-10 days.

"from 7 morning to midnight every day"

This must be a much-appreciated break from that by the surrounding residents.

[larsjohnsson]

The high rise condo building close to my apartment that they have been working on from 7 morning to midnight every day in the week. It has been empty and none have been working there in the last 9-10 days.

"from 7 morning to midnight every day"

This must be a much-appreciated break from that by the surrounding residents.

There wasn't much noise. The main contruction work was already done.

[Bakseeda]

At last the Nation is publishing some good stuff.

You got to be kidding me.... Go have a coffee, wake up and then come back on.

I think he was being Sarcastic.... seems you red shits don't have a sense of humour..! or a brain...