Law on migrant workers delayed

[rooster59]

Law on migrant workers delayed

By The Nation

 

 

Enforcement of fines for defaulting employers on hold for 120 days; private sector seeks say in hiring foreign labour

 

THE GOVERNMENT will delay enforcing stringent measures to penalise violators of the new foreign labour law by 120 days to minimise negative impacts on employers and migrant workers, according to deputy premier Wissanu Krea-ngam.

 

Wissanu said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will exercise his authority under Article 44 of the interim charter to suspend enforcement of sections 101, 102 and 122 of the new law during the 120-day period, starting June 23, so that all the parties have more time to comply with the new requirements.

 

The resolution came after a meeting of Wissanu and related agencies –the Labour Ministry, the Council of State, National Security Council, the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking at Government House.

 

The Board of Trade and Federation of Thai Industries earlier called on the government to ease the pressure on employers of migrant workers since, under the new law, they would be subject to a heavy fine of Bt400,000 to Bt800,000 per migrant worker if they are found to have hired workers who do not have proper documentation.

 

 

According to the new law, migrant workers also face a heavy fine of up to Bt100,000 per person and/or a jail term of up to five years, if they do not have valid work permits, while recruitment agencies can be fined up to Bt1 million per migrant worker if they violate the law.

 

The private sector also asked the government to open a new round of registration for migrant workers while its representatives should be involved in helping to draft regulations on employment of migrant workers. In addition, they asked the government to launch a major public relations campaign to boost awareness of stringent measures under the new law.

 

However, Wissanu said a new round of registration may not be possible at this stage since it runs counter to earlier agreements signed with Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia as well as the government’s efforts to eradicate illegal migrant workers in the fisheries industry.

 

He said the government is worried there would be a new influx of migrant workers if there is a new round of registration, while it is also committed to enforcing the law to tackle human trafficking issues.

 

During the 120-day period, authorities will not arrest illegal migrant workers and others concerned, except in cases of human trafficking. In addition, migrant workers from Myanmar and other countries may return to their home countries to get proper documents so they may re-enter Thailand legally.

 

Migrants who earlier entered Thailand legally but worked in provinces not designated in their permits, will be required to make a proper change in their permits.

 

The new foreign labour law is aimed at modernising the country’s legal framework to manage the millions of migrant workers now inside the country. 

 

According to Prayut, the new law is necessary because there are a huge number of illegal migrant workers in Thailand, especially those working in households, small and medium-sized enterprises and in retail and other sectors.

 

Prayut also said the Thai labour minister would go to Myanmar to negotiate with his counterpart on a proposal for Myanmar people who have valid passports to enter Thailand to work legally.

 

Adisorn Kerdmongkol, coordinator of a migrant population network, said the new law had prompted migrant workers to return to their home country with a daily outflow of about 2,000 Myanmar workers, while the number of Cambodian workers entering Thailand has sharply dropped.

 

The outflow will lead to a labour shortage in Thailand, especially for low-pay jobs, he said, adding: “People are worried about the heavy fines in the new law. In addition, there could be more illegal payments to officials to employ migrants.”

 

He said the government should listen to varying opinions before enforcing the law, while the labour ministry said it had already held four rounds of registration for migrant workers. 

 

To help both employers and migrant workers comply with the new law, the ministry urges illegal workers to return home to get proper documents. They are also encouraged to register their new employers in Thailand if they have changed their workplace.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30319593

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-07-01

[Samui Bodoh]

There isn't anything inherently wrong with having a law governing migrant workers. Most countries have one, and perhaps all should.

 

However, Thailand has a bad habit of writing laws that cause as many problems as they solve. When you introduce a punitive law, you invite corruption in dealing with that law when you create a situation whereby complying with the law is too onerous. And as corruption is quite prevalent here, I would expect trouble to come. A law that is more reasonable, coupled with a user-friendly migrant worker registration system, would allow for effective governance of the issue. 

 

There is another issue to this story. I suspect that this law would have been written better if it had followed 'normal process', but that process isn't really being followed in Thailand today. One of the reasons for that is section 44. Simply put, when you know that you have the power to change or amend a law very, very easily (too easily!), I think there is a tendency to not do the proper due diligence. Ending section 44 would help return the process of drafting laws to a more considered approach. .

 

Cheers

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

[quadperfect]

Oops. Maybe if we use article 44 everyone will forget we did a stupid again.120 days should be long enough .

[mikebell]

Does this mean Thai police will have to wait 120 days before they can continue milking poor migrant workers and rich Thai employers?

[rkidlad]

One of the first things I was told about when I moved to Thailand was 'face'. I was told it's very important for Thais to maintain face and not look stupid. 

 

There's no face. People in power do stupid things all the time. It's simply that you can't criticise people. Especially the ones in power with money. 

 

Think before you act. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The article makes it sound like a lot of the problem with "illegal" migrant workers is that they somehow don't possess their own personal documents that they need, and this could be solved just by them taking a trip back home somehow.

 

But I'd imagine, contrary to that, the bigger problem is that a lot of the low-life businesses employing these people simply don't want to be bothered with paying for and going thru the bureaucratic hassles of applying for work permits for them, even if they were eligible. Or perhaps they're working in jobs that the law says are reserved for Thais only, in which case, getting any paperwork isn't going to matter.

 

 

[madmitch]

29 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

The article makes it sound like a lot of the problem with "illegal" migrant workers is that they somehow don't possess their own personal documents that they need, and this could be solved just by them taking a trip back home somehow.

 

But I'd imagine, contrary to that, the bigger problem is that a lot of the low-life businesses employing these people simply don't want to be bothered with paying for and going thru the bureaucratic hassles of applying for work permits for them, even if they were eligible. Or perhaps they're working in jobs that the law says are reserved for Thais only, in which case, getting any paperwork isn't going to matter.

 

 

I think it's a mix of both these scenarios. We employ two Burmese girls, one has all her papers absolutely correct, the other has a work permit but for a different address. We have been waiting some time for the amended documentation to arrive but it still hasn't. Meantime, what was solved with a 500 baht note to the local BIB became a big problem. We sent her home. At least we can bring her back now but can you imagine the amount of paperwork the various Government departments are going to have to cope with over the next four months? 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 minutes ago, madmitch said:

 Meantime, what was solved with a 500 baht note to the local BIB became a big problem. We sent her home.

You mean paying off the police doesn't actually always solve the problems that are intended to be solved???

[madmitch]

Just now, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

You mean paying off the police doesn't actually always solve the problems that are intended to be solved???

According to the "collection man" there were bigger fish in town and suddenly his 500 baht was worthless! With the new punishments it'll cost a lot more than 500 baht in the future, though hopefully we'll be 100% legal soon!

[Happyman58]

So is it safe for farang to help their wives in resturants or not?

[ukrules]

Now we know why they introduced this 120 day delay, theres a mass exodus of foreign workers to nearby countries. I suspect they already have experience of being extorted by Thai officials and have had enough.

 

It's one thing to be shaken down every now and again but something very different to go to prison for your minor transgressions, so they're all leaving. I wonder how many large projects will suffer because of this short sightedness.

 

[Hi kwai fun]

 

    The 1st hurdle I see is the foreign workers getting documents . People from border states may not even have citizenship documents from their home country . The east of Myanmar  is not controlled by the central government .  Then translation problems . And the inevitable corruption . 

 

    This is a shot 1st ask questions later scenario . It will cause pain before its resolved . 

[greenchair]

With a wp in hand and perfectly legal status, why would they accept the cheap pay when they can now demand equal pay, healthcare, and other benefits. 

Now having to pay all sorts of paper work costs for wp and higher pay and healthcare and so on. 

It will be less expensive and less hassle to hire a Thai. 

There aren't enough thai for the jobs ????

[madhav]

We we have a few employed at our business, we pay them the same as the Thai’s and I can tell you from our experience over the years they work harder, are more honest and definitely more reliable. However many times they just show up with no paperwork at all (not even a passport).

 

I think many people don’t understand how difficult and time consuming the process can be to register the Burmese workers as legal migrant workers. 

 

The process to make them ‘legal’ can take from start to finish anywhere from 30-45 days, cost over 30,000 baht per person (more of you use an agent) and is ridiculously and painfully bureaucratic. They have to be sent home almost the whole time also. 

 

If you own own a small business it almost feels like the system is designed against you and they couldn’t make it more difficult if they tried. Nobody seems clear on the rules as they are constantly changing and different districts within Thailand contradict each other and many fees are not standard and consistent.

 

Overall is not very motivating to have to spend so much time and pay so much and then have no guarantee that after it all they will even come back!

 

[metisdead]

A troll post and a reply has been removed. 

[ChrisY1]

On 7/1/2017 at 6:54 AM, Samui Bodoh said:

There isn't anything inherently wrong with having a law governing migrant workers. Most countries have one, and perhaps all should.

 

However, Thailand has a bad habit of writing laws that cause as many problems as they solve. When you introduce a punitive law, you invite corruption in dealing with that law when you create a situation whereby complying with the law is too onerous. And as corruption is quite prevalent here, I would expect trouble to come. A law that is more reasonable, coupled with a user-friendly migrant worker registration system, would allow for effective governance of the issue. 

 

There is another issue to this story. I suspect that this law would have been written better if it had followed 'normal process', but that process isn't really being followed in Thailand today. One of the reasons for that is section 44. Simply put, when you know that you have the power to change or amend a law very, very easily (too easily!), I think there is a tendency to not do the proper due diligence. Ending section 44 would help return the process of drafting laws to a more considered approach. .

 

Cheers

Quite right...noting that ending S.44 was meant to have happened after the constitution was approved...but of course, is a nice tool for the army.