Thailand’s devastating floods have forced nearly 100,000 Burmese migrant workers to return home, putting their livelihoods at risk. Floods have swamped Thailand’s central plains and parts of Bangkok since last month, affecting millions of people. The disaster had an immediate impact on the migrant labour force, which numbers about 2 million registered workers from Burma, Laos and Cambodia. There are also an estimated 1 million unregistered migrant workers who have neither passports or work permits. The Thai migrant worker registration system leaves workers prone to exploitation by border officials and job recruiters. In order to move across the borders migrant workers have to pay "fees" that can be as high as US$500. More info here.
Thailand’s devastating floods have forced nearly 100,000 Burmese migrant workers to return home, putting their livelihoods at risk. Floods have swamped Thailand’s central plains and parts of Bangkok since last month, affecting millions of people. The disaster had an immediate impact on the migrant labour force, which numbers about 2 million registered workers from Burma, Laos and Cambodia. There are also an estimated 1 million unregistered migrant workers who have neither passports or work permits. The Thai migrant worker registration system leaves workers prone to exploitation by border officials and job recruiters. In order to move across the borders migrant workers have to pay "fees" that can be as high as US$500. More info here.
