CNI News
11 August 2022
Illegal Myanmar workers in Thailand have been subject to exorbitant fees as much as more than Baht 10,000 per head to apply for Baht pink cards, which allow them to stay and work in the kingdom temporarily.
However, illegal workers from other countries like Laos and Cambodia were not forced to pay such exorbitant fees, Ko Thar Gyi, a labour activist for Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand, told the CNI.
Ko Thar Gyi said, “The Thai government has announced that migrant workers can apply for Baht pink cards online between 1st to 15th August. So, people who were close to the Thai labour ministry compiled the lists of Myanmar workers to apply for the pink cards and worked as brokers. Some illegal workers had to pay them from Baht 12,000 to 15,000 depending on the areas they were staying but no one was sure whether authorities would issue the pink cards to them. When illegal workers apply for the pink cards online, the Labour Ministry will process their applications by allocating them to each employer and will issue the pink cards to them if the employer agrees to give jobs to them. Now, brokers from Myanmar and Thailand forced illegal workers to pay excessive fees to register them with companies close to them.”
Officially, each illegal worker is required to pay Baht 4,000 for work permit and health insurance. Some official labour agencies offered the application services at Baht 5,000 to 6,000 per head including their agent fees.
A seafood processing site in Thailand.
As the number of illegal workers from Cambodia and Laos is relatively small, their employers took the responsibilities for their pink cards. No one of them had to pay more than Baht 8,000.
Myanmar workers are being exploited in other countries because the country is poor and underdeveloped, a Myanmar worker in Thailand told the CNI.
“Our country is poor and underdeveloped. So, we cannot make any demands or complaints. Those who worked here illegally had to face oppression. The labour attaché has neglected us and his staff are working as brokers. And other brokers are lackeys of Thai authorities. They themselves oppress us. Most brokers are people who have access to the Thai and Myanmar embassies.
As they can continue to work after they have received the pink cards, Myanmar illegal workers were forced to pay exorbitant fees.
Labour activists in Thailand said that the Ministry of Labour and the National Unity Government should offer effective assistance to Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand.
The Thai government hardly issues pink cards, which enable holders to enjoy labour rights enacted by Thailand, to illegal workers.
The Migrant Workers Rights Network, in cooperation with Thai labour unions, called for authorities to increase the basic salary of migrant workers in Thailand including Myanmar nationals from Baht 320 to Baht 492.
