Migrant workers are trying to come back, but official doors remain narrow
Before the pandemic, Thailand was home to millions of foreign migrants who played a crucial role in the local labour market. Today workers from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos are trying to return, but Thai authorities fear they could cause the number of infections to rise again.
Bangkok (AsiaNews) – Over the past weekend, Thailand’s border police arrested 120 Myanmar nationals trying to enter Thailand. In search of jobs, thousands more are trying to do the same, and return to the Southeast Asian country.
In fact, they are just the tip of the iceberg of an army of hundreds of thousands of people forced to go home when the COVID-19 emergency broke out, held back for months by health measures imposed by Thai authorities to stem the spread of the pandemic.
The latter are facing a difficult choice between halting irregular immigration seen as one of the main virus spreaders, or allowing legal migration, conscious that red tape and costs are causing delays and creating shortages in the local labour market.
A year ago, Thailand had 2.32 million regular immigrants; but reliable sources estimated that the country had as many if not more irregular migrants living and working in the country.
The largest number came from Myanmar, but many hailed from Cambodia and Laos, harder to tally, not only because of their precarious conditions but also because of corruption and poor enforcement of labour laws; indeed, few if any employers are sanctioned for employing undocumented migrant workers.
In a country that is trying to get back on its feet after a crisis of exceptional magnitude and to re-establish itself as a central player the region in terms of production, exports and the ability to attract investments, foreign workers – who are gradually replacing locals in construction, fishing and plantations – remain indispensable.
To this end, Thailand’s Labour Ministry has launched a campaign to encourage undocumented immigrants to regularise their status by the end of November, while at the same time, pursuing an active policy in neighbouring countries to recruit more legal immigrants.
It is unlikely that this will lead to the arrival of 600,000 new workers over a year as envisaged by the Labour Ministry. In any case, the evolution of the pandemic will play a major role in shaping the Ministry’s immigration plan.
At the same time, Thailand has been urged for some time to resolve the contradictions of its immigration policy so as to protect the fundamental rights of workers, including immigrants.
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