Thailand, the plight of Burmese migrant workers

The paper examines key issues and problems faced by Burmese migrant workers and their families, the Royal Thai Government and the employers. Hundreds of thousands of Burmese migrants are employed in Thai industries, including "dirty, dangerous, and demeaning" jobs as fewer Thais are willing to take these positions and Burmese nationals have arrived to fill the labour shortage. The Royal Thai Government has established a series of registration processes which, although flawed from both the policy and implementation point of view, have been a good faith attempt to establish a legal framework and regularize the flow of migrants across porous borders with Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia.