Suchergebnisse

The study on "Managing International Labor Migration in ASEAN: Thailand" aimed to study policies and institution arrangement for managing international migration as part of regional cooperation initiatives and bilateral agreements. The study emphasized on finding out why the current management of sending workers and protecting workers has not been effective. The data used for the analysis came from two main majority sources; 1) the quantitative data, including primary data on possible solutions, strategies, the secondary sources from Socio-Economic Survey (SES) and information where necessary to explain the socioeconomic impact of migrant worker families; and 2) the qualitative study collected from interview of key informants, focus group discussion with families of migrant workers, governments, brokers, and etc. As data allow, cost benefit analysis for out-migration as well as in-migration from government intervention programs was applied.The theory of push and pull factors were used for describing reasons that forced migrant workers to work overseas. As of the study, there was the evidence that pointed out that poverty and indebtedness were push factor for both emigration and immigration while higher income in the destination countries was the pull factor. The study further found that both of emigration and immigration were beneficial in various aspects including increase in the gross domestic product (GDP) in both country of origin and the destination country. Remittance was an important source of the country development budget, increase in the level of national saving, and improve income distribution.However, it was due to the fact that most migrant workers were from low educational background, thus most of them become victims of exploitation and human trafficking from the agencies and employers in particular undocumented workers. Even though, Thai government has many laws and regulations regarding prevention and protection of migrant workers such as Labour Law and Labour Protection Act; and the Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) in regional and bilateral level, these have not been effective due to the weakness in law enforcement of the authorities.

Thailand's current economic crisis resulted from the bursting of the bubble economy that developed from a combination of excessive speculation and liberalization of the finance system. Not only is Thailand expected to post a negative 5.5 percent economic growth and 9.4 percent inflation by the end of 1998, but it will also experience a reversal of rural-urban migration trends. The Thai government is stepping up enforcement against illegal foreign workers and is seeking help from neighboring states in facilitating the reintegration of their workers. At the same time the government targets to send at least 215,000 Thai workers to other countries.

This book is one of four volumes on a major empirical migration study by leading Thai migration specialists from Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok) for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).This volume reviews the livelihood opportunities for displaced persons in temporary shelters and in the surrounding communities. It explores labor-market conditions and provides recommendations for improving opportunities. The editors discuss the current policies of the Royal Thai Government towards displaced persons on restrictions for settlement that impede access to welfare, justice, education and health care. Service provision for displaced persons are identified here, as well as access to justice and other key services, including Thai services outside the settlements, and the potential for conflict with the local Thai population over resource allocation. Summarizing the results of a highly important research project this volume provides realistic policy recommendations for a durable solution for refugees at the borders. Policymakers from governments, international organizations and NGOs will benefit from its findings and conclusions

Abstract
The increase of migrant workers into the Kingdom of Thailand began in the mid-1980s and early 1990s when Thailand was in transition from a low-end labour-intensive economy, to a capital-intensive one. The role of migrant workers became even more evident when Thailand encountered the economic crisis of the mid-1990s. Current statistics indicate that Thailand receives more than a million migrant workers from neighbouring countries, including Myanmar, Lao PDR and Cambodia. This paper traces the five stages of the Royal Thai Government's (RTG) policies to managing cross-border migration and migrant worker issues in Thailand. It argues that despite the introduction of policies of management of the issue, migrant workers are vulnerable to human trafficking. Furthermore, as more often than not migrant workers are irregular migrants, they are treated as a risk to national security. As such they are vulnerable to labour exploitation. This paper analyses the problems in policy and legal enforcement between countries of origin and the RTG, suggesting ways in which these problems can be overcome to ensure compliance with international norms, and thus the responsibility of the RTG to its 'foreign workers'.