The National League for Democracy promised change and now overseas workers are eagerly awaiting an ensuing tide of reforms.
While the party has yet to issue much, if any, of a policy agenda – including about migrant workers – that hasn’t stopped some rights activists and overseas labourers from pinning their hopes on the fighting peacocks to overhaul the abuse and trafficking-riddled system.
“We expect that the new democratic government will be more proactive about tackling migrant workers’ problems because the party leader is always talking about better enforcement of the rule of law and protection of human rights,” said U Htoo Chit, director of the Thailand-based Foundation for Education and Development.
Migrant workers make up a sizeable chunk of the country’s labour force with many families heavily dependent on informal remittances that have been estimated as five times higher than the total foreign direct investment. While according to the 2014 census, about 4 percent – 2.2 million – of Myanmar’s population works abroad, the Ministry of Labour expects the true figure lies closer to 10pc of the population, with 3 million Myanmar migrants in Thailand alone, and about 1 million in Malaysia.
Most work without protections or official documents such as contracts and passports, and find employment though informal channels that leave them vulnerable to trafficking, debt bondage and forced labour. Even the government-approved and licensed routes abroad have often proven exploitative. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
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