[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

Exploitation of Burmese Migrant Wor



EXPLOITATION OF BURMESE MIGRANT WORKERS BY THEIR BROKERS AND AGENTS IN MAHAHCHAI

Situation Report (ref: BU.MAH.0002 25/5/97)

Introduction
A seafood manufacturing factory in Mahachai, Samutsakhon Province, Thailand,
at which hundreds of Burmese nationals are currently employed, recruits
workers by 'word of mouth' amongst the Burmese migrant community there as
well as requesting workers be directly procured from inside Burma. The
management has in the past provided security and protection measures for
Burmese migrant employees. Some workers interviewed by the author of this
situation report have related that the  company does not have any financial
or other relationship with brokers who traffick Burmese nationals illegally
across the Thai-Burma border. This however is not the case for the majority
of companies and businesses employing larger numbers of Burmese workers in
the area, who often pay 'brokers' or 'agents' to fill orders for workers
during peak manufacturing times. 

For the purposes of this short report, a broker or agent is someone who
operates a profitable (and highly illegal) business by procuring and
recruiting women and men inside Burma, illegally transporting them over the
Thai-Burma border, to place them in pre-arranged employment, or to deliver
them to a pre-arranged destination where it is easy for Burmese nationals to
obtain employment. Burmese nationals using brokers to arrive to Thailand
often do not know where they will be working in exact detail and often have
no form of contract or aggreement with the broker. A broker operating in the
Mahachai area will be either Thai, Burman or Mon (ethnic Burmese) in origin
and sometimes will aslo have some sort of financial relationship with ferry
owners who operate businesses out of Mahachai port.

Many Burmese nationals seeking employment opportunites in Thailand do not
have the money to pay their transportation and illegal border crossing fees
up front. They will often make a verbal aggreement, or in some cases, sign a
document resembling a vague contract, that leaves them in a position of debt
bondage to that broker or agent. In most cases, the debt is for amounts of
money that take a long time for poorer, rural Burmese nationals to pay back,
especially as the reason why they have come to Thailand is to save money for
their families in Burma. It is very difficult, for example, for a 13 year
old, non-Burmese speaking, Mon girl, who is attempting to supplement the
small income of her family of seven in Burma, to repay a debt of 8,000 Baht
while she earns a daily wage of 145 Baht. 

In most cases the debt increases along the journey from their village to
their place of employment. Sometimes debts are increased after they have
arrived. Some brokers maintain direct contact with Burmese migrant
employees, although they have no arrangement or agreement with the employers
or their representatives. Brokers who have transported illegal Burmese to
Thailand will frequent workers dormitories to harrass, threaten and in some
cases beating them, for not making the required payments, although repayment
details have never been specifically agreed upon. Some brokers have been
known to procure young Burmese girls for work in the sex industry by
offering them more money and greater freedoms that they don't actually end
up enjoying. Some brokers have opened their own dormitories in the Mahahchai
region wher they house migrant workers from Burma. It is much easier for the
brokers to maintain control over the workers, both finacially and
individually in such cirmumstances, and to arrange for their sale to the
shipping and sex industries if they cannot honour their debts.

This short  report outlines some of the exploitations Burmese migrant
workers are facing in the Mahachai area of Thailand. For obvious reasons,
real names and exact locations cannot be used and circumtstances must be
referred to in broad terms. 

Situation 1.
An Arakanese man named "Myo Khaing", who is married to a Thai national, owns
and operates a food shop and a women's dormitory for Burmese migrant workers
in Mahachai. Most of the women staying here are Mon and are employed at the
many factories in the surrounding areas. "Myo Khaing" pressures the young
women living under his roof to remain in the dormitory when they are not
working as risk of arrest is high, even though many workers are registered
and need not fear arrest from Thai police. He also keeps the workers savings
for safe keeping. The level of control that this agent has over workers is
worrying. He is controlling the type of information the women are recieiving
about what their rights are as either illegal or registered migrant workers
in Thailand most of which is incorrect and only serves to keep the workers
tied to the broker. It is, unfortunately, a common situation for Burmese
migrant workers to find themselves in, especially in Mahachai. 

"Myo Khaing" is becoming renowned in the area for procuring workers for
local brothels, not just from his own dorimitory. Many Burmese migrant
worker men frequent brothels in the area, so owners have been keen to
recruit younger Burmese women to service this client base. One young Burmese
woman who had been employed by Thai Union P.C. Ltd. was persuaded to leave
her job and work in the local sex industry after being told that she could
earn more money. The first time she enaged in sex work she earnt 1,500 Baht
in one evening.  She has not earnt the same money since. Other women who
share her dormitory are very concerned about the presence of agents on the
site, especially considering there are quite a few young Burmese girls
living there, who are  being harrassed by the brokers who brought them to
Thailand to pay off their transportation debts. These debts are for most
Burmese, very large amounts of money. One 13 year old girl, "Ma Soe", is
currently in debt to her broker for over 8,000 Baht (around 50,000 Burmese
Kyat) and was earning only 145 Baht per day. Such young women are highly
vulnerable to the promises off greater wages given by brokers like "Myo Khaing".

Situation 2
A group of eight Burmese nationals from a small village very close to
Moulemein in Burma arrived in Thailand via a broker or agent over one month
ago. The group, comprised of seven young women and one young man, were
familair with each other in there home village. An agent, called "Banyar"
came to their village to procure workers. A concerned older friend called
"Daw Pan Sein" and the village headman became concerned about this group and
ended up negotiating a contract between them and "Banyar". The contract
detailed that each person incurred a debt of 12,000 Baht to this broker
payable within one year upon their arrival in Mahachai. "Daw Pan Sein"
remained very worried about the group and decided to send her daugther to
Thailand to look for them. Her daugther, "Ma Mee Nge", has made the journey
between Burma and Thailand upon many occassions and was given enough gold to
cover the debts of the group. 

The group, including "Ma Mee Nge",  made the journey to Thailand via Three
Pagodas Pass where a pick-up truck met them and delivered them to a temple
in the Mahachai. They did not know where they were and at no stage were
informed of what was going to hapen to them. A monk told "Ma Mee Nge" that
she had to leave the group to change the gold she had brought into Thai
Baht. She left and didn't return, at which time the group started to worry
about her. They were moved to another 'safe place' where they were
introduced to another Mon man called "Chin". The group overheard the monk
trying to sell the group to this man, but didn't see him give any money to
the monk. The group stayed with "Chin" for a while and obtained employment
at the Thai Union P.C. Ltd two weeks later. "Chin" told the group that "Ma
Mee Nge" had fled the area with the money and her Thai lover and they now
had to pay money to him. They were unclear as to why they should pay this
man in particular, when "Ma Mee Nge" had already gone to change enough gold
to pay the agents fees for their transportation.  Around the same time the
young man from the group was given a job working on the ships at Mahahchai
port and was forced to stay away from the women. Unfortunatley, the young
man was the one who had been charged with keeping the contract that they had
signed in their home village. "Chin" told the women that he had already paid
45,000 Baht to the monk who had brought them to him and theat they must
repay this debt to him. "Chin" threatened the group, saying that if they
didn't sign a new contract with him that they would not be able to see their
friend working on the ships, again. 

After a further two weeks "Chin" again approached the women about the matter
of their so-called 'debt' and they were brought to meet with him and "Ma Mee
Nge" to make a new contract. "Ma Mee Nge" was very distraught during this
meeting and told the women in Mon, that if they didn't sign the new
contract, that they would be in danger. "Chin" forced "Ma Mee Nge" to sign,
at which time they too had to sign. The women are still working at the Thai
Union factories and "Chin" comes regularly to threaten them. A Burmese man
who has been acting as a translator between Thai managment and Burmese
workers at this factory has become involved in their situation by taking
their safety concerns to the mangers. It remains to be seen whether the
factory owner will be able to settle the situaiton thus ensuring the safety
of the group.


CONTACT DETAILS
TACDB is a Thai-based non-government organisation that works to increase the
Thai population's understanding of real situation inside Burma and the
situation for Burmese people in Thailand. Additionally, TACDB is concerned
with highlighting the obstacles faced by Burmese peoples in their struggle
for the realization of peace, democracy and human rights in their country.
These obstacles are the reason that so many Burmese nationals are fleeing to
Thailand as refugees or migrant workers. 

TACDB actively supports and encourages the efforts of Burmese oppostion
groups based in Thailand whose aim is to bring about a peaceful political
solution to the problems facing the Burmese people.





***************************************************
Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma (TACDB)
328 Phayathai Road
Rajthevee
Bangkok 10400
THAILAND
tel/fax: (+662) 216 4463
email: tacdb@xxxxxxxxxx
***************************************************