BURMESE TRAFFICKING CASE PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON MIGRANT LABOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 007499

SIPDIS

STATE FOR G/TIP, DRL/IL, EAP/MLS
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ETRD KCRM KWMN SMIG PHUM TH
SUBJECT: BURMESE TRAFFICKING CASE PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON MIGRANT LABOR
PRACTICES

REF: BANGKOK 6420


1. (U) Summary: RTG officials are dealing with the aftermath of a
labor trafficking raid that has raised questions about the RTG's
capacity to effectively monitor labor conditions among Burmese
migrant workers, especially in the seafood processing industry in
Samut Sakhon. Poverty in Burma and a time-limited migrant
registration program in Thailand have combined with the poor
inspection capacity of the Ministry of Labor to exacerbate the
market for illegal Burmese labor - a market which leaves laborers
vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking. The Thai police and its
new anti-trafficking chief have responded quickly, rounding up at
least one suspect in the case who may have killed a police
investigator earlier this month. But Ministry of Labor officials
need to improve coordination with NGOs, the police, and other
ministries to provide options to Burmese migrant workers - options
that go beyond the usual choices of remaining with abusive employers
or being deported. End Summary.

Samut Sakhon Background
--------------


2. (U) In the aftermath of the September 14 police raid (reftel) on
a seafood processing factory in Samut Sakhon using underpaid and
abused migrant laborers, Thai police and ministry officials are
still divided over how to treat labor trafficking victims and
protect them from future mistreatment. The 66 workers classified by
the RTG as TIP victims remain housed at two government shelters
while investigations continue, over three months after the raid, and
the factory itself continues to operate with the owners free on
bail.


3. (U) Of the almost 800 Burmese migrant workers found at the
factory, 70 were voluntarily deported within days as illegal,
unregistered migrants, and with another 66 sent to the Bangkok
shelters after being classified as TIP victims. Police have
revealed that, contrary to our earlier understanding, the owners of
the Ranya Paew factory in Samut Sakhon were indeed tipped off (by
unknown sources) about the raid two hours before it occurred, and
may have had the opportunity to ship additional workers off the
premises to other locations.


4. (U) Many of the workers continuing to work at the factory, who
chose not to be repatriated to Burma, would have preferred to
continue work in Thailand with another employer. However, Ministry
of Labor officials prevented them from being removed by police and
changing employers without going through a formal complaint
procedure and employment application process. It is unclear how
these workers can apply to seek new employers, given their virtual
isolation on the walled factory compound and lack of communication
with labor officials, none of whom were able to speak Burmese during
the September 14 raid. Ministry officials say they have sought to
educate the police and NGOs on the need to abide by migrant labor
law, which prohibits workers from switching between employers
without the consent of the Ministry. There is no evidence, however,
that Ministry officials have sought to follow up with workers
remaining at the factory to determine their preference.


5. (U) Officers in Crime Suppression Division 4 (CSD 4),the police
unit charged with handling TIP issues, have been interviewing the 66
classified TIP victims for potential criminal prosecution against
the Ranya Paew owners. Interviews with those workers - all women -
by NGOs and police investigators has revealed a systematic pattern
of physical abuse by the owners, who kept the workers locked into
the factory compound for up to several years at a time, paying an
average of 1 USD per day's work (compared to the legal minimum wage
of nearly 6 USD) for periods that often exceeded 10 hours a day.


6. (U) Besides the pending criminal charges, the Thai Labor Ministry
has brought forth a number of labor law violations, which were
announced in Thailand's Labor Court on December 14 with proceedings
to continue on December 25. A member of Thailand's Human Rights
Commission, who is also a lawyer with the Law Society of Thailand,
has also filed a 70 million baht civil suit against the factory
owners on behalf of the 66 workers.


7. (U) NGOs, U.N. anti-trafficking experts and the Embassy have
urged the Thai government to proceed with the criminal and civil
cases expeditiously and avoid prolonging the detention of the 66 TIP
victims in the Bangkok shelters. The victims, who have all
expressed a desire to return to Burma to support their families,
face the prospect of remaining detained until the court cases are
completed, a process that could take many months. Several have
complained to NGOs and U.N. officials about the repetitive
interviews they have given to various investigators, and the lack of

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a timeline for possible repatriation. Most have no desire to
continue their cooperation in the case, and have voiced regrets
about agreeing to be sheltered rather than being immediately
deported.

Trafficking Suspect Arrested
--------------


8. (U) Separately, Thai police this month have been investigating a
likely trafficking operation to Samut Sakhon that came to light
following the murder of a policeman 250 miles away in Mae Sot
district along the Burmese border. A 49-year old Thai naval
officer, Capt. Tewarat Mangkon, has been accused of murdering a
policeman who disappeared on December 2 after visiting the suspect's
home. Police investigators on December 8 discovered the policeman's
body, and his motorcycle, buried on the suspect's premises, which
included a large warehouse occupied by Burmese workers.
Interrogation of the suspect's relatives indicated that he was
operating a labor supply business and used the warehouse as a
transit point for illegal Burmese workers headed for Samut Sakhon.



9. (U) Police Gen. Wongkot Maneerin, recently appointed to head the
Thai police's anti-trafficking division, told Embassy officers on
December 12 that police subsequently raided a home in Samut Sakhon
owned by the suspect's wife, and found two refrigerated seafood
trucks that had been converted to transport 20-25 people at a time.
The police also found an additional storage facility, surrounded by
barbed wire and guard dogs, which was being used to temporarily
house workers destined for factories in the region. An illegal
female Burmese worker was on the premises at the time, and police
removed her to a government shelter. Wongkot said that the findings
pointed to a well-organized trafficking route bringing illegal
workers from the Mae Sot area, bordering Burma, to work in shrimp
and fish processing plants in Samut Sakhon on the southern Gulf of
Thailand.


10. (U) Wongkot said that although police had not yet determined
whether this particular labor network supplied the Ranya Paew
factory, evidence was clear that factories in the region were
obtaining workers from a number of different labor agents. Wongkot
said police had yet to determine the motive for the December 2
killing of the policeman, saying that the policeman had gone to the
suspect's home on his own initiative and had not informed colleagues
of his activities. Wongkot speculated that the policeman was either
following up a trafficking lead on his own (related to either drugs
or labor),or possibly was involved in the ring himself and had been
in a dispute with the principal suspect.


11. (U) Wongkot said that the trafficking operations uncovered in
Samut Sakhon demonstrated the weaknesses of Thailand's current
migrant labor law, which only registered migrant workers during a
specific time period each year and did not account for seasonal
business fluctuations. The agricultural, fishing and textile
industries, he said, need to lay off and re-hire workers several
times a year, and the registration system did not have the
flexibility to provide workers when needed. Hence, factory and farm
owners turned to illegal labor, while informal labor brokers
profited from the labor trade by transporting workers from Burma.
Wongkot said that he had scheduled talks with the Minister of Labor
in late December to discuss the law, and planned further
consultations with the Governor of Samut Sakhon to improve labor law
enforcement in the region.

Scrutiny on Migrant Labor Program
--------------


12. (U) This case has occurred amid increasing scrutiny of
Thailand's treatment of migrant laborers, highlighted in an
International Labor Organization (ILO) report issued on December 13,
which documents widespread abuse and underpayment of the nearly
400,000 legally registered migrant workers in Thailand. The report
estimates that more than 800,000 migrant workers are in Thailand
illegally. Ministry of Labor officials claim that abusive
conditions for migrant workers exist throughout the world, and that
Thailand cannot afford to open its migrant registration program
throughout the year for fear of attracting an incontrollable wave of
immigration. An ILO child labor expert told Laboff on December 12
that employers in the Samut Sakhon area appear to have banded
together to share the cheap illegal labor pool, and have used
intimidation tactics against provincial labor inspectors to prevent
rigorous inspection of labor conditions. (Note: evidence found
during the September 14 raid turned up a substantial cache of
firearms in the possession of the factory owners.)


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13. (U) Labor experts agree that Ministry of Labor officials must
reduce the vulnerability of migrant workers by first improving
communication between its inspectors and laborers to determine true
conditions in the workplace. The Ministry should provide an avenue
for workers to quickly change employers without fear of retaliation.
By most accounts, labor inspections - which themselves are few and
far between - are limited to simple checklist interviews with
employers and little contact with workers on the premises. Ministry
officials need to hire Burmese speakers, or enlist Burmese worker
NGOs, to provide translation during their visits. They also must
prohibit employers from seizing worker IDs, a common practice which
effectively prevents workers from leaving the workplace or accessing
health services.


14. (U) Comment: The Embassy has advised both the Ministry of Labor
and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that progress on these and other
labor issues will be factored into our annual assessment of
anti-trafficking efforts in Thailand. We are impressed by the early
efforts of Gen. Wongkot, a police cadet classmate and long-time
friend of former Prime Minister Thaksin, who was considered a
serious candidate for national chief of police prior to the
September 19 coup. He has taken initial steps to establish TIP
protection centers in all bureaus and provincial offices of the
Royal Thai Police force. Wongkot's wife was a founder and treasurer
of Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party and a former deputy minister
in Thaksin's education and public health ministries. She has since
publicly tried to distance herself from the Thaksin government and
TRT.

Arvizu