THAI GOVERNMENT EXTENDS MIGRANT WORKER NATIONALITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 000176 Department for EAP/MLS DSmith, DRL/IL MJunk, GTIP CChan-Downer, and DOL/ILAB for Brandie Sasser SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB PHUM BM TH SUBJECT: THAI GOVERNMENT EXTENDS MIGRANT WORKER NATIONALITY VERIFICATION DEADLINE BANGKOK 00000176 001.2 OF 002 Sensitive But Unclassified. For Official Use Only. Refs: a) 09 Bangkok 2821 (Government Responds to Criticisms) b) 09 Bangkok 1376 (Thai Government Plans Migrant Amnesty) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On January 19, the Thai government extended for two-years to February 28, 2012, the deadline for migrant workers from Burma, Laos, and Cambodia to complete the nationality verification (NV) process associated with Thailand's illegal migrant worker amnesty program. The decision effectively extends the work permits of all migrant workers in Thailand, making it clear that migrants who participate in the NV process will not be subject to deportation next month, and allowing them to potentially remain in country for up to six years. Migrants who do not submit an application to begin the NV process by February 28, 2010, will be subject to immediate deportation. Observers widely anticipated (and hoped for) the extension since only approximately 10,000 of the over one million registered Burmese migrant workers in Thailand have completed the NV process. Labor activists welcomed the Thai government's flexibility in extending the NV deadline and continue to blame the Burmese government for the underlying flaws in the process. They also plan to keep pressing Thai authorities for improvements to public education of migrants on the process and in the regulation of brokers and their fees. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Comment: The comprehensive nature of the Thai government's January 19 decision, touching on many areas of concern brought to its attention by interested outside parties, illustrates an increasingly inclusive, albeit sometimes contentious, policy-making process on the migrant worker issue. It is unclear whether the cabinet's decision to reengage the Burmese government on the nationality verification process will amount to much real activity in this area. No one with whom we have spoken since the amnesty was first announced in early 2009 believes the Burmese government will agree to change the process. More likely, the tasking to the Foreign Ministry is aimed to flag for critics Burmese responsibility for the flawed NV process, which forces Thailand to feel the heat and make adjustments. End Comment. ¶3. (SBU) In a January 19 decision welcomed by observers, the Royal Thai Government (RTG) cabinet approved a two-year extension of the deadline by which migrant workers from Burma (as well as Laos and Cambodia) must complete their nationality verification (NV),as required under Thailand's illegal migrant worker amnesty program (see ref a for details on the amnesty program). Migrants now have until February 28, 2012, to complete the nationality verification process. They will not face deportation if they submit an NV application to the Thai Ministry of Labor by the original deadline of February 28, 2010. Workers who do not submit an application for nationality verification by February 28, 2010, will be subject to immediate deportation. ¶4. (U) Work permits for all migrants who enter the nationality verification program (regardless of when they were obtained) will be extended on a year by year basis, until the workers' nationality verification is complete (but not beyond February 28, 2012). Once completed, migrant workers can apply for another work permit (of up to two years in validity) that can be extended for an additional two years (Note: In theory, should a migrant finish the NV process in January 2012, he/she could remain legally in Thailand for a total of approximately six years from this month). ¶5. (SBU) Through its January 19 decision, the RTG cabinet tasked individual ministries with actions that are required to make the decision operational. Some actions, like the issuance of relevant regulations by the Ministry of Interior, are expected within days. Others will take longer: the cabinet determined that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should engage with Burmese Government (GOB) authorities to press the GOB to move faster on its decisions regarding individuals claiming Burmese nationality and to convince the GOB to allow for the processing of claims to Burmese citizenship within Thailand, such as is done with Laos and Cambodia (refs a and b). ¶6. (SBU) Additional aspects of the Thai government's January 19 decision aim to improve the administration of the amnesty program (and NV process) in line with the recommendations of civil society critics. The Ministry of Labor was tasked to conduct awareness raising efforts on the nationality verification process, both for migrant workers and employers. To control the cost of participating in the NV process, migrants are exempted from paying fees for services provided by the Ministries of Labor and Public Health for an overlapping time period (e.g., if a migrant renews a work permit prior to its expiration date, the fee covering the overlapping period is waved. The same is true with regard to required annual health checks and health insurance). In an update to wording from a BANGKOK 00000176 002.2 OF 002 May 2009 cabinet resolution regarding the limitations on migrant workers' ability to change employers, the January 19 decision states that migrants may do so if the employer breaches the rights of the worker or does not act in accordance with labor protection laws. ¶7. (SBU) Additionally, the cabinet called on the National Security Council to develop a plan to handle the cases of those migrant workers whose nationality is not successfully verified by the government whose citizenship they claim (Note: this likely is meant for the cases of workers from certain ethnic minorities within Burma, such as Karen and Karenni. Should the GOB not verify their nationality, the RTG would need to determine how to handle their cases. End Note.). Why the Extension? -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The Thai government's pragmatic decision to extend the NV process deadline was made out of necessity. According to data compiled by the International Organization for Migration (IOM),the RTG issued or extended 1,325,057 work permits for migrant workers between January and November 2009, 1,077,981 of which were for persons from Burma. At the same time, fewer than 10,000 Burmese migrant workers have successfully completed the nationality verification process. While the Thai government has not released the number of Burmese migrants who have begun -- but not yet completed -- the NV process, it determined that more time was needed for them to do so. Recognizing this fact, the Ministry of Labor-led Illegal Migrant Administration Committee recommended in December 2009 that the NV process deadline be extended. Labor Minister Paitoon Kaewthong brought this recommendation to the Thai cabinet, which concurred. Welcome News, But System Still Flawed -------------- ¶9. (SBU) A representative from the Thailand-based non-governmental organization Migrant Justice Program (MJP) told Econoff January 19 that the news of the cabinet decision was welcome and that the Thai Government appears to be doing its best to be responsive to civil society complaints about the NV process. He believes the decision validates NGO efforts to seek modifications to the process, through a campaign of media placements and letters to senior Thai government officials. At the same time, he was quick to point out continuing concerns with the "failed system." Noting the fear many Burmese migrants have of any dealing with the Burmese government, the activist explained that many will choose not to participate in the NV process. They may also, with or without the knowledge of their employer, provide false information on related forms in order to buy time and remain in Thailand even though doing so would ultimately likely lead to their eventual deportation. ¶10. (SBU) The activist also stated that although the Thai government published an over seventy-page manual on the NV process, including in Burmese, it is too long for migrants to easily understand and too difficult to disseminate (unlike the Thai governments development of basic leaflets on the worker amnesty program as a whole). He therefore plans to continue pressing Thai authorities on this and other areas, such as controlling fees charged by labor brokers assisting migrants and employers in the process.