SMUGGLING OF FEMALE MIGRANT WORKERS FROM MYANMAR TOTHAILAND

Abstract

Thailand's porous borders have enabled up to five million migrant workers to become employed in the country, the majority of whom originate from Myanmar, and with many entering through the process of migrant smuggling. Since formal migration channels are deemed complicated, expensive, and time consuming, the assistance of brokers, facilitators, and agents is often sought in order to facilitate irregular migration. Such brokers can charge high fees to provide services such as the provision of relevant documentation, employment and housing placements, and assistance with the process of transit and entering Thailand. During the smuggling process, migrants, who are often unaware of the risks, can experience dangerous journeys and those without established social networks are highly vulnerable to deception upon arrival such as the withholding of wages and poor working conditions. The purpose of this research is to explain the role of social networks in facilitating the irregular migration of female labour migrants while also exploring the process of irregular migration and the subsequent vulnerabilities that female migrants can face, particularly in relation to determining factors, namely gender, ethnicity, regularization and sectors of employment. Data collection involved 55 structured interviews with migrant workers employed in Bangkok and the city's surrounding provinces. Of these interviews, 52 involved migrants who had entered Thailand irregularly, and 3 were conducted with migrants who were formally recruited. Additionally, the research involved interviews with key informants and a literature review was also undertaken. This research focuses on the experience of females employed in the construction, garment manufacturing, seafood processing and domestic work sectors and argues that female labour migrants who migrate irregularly do not necessarily find themselves in a more vulnerable situation than their counterparts who have entered Thailand through formal channels since irregular migration can result in successful outcomes for migrant workers. The major research findings include that social networks often reduce the prominence of vulnerability, that vulnerabilities can be gender-specific, and that certain vulnerabilities such as low wages and long working hours are often aligned with construction and domestic work. Additionally, the research also provides recommendations concerning the safe migration of vulnerable female migrants in addition to an exploration of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Thailand and Myanmar and the relevant migration, registration and labour policies currently in practice in the country that currently influence the vulnerabilities of migrant workers.