Many abuses ‘carried out by middlemen’

The exploitation of migrant workers through low wages and poor welfare benefits is widely reported among people hired on a sub-contract basis, a group working for migrant workers’ rights says.

Sutthasinee Kaewleklai, coordinator for the Migrant Workers Rights Network (MWRN), said many business operators seek to cut costs by avoiding directly hiring migrant workers.

Instead they use them as sub-contractors, employing them through private contractors, or middlemen, which is where the labour abuses take place.

She said the private contractors are responsible for paying the wages and providing welfare benefits to migrant workers, and some of them take advantage of their employees.

This includes making them pay for uniforms or safety gear or charging them high rental fees for accommodation, she said.

Ms Sutthasinee said many migrant workers are not aware they are employed by middlemen and firms are not aware of any mistreatment until protests flare.

Her comments follow two reports on the working conditions of workers in the fishing and processed chicken industries which show labour abuses remain a significant challenge that needs to be overcome.

She said MWRN, a membership-based group that promotes and strengthens Myanmar migrant workers’ rights, has been working to raise awareness among business operators about the downside to sub-contracting.

Some business operators have approached the middlemen upon learning of the problem and have managed to recruit migrant workers directly, she added.

According to Ms Sutthasinee, the group has also been lobbying associations in industries that employ migrant workers, such as the Thai Frozen Foods Association and the Thai Tuna Industry Association, to ask their members to comply with labour laws and standard business practices.

She said importers and customers are concerned about the production process of the products they buy, be it processed chicken or seafood, and any malpractice can harm their businesses.

To help solve the problem, migrant worker representatives should be part of welfare committees which firms with more than 50 employees are required by law to have, Ms Sutthasinee said.

By sitting on the panels, migrant workers can raise issues concerning them and solve problems before they become full-blown disputes, she said.