Friday, 03 March 2017
“Big factories that obey laws are not profiteering at the expense of migrant
workers but some small factories are. Now, brokers and factory officials are
collecting about B6000 to B7000 from the workers for their certificates of
identity [CI] applications,” MWRN vice president U Aung Kyaw told The
Myanmar Times.
Myanmar migrants with pink cards or temporary documents who are eager for
the CI have to use brokers due to the complicated process involved in applying
for CI, said the Thai-based migrant activists group.
U Aung Kyaw said they found that many Myanmar migrants who hold pink cards
have been told to pay B6000 to B7000 to brokers and factory officials as
service fee for their CI applications.
“Myanmar migrants know they are free to move around and return home if they
have the CI. So, they are eager to get the CI. And brokers are profiteering by
cooperating with factory officials,” said U Aung Kyaw.
The Myanmar government announced in February that certificates of identity
will be issued to Myanmar migrants who hold pink cards in Thailand at six CI
issuing centres today (March 3) and the application fee is B300.
The government also advised the migrants not to use brokers in applying for
the CI in order to avoid having to pay extra.
However, U Aung Kyaw said the migrant workers found the CI application process
confusing and so had to resort to using brokers.
“Myanmar migrants want to apply for CI as they are eager to go home. But it
is not easy for workers to get CI. They need documents for the employer and
also need assistance from the brokers,” a migrant worker at a garment factory
in Thailand told The Myanmar Times.
Migrant worker activists said Myanmar workers in Thailand had to pay twice
as much if they were issued the CI because they would have to apply for
passports.
They also said the Myanmar government should issue temporary passports to
pink card holders as it was more useful than the CI.
It is estimated there are about four million Myanmar workers in Thailand, of
whom 1.7 million have been issued temporary passports by the Myanmar government
while about 800,000 have pink cards from the Thai government.
Pink cards are issued to migrants who enter Thailand illegally and allow
them to live and work temporarily in restricted areas. However, their movements
beyond the restricted areas are prohibited without permission from the
respective town administration authorities.
Credit: Myanmar Times
Friday 3 March 2017
Myanmar nationals who hold “pink cards” in Thailand are being fleeced of some 7000 baht by brokers for identity documents from the homeland, according to the Migrant Workers Right Network (MWRN)
Friday, March 03, 2017
Myanmar News