Asahi Kosei (M) Sdn. Bhd must respect Human Rights and Worker Rights

Reinstate Thiha Soe and Aung San Without Loss of Benefits

We, the undersigned 77 organizations, groups and networks are shocked at how Asahi Kosei (M) Sdn Bhd has unjustly treated its workers, in particular the 31 Burmese Migrant Workers, working at the factory at Lot 3377, Jalan Perusahaan Utama, Taman Industri Selesa Jaya, 43300 Balakong, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia […]

Rights Groups to Take Case of Myanmar Migrant Work Accident Victim Chained to Hospital Bed to Labour Ministry Demanding Urgent Systems Review

Mr. Charlie Tiyu, a migrant worker from Myanmar who was illegally chained to his bed whilst receiving treatment for a work-related injury last week, is being supported by Thai rights groups tomorrow (7th Feb 2011) to demand compensation from the Social Security Office’s (SSO) Workmen’s Compensation Fund (WCF). After a campaign by the Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF), the Immigration Bureau ordered Charlie unchained on 4th Feb 2011 but he remains under custody in the Police General Hospital in Bangkok […]

JVC Unjustly Discriminates Against Burmese Migrant Women Workers Who Claim Worker Rights

We, the undersigned 79 civil society organizations and groups, would like to express our serious concern that JVC has indicated that they will not re-new the employment contracts of Pa Pa Aye and 15 other Burmese women migrant workers, who lodged a claim at the Labour Department claiming worker rights that the JVC company had violated, amongst them the wrongful deduction of their wages to recover levy that employers have to pay when they employ foreign workers […]

Putting Women Migrant Workers into ASEAN

Putting Women Migrant Workers into ASEAN: Are they not already in ASEAN working in the export industries? Are they not already supporting the middle and upper classes of ASEAN by providing cleaning and child care services? Are they not already working in significant numbers in agriculture, horticulture, entertainment, food processing, sales and a host of other important work? Indeed, the labour of women migrant workers is already in ASEAN, but the rights, the dignity, and the respect for women migrant workers is not yet there. However, with several important human rights processes evolving at this time, it is valuable for migrant women to be aware of the current instruments and mechanisms that protect their rights and understand how to engage in these international and regional processes […]

Migrant Workers Must Be Protected and the Thai Government Must Comply with ILO Convention 19

The Royal Thai Government (RTG) ratified the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Equality of Treatment [Accident Compensation] Convention 1925 (C-19) on 5th April 1968. C-19 requires each member state of the ILO that ratifies this Convention to grant to nationals of any other member states which have also ratified this Convention and who suffers personal injury due to industrial accidents happening in its territory the same treatment in respect of work accident compensation as it grants to its own nationals. This equality of treatment shall be guaranteed to all migrant workers without any condition as to residence. Myanmar also ratified ILO C-19 in 1927 […]

Over 1000 Workers Continue the 3rd Day of Strike at Fishing Net Factory

Holding a temporary passport has given no protection of the rights of Burmese workers at the Dechapanich Fishing Net Factory in Khon Kaen. The workers have to work one and a half hours free every day from 5.00pm to 6.30pm to pay off the cost of the passport and are not allowed to maintain possession of their passports. When six workers were fired for taking more than three days leave a month, they demanded the return of their personal documents, and found that the word “cancel” had been casually written next to their visa […]

Thailand Threatened Migrant Worker Crackdown: Would Be Counter Productive and Lead to Gross Human Rights Violations

On 2nd June 2010, Thailand s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva issued an order setting up a Special Centre to Suppress, Arrest and Prosecute Alien Workers Who Are Working Underground. This centre will manage a crackdown against unregistered migrants in Thailand, most of whom are from Burma. Five Regional Working Groups will implement the crackdown by pooling strength of police, army, navy and other government officials. The order states the targets of the crackdown are approximately 300,000 migrants who failed to enter a Nationality Verification (NV) migrant registration process by February 28th 2010. An estimated 1 million plus unregistered migrants who are working in Thailand but were ineligible for NV will also likely become targets of this crackdown.[…]

Deaths of Migrants Must be Investigated

On February 25th 2010, in Pak Nam sub-district, Ranong province, soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division fired on a pickup truck carrying 13 undocumented migrant workers from Burma, resulting in the deaths of three migrant children. Those killed were a three or four year old, six or seven year old girl, and a 16-year-old boy. Five others were also injured during the shooting.[…]

Migrants in Thailand Facing Detention and Imminent Deportation

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) expresses its deep concern regarding recent reports of detention and forced deportation of a large number of migrant workers, especially along the Thai-Burma border. According to information received, there has been a sudden increase in the arrest, detention and deportation of Burmese migrant workers since March 5 in […]

Nationality Verification deadline passes; deportations begin

Days after the 2 March deadline for registering intent to complete the Nationality Verification process, Thai authorities are already scaling up deportations of migrant workers.

According to a spokesperson from Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association (YCOWA), there has been a sudden spike in the detention and deportation of migrants today in the Thai-Burma border town of Mae Sot. […]