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The Pyithu Hluttaw International Relations Committee has been tasked with drafting the legislation after assessing the needs of the workers. “We are now making observations for the bill. I think it will take three months to complete the observations,” said committee member U Myo Zaw Aung, a lower house representative for Sagaing Region’s Kawlin township. He did not say which aspects of migration the bill would aim to address. But rights groups that have met with the new government have stressed the need for long-term policy planning to replace the current capricious system that relies on temporary and only semi-legal identification documents. U Myo Zaw Aung acknowledged that problems with Myanmar’s economy – particularly the lack of job opportunities in rural areas – need to be addressed so that workers are not compelled to leave in the first place. Many Myanmar workers in Thailand have told The Myanmar Times in recent days that they would gladly return home if the new government bolsters job creation. Workers holding temporary passports are especially keen to return, as they do not want to forfeit their legal status and register for legally dubious “pink cards” as the Thai government has recently instructed them to do. U Naing Sit, a worker at the KF foods factory in Mahachai, said the first thing the new government should do is end the restrictions on migrants’ freedom of movement. The new “pink cards” tie the workers to their registered province, and prohibit trips longer than seven days, which effectively bars most from returning home or changing jobs. He added that the previous government ignored Myanmar migrants, allowing unscrupulous employers in Thailand to take advantage. “I will go back next month because the new government has taken over and I hope the economic situation in Myanmar will be better. I don’t want to be oppressed in Thailand anymore,” he said. According to the Migrant Worker Rights Network, over 3.5 million Myanmar labourers are employed in various industries in Thailand. A mass return would create difficulties for both governments, but particularly Thailand, which relies on cheap labour to drive its economy. As a result, there is an incentive for both sides to put in place a better migration system. The migrant workers are largely optimistic about the NLD-backed government, and anticipate a tide of policy reforms will soon make their living and working conditions better, and possibly open a new pipeline of employment. The NLD hasn’t said much about migrant workers, however, and the hopes are mostly tied to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s 2012 visit to Thailand At the time, the NLD leader pledged that if her party took power they would create more job opportunities in-country. But since taking office, the only movement on the topic has been the appointment of a Union Solidarity and Development Party member as the new labour minister. U Thein Swe is not held in high regards within the Myanmar migrant community, where many fear the appointment of a former general and member of the military-backed USDP will mean the continuation of past policies. “The important thing is the policies. So if the policies are strong, then the rights will be strong, even if a USDP representative is the Labour Minister,” said U Aung Kyaw, vice chair of the MWRN. “He cannot do whatever he wants, but will have to enforce the president’s decisions.” Ma Bu Thu, a 22-year-old Pa-O garment factory worker in Sampharam township, Mahachai, said she came to Thailand as a teenager five years ago because there was no other way to support herself and her family. “If I could have a proper job in my home place I would have gone back a long time ago because I hate the place where I am staying now. In Thailand I am a servant,” she said. “I really don’t want to stay here a minute longer. I want a safe life for us at home. I want Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to do better for migrant workers.” Ma Nu Nu Win, a 38-year-old Mon State native, has spent the last nine years in Thailand. She currently works as a translator at Samut Sakhon General Hospital. Despite being a skilled labourer, she said she is treated poorly, and ordered to do things outside her job responsibilities, like cleaning up garbage. “The day when the government makes it possible for all migrant workers to return and find jobs in Myanmar I would drop everything here and be the first one back,” she said.
Keywords
Pyithu Hluttaw International Relations Committee, draft, legislation, lower house representative, migration, new government, long-term policy planning, semi-legal identification, rural areas
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