Phuket may have acquired a reputation for warmth and hospitality, but authorities there have imposed controls on migrant workers that are so stringent they may violate human rights
- From: Chim <ChimS1@xxxxxxx>
- Date: 30 Apr 2007 12:16:05 -0700
PHUKET
Warm welcome for tourists doesn't extend to workers
Published on May 1, 2007
Province imposes curfew on foreign labourers, tracks their cell
phones, bans them from driving cars or motorbikes
Phuket may have acquired a global reputation for warmth and
hospitality, but since late last year authorities there have imposed
controls on migrant workers that are so stringent they may violate
fundamental human rights.
Phuket provincial authorities now prohibit migrant workers from
leaving their residence after 8pm, unless they are under the
supervision of their employer.
They also keep tabs on their mobile phones and prohibit them from
getting behind the wheel or driving a motorbike.
Deputy governor Worapot Ratthasima said yesterday the province had
issued 10 such administrative regulations since last December 19.
They are meant to control the 32,070 migrant workers from Burma, Laos
and Cambodia who have registered to work on the island since last
year.
A labour shortage in Phuket has brought a flood of workers from
neighbouring countries.
Another regulation prohibits employers from hiring migrant labourers
who lack work permits.
Mobile-phone use is regulated to adhere to the province's security
policies.
Employers were required to submit a list of their migrant workers who
have mobiles, the registration numbers of the phones and the names of
those who own the phones and SIM cards to the provincial authorities,
Worapot said.
Phuket will soon hold a meeting for business operators, to ensure that
they accurately understand the new rules controlling migrant workers,
he said.
Employers will be informed that they are required to provide clean and
hygienic accommodation for migrant workers, and the ratio of toilets
to workers must meet Public Health Ministry rules.
Worapot warned that those who violated the new regulations would be
punished under the Immigration Act of 1979.
Penalties range from a Bt500 fine to three years in jail.
Worapot said Phuket pioneered these regulations, which followed
complaints from Thai residents who wanted controls on migrant workers
using mobile phones, riding motorcycles and going out at night.
Eight upper-South provinces with a high number of migrant workers have
followed Phuket's lead, including Chumphon, Ranong, Surat Thani and
Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Migrant workers in Ranong are prohibited from leaving their residence
between 10pm and 6am unless their employer gives permission or they
face a health emergency, said Governor Kanchanapa Khiman.
Seven regulations for migrant workers have been in effect in the
province since February, she said.
In Ranong, migrant workers are prohibited from gathering in groups of
five or more - unless they are working - in order to prevent illegal
activities, the governor said.
They also face controls on mobile-phone use, she said. The mobile-
phone controls are meant to control human trafficking, she added,
explaining that investigations found many members of trafficking gangs
used mobiles to communicate with each other, and numerous arrests were
made from phone records.
The regulations were imposed on migrant workers following discussions
on security issues between upper-South provinces and the commander of
Army Region 4.
They are also a response to complaints from employers, Kanchanapa
said. Some had complained they could not understand when they were
listening to their migrant workers speaking Burmese over the phone,
she explained.
Most employers are satisfied now that the regulations are in effect,
she said.
Despite the controls, migrant workers can still use mobile phones but
only under certain conditions, she said, adding that the regulation
was not a violation of their human rights, but rather a move to
protect national security.
National Human Rights Commissioner Surasee Kosolnavin disagrees.
It is a basic human right to allow people to speak with each other, he
said.
The commission will investigate any complaint filed, because the
rational behind such regulations must be examined, he said.
Using national security as a justification is unconvincing, because
Thailand is not at war, he said. Migrant workers are human.
Wasan Sathorn, director of the Labour Ministry's Alien Workers
Registration Office, said Phuket's regulations controlling migrant
workers had nothing to do with national labour regulations.
Provincial governors have the authority to issue regulations to solve
problems dealing with migrant workers, Wasan said.
Many provinces prohibit migrant workers from using mobile phones, in
order to protect national security and prevent them from engaging in
criminal activity, he said.
.
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