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BANGKOK: May Oo Sen is among millions of people in Thailand who have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2009, she moved from Kayin State in Myanmar to work in Bangkok, where she works as a housemaid at a cleaning company. Every month, the company deducts 80 percent of its wages paid by customers, leaving it enough to buy food, pay the rent, and send money to their grandparents back home.
But since the health crisis erupted, half of May Oo Sen’s clients have terminated the contracts.
Some of the clients have young children and are concerned about possible transmission of the life-threatening disease, which has killed dozens of people and infected thousands in Thailand.
Others could no longer pay him because their companies had closed.
But with continued monthly expenses, the increasing financial burdens have begun to weigh on her.
“My income has been cut in half, but I still have to pay the rent and contribute to the Social Security Fund every month,” said the 29-year-old. “This is not only happening to me, but also to everyone at work.”
Many migrant workers like her face an uncertain future as the pandemic continues to spread and endanger companies in Thailand. Although May Oo Sen still has a few clients left, she has no idea how long it will last or what to do if she becomes unemployed.
Myanmar migrant workers stay abroad in a fishing boat in southern Thailand. (Photo: Pichayada Promchertchoo)
According to the UN Human Rights Office for Southeast Asia, the COVID-19 crisis has left millions of migrants unemployed in recent weeks. In Thailand, one of the main challenges they face is the lack of inclusion in government measures to alleviate the impact of the health emergency on residents.
“We are concerned that in a situation where many thousands of migrants have lost their livelihoods, migrants are not included in the stimulus and compensation packages announced by the government, which could lead many to situations of extreme precariousness “said Pia Oberoi. , Senior Advisor on Migration and Human Rights at the UN Human Rights Office for Southeast Asia.
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UNEMPLOYMENT A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR MIGRANT WORKERS
The Thai government has offered a six-month financial support package worth 30,000 baht (US $ 920) to Thai citizens who have lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the scheme does not include migrant workers, who are an integral part of Thai society.
As of December last year, data from the Employment Department showed that there were more than 3 million of them in Thailand. Most, approximately 2.7 million people, came from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Workers repair a fishing net in a port in southern Thailand. Several Myanmar migrant workers work in the Thai fishing industry. (Photo: Pichayada Promchertchoo)
There is no official record of how many immigrants in Thailand have lost their jobs due to the health crisis. However, migrant rights groups believe that a significant number of them have been hit by the government’s order to temporarily close several companies to minimize transmission.
These include business locations where several of them were employed, such as department stores, restaurants, and massage parlors.
“The biggest problem for migrant workers right now is unemployment,” said Adisorn Kerdmongkol of the Migrant Task Force, a coalition of local NGOs that advocate for labor rights and welfare.
Unemployment is likely to rise as the commercial and service sectors remain closed.
According to Adisorn, unemployed migrant workers are at risk of losing their legal status in Thailand if they cannot find a new employer and renew their work permit on time. And without income, he said, migrants cannot survive and will try to return to their homes.
However, Thailand has closed its border checkpoints to control the outbreak. “So these people find themselves in a situation where they really can’t stay in Thailand or go home,” said Adisorn.
Instead, he added, migrants are likely to move across Thailand in search of work to maintain their legal status, and those who cannot end up trying to cross the border illegally to return home.
“This will not benefit Thailand or the destination country because if the migrants are infected, they could further spread the disease,” said Adisorn.
“Recently, several people have already crossed the border back home. The number is between 100,000 and 200,000. “
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“THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT LOOK AT THE PROBLEM FROM EVERY PERSPECTIVE”
While the temporary closure of infection-prone places is largely seen as a necessary step to control the COVID-19 outbreak, migrant rights activists believe the government order was imposed without a long-term plan to comprehensively address its consequences for residents.
“The government did not look at the problem from all perspectives. The people most affected are day laborers, both Thais and migrants. However, Thais are supported, for example, the 5,000-baht monthly compensation scheme,” Adisorn said, rating the “serious misstep” order.
“The government is urgently handling the problem, but did not consider whether everyone is included or did not analyze the situation in the long term. This is non-existent. There are measures, but when you look at the details, they are vague, “he added.
They only think of people with direct impact of the closure, not other business operators related to those places.
Still, the United Nations Human Rights Office for Southeast Asia has praised the Thai government for the positive measures introduced to help migrants in the country, from guaranteeing free tests of COVID-19 to migrants at risk and medical care Free in public hospitals, regardless of status, for approval of a recent cabinet resolution.
In March, the Cabinet approved a decision to allow migrant workers from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos who were unable to renew their work permits in time to continue working legally in Thailand until June 30 without being fined for exceeding their visa.
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However, Oberoi, from the UN Human Rights Office, mentioned concern about migrants detained in Immigration Detention Centers “often overcrowded”, where he said the risk of transmission is “very high”.
“We urgently call for their release to community-based and non-custodial detention alternatives. This is particularly urgent in the case of children and their families, people with disabilities and the elderly, “he added.
Several migrant workers have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis in Thailand, where some 2.7 million of them came from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. (Photo: Pichayada Promchertchoo)
As the COVID-19 crisis is likely to drag on, immigrant rights groups are calling for more relief measures for millions of foreign workers in Thailand. According to Adisorn, keeping them in the employment system is necessary, as it will help minimize their movement and limit the risk of transmission.
“As soon as they start moving without registering, we won’t be able to track them,” he said.
When migrant workers are out of work, they are likely to cross the border illegally. This will not benefit Thailand or the destination country because if they are infected they could further spread the disease.
For Adisorn, the government’s measures still focus largely on Thai citizens despite millions of migrant workers in the country.
However, the nation is fighting a serious outbreak that has killed dozens of people and infected thousands. If the government does not guarantee inclusion in its preventive and disease control operations, the rights activist is concerned that the consequences could be devastating.
“When a crisis occurs, some Thais do not think that migrants are part of society or that they also feel the impact,” said Adisorn.
“When the crisis is a severe pandemic and that perspective persists, it immediately creates a negative effect, a situation in which people move and increase the risk of spreading the disease.”
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