• Worst forms of child labour

Worst forms of child labour

Thailand has emerged as the number one destination in cross-border trafficking of children and women. Many children and young women from Myanmar, Cambodia and Lao PDR migrate to Thailand in search of better life. Often their journey leads them to a life of exploitation. A significant percent of these young migrants work in four employment sectors; agriculture, fishing boats and fish processing, manufacturing and domestic work. While they become an integral part of the economy, they remain invisible and face exploitation. Exploitation is widespread and ranges from non-payment or underpayment of wages, a requirement to work excessive hours sometimes involving the use of hazardous equipment – to even more serious violations of forced labour and trafficking. They are often prohibited from leaving their place of employment – they are effectively imprisoned and indentured slaves. The figures reveal that:

• 20% of males working on fishing boats were ‘forced to work’. The vast majority of those forced to work were between 15-17 years of age
• 60% of domestic workers (all ‘live-in’) were not allowed to leave the house to meet with others or receive visitors
• 82% of domestic workers, 45% of fishing workers and 19% of manufacturing workers worked more than 12 hours per day
• About half of employers across all sectors agreed are inclined to lock migrants in at night to make sure they don’t escape
  

Why does such exploitation of young migrants occur and what can those involved in workplace protection do about it? This report examines the demand side of human trafficking and cross-border migration in four employment sectors. It emphasis on exploitation in the workplace rather  than on trafficking and migration. It aims to determine whether it is legal, political, socio-cultural or purely economic reasons that drive employers and consumers to demand goods and services provided by migrant workers, especially young and female migrants. It asks whether ‘demand’ factors actively encourages or tacitly accepts the ongoing exploitation of workers. The report finds that:

• The absence of labour protection laws to protect the rights of workers in some of these sectors facilitates their exploitation
• Employers demand for migrant workers in these sectors is intrinsically related to supply:  the availability of young migrants of certain ethnicities willing to work for low wages and under poor conditions
• All of these sectors with the exception of domestic work, rely on cheap labour as a competitive edge, which is why employing migrant workers is popular
• Many workers in these sectors lack opportunities for redress when they are exploited and are unlikely to seek help from government officials
  

Policy recommendations include:

• The Thai government should provide adequate labour protection for informal sector workers that covers minimum working age, minimum wage, maximum amounts for salary deductions, regular working hours etc.
• The Ministry of Labour should facilitate the role of civil society and workers’ and employers’ organizations in protecting migrant workers in practice
• The Government should enforce a guideline informing employers of migrant workers’ rights and of the responsibilities of employers to ensure freedom of movement of the migrant workers they employ
• The Government should enforce a guideline informing law enforcement officials, including police and immigration officers, about their responsibilities when dealing with migrant workers and the rights of the migrant workers themselves
• The Ministry of Labour should develop simple but effective complaints mechanisms for migrants to report exploitation in the workplace
• Workers and employers associations and NGOs should mobilize migrant communities to be more vigilant in negotiating minimum conditions of work to safeguard the interests of migrant workers
• The Ministry of Labour in conjunction with employers’ and workers’ organizations and NGO's should educate employers about the rights of children and migrants
• The Ministry of Labour, together with the ILO, employers’ and workers’ organizations and NGOs should monitor and evaluate the impact of policies and programmes on labour migration
  

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