Migrant worker

With the leniency period now over, Thailand has warned that any remaining unregistered migrant laborers may be deported. Until the August 7 deadline, employers were instructed to register all undocumented workers without risk of facing newly increased fines. Over 772,000 migrant workers were registered during the recent amnesty window, according to the Thai Labour Ministry. The majority of the workers,…

Education reform activist and champion of migrant education U Naing Naing Tun passed away on August 2 in Thailand, according to his colleagues. He suffered a heart attack and died in the Mae Sot Hospital. He was 47. “His death is a big loss. I’m very saddened,” said Mahn Shwe Hnin, headmaster of the Children’s Development Center and a close…

A recent crackdown by Thai authorities against illegal foreign workers has resulted in the temporary closure of several Burma migrant schools in Tak Province, according to the Burmese Migrant Teachers’ Association (BMTA). BMTA secretary U Naing Naing Tun told Karen News on June 29 that migrant school teachers have been spooked by the crackdown over the past week so are…

The matriculation exam pass rate at Burma migrant schools in Mae Sot, Thailand remains very low, according to the Burmese Migrant Workers’ Education Committee (BMWEC). Only 16 out of 101 students from Hsa Thoo Lei and Thway Thit schools passed their Myanmar matriculation exam in the 2016-2017 academic year. Last year, a similarly low 17 out of 101 students passed.…

Migrant workers and employers find the resulting process of the official joint agreement of the Thai and Burma governments to issue them with new legal papers time consuming, difficult and complicated. The two governments reached an agreement to issue the new paperwork known as, the Certificate of Identity (CI) in October last year, but there has been delays in implementing…

A Burma embassy official denied what he said were “rumors” about migrant workers being arrested or left stranded at the Myawaddy-Mae Sot border. Prior to Thingyan, Thailand announced a New Year’s gift for its large community of migrant workers, declaring that passport-holding laborers could return home for the holidays without having to pay for a visa and without fear of…

Thailand has announced a Thingyan [water festival] gift for Myanmar migrant workers. Those heading home for the April holiday can do so without paying travel fees, and without fear of arrest, according to a recent decree. The fee waiver applies to migrant workers holding temporary passports and temporary work permits called “pink cards”; who otherwise face travel restrictions. The fee…

The unexpected death of a young Karen woman found in a Bangkok apartment on January 3, 2017, has raised suspicions among the Karen community. The circumstances surrounding the death of the young woman, Nan Pawt Eh Mwee, 22, (also know as) Nan Htay Htay Oo have left many in the Karen migrant communities unconvinced of official explanations. On January 11,…

Students from the Children Development Centre (CDC) have an opportunity to continue their education at a Thai university, Rajamangala University of Technology, Tak. The university has decided to move forward with a scholarship program for students of the CDC. Qualified students from migrant schools in Tak province will have a chance to apply for a scholarship, according to Saw Myo…

Migrant student passing the university matriculation examination dropped to 22 % this year causing concerns to migrant teachers on the bias in the current system. According to the matriculation examination results for the 2015-16 academic year announced on 11th of June, only 17 out of 86 students from migrant schools based in Mae Sot had passed. The poor results have…