Migrant worker

The former Thai Prime Minister, Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, made a commitment during his visit to the Thai border town of Mae Sot that he would help lobby funders to continue supporting migrant education on the border. Mr. Abhisit visited the Hsa Thoo Lei learning center, a migrant learning center in Mae Sot and met with representatives of the Burmese Migrant…

Burmese migrant workers say delays of up to six months in processing their temporary passports so they can get a legal work permit to allow them to work in Thailand is causing them to be harassed by police. “I applied to get temporary passport at an agent based in Mae Sot. The agent said the process would take only a…

Access to further education opportunities for migrant children was the subject of a seminar held in the Thai border town of Mae Sot this week. The Thailand based educational organization, Bridging Education Access to Migrants (BEAM), and the Burma Migrant Teachers Association organized a seminar in Mae Sot on November 12 to look at the further education needs of children…

Yesterday a gas explosion at the Andaman Seafood Company factory in Ranong, Southern Thailand, injured 27 Burmese migrant workers and two Thai workers. A woman Burmese translator at Ranong Hospital said women workers wounded in the explosion were sent to the hospital in Ranong on the Thai Burma border – three of the woman is still receiving treatment at the…

Last week Thai officials and advocates from a migrant worker rights group held a public meeting to tell workers from Burma what their rights and protection was provided by Thailand’s labor laws. Migrant worker rights groups said that the official public talk was an important step towards making sure workers understood their rights while employed in Thailand. It was the…

The Mae Sot branch of the Thai Labor Protection Office met with the community-based organization (CBO) that represent Burmese migrant workers to discuss the Thailand’s Labor Protection Act issue in detail. Ko Htwe Naing from Yaung Chi Oo Workers’ Association told Karen News that four representatives from Thai LPO and 20 representatives from 12 migrant worker CBOs met in Mae…

The Burmese Association of Thailand along with Thai authorities rescued 80 Burmese migrant workers that were being illegally held by their employer at the San Tit shrimp factory in Maha Chai near Bangkok. According to a member of the BAT team the abused workers were confused about the identity of their rescuers. “We weren’t there to arrest them. We had…

Saw Mort, a Karen News video journalist and photographer, bravely took his camera to the water soaked streets of Mae Sot to capture migrant workers celebrating the annual water festival. On the Thai Burma border, the festival is celebrated by tens of thousands of migrant workers from Burma who know it as Thingyan. Many Thai factories closed during the holiday…

After 60 years of military rule, Burma has become one of the least developed countries in the world. Military rule has denied civilians their basic human rights. Militarisation by the Burma Army (Tamadaw) in ethnic areas such as Karen, Shan and Kachin States continues to cause severe humanitarian problems in Burma. Forced displacement, forced relocation, forced labor, extortion, are all…

The Thai Foreign Minister, Mr Surapong Tovichakchaikul, led a group of visited Burma, border town of Myawaddy to meet with Karen State Chief Minister U Zaw Min on 3rd February. Speaking to the media the Mr Surapong said discussions at the Myawaddy meeting concentrated on migrant workers, border trade, preventing important trade crossing from being closed and increasing goodwill between…