VZCZCXRO3669
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHBK #1376/01 1600008
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 090008Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7225
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
INFO RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 6646
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 001376 
 
Department for EAP/MLS DRichelsoph, DRL/IL MJunk, DOL/ILAB for 
Brandie Sasser 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PHUM BM TH
SUBJECT: Thai Government Plans Migrant Worker Amnesty 
 
BANGKOK 00001376  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified.  For Official Use Only. 
 
Ref A: Bangkok 1319 (Unemployment) 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: Thailand will soon implement an "amnesty" plan to 
register illegal migrants from Burma, Laos, and Cambodia who are 
employed in certain sectors of the Thai economy: fishing, 
fisheries-related work, construction, farming and livestock, and 
domestic work.  While details of the plan are still being developed, 
the process envisioned would require these migrants to register by 
July 25 of this year and verify their nationality with the 
government by February 2010.  The plan, while still not well 
understood by international or local observers, has elicited a mixed 
(but mostly negative) response so far.  Some have lauded the plan as 
a positive initiative, noting any registration of illegal migrants 
is better than none.  Still, others are quick to point out expected 
operational problems and potential for abuse that the process may 
open.  Given the difficulties companies and laborers will likely 
face through participation in the registration, none of the 
observers that we consulted expect this registration process, as 
currently proposed, to successfully attract a large number of 
participants.  End Summary. 
 
Background and Rationale 
------------------------ 
¶2.  (SBU) On May 26, the Royal Thai Government (RTG) cabinet 
approved a plan to open a new round of registration for unregistered 
migrant laborers in Thailand.  While the plan and the procedures it 
envisions have not yet been formally announced, according to the 
Ministry of Labor (MOL) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) 
officials we consulted, the registration process will cover illegal 
migrants from Laos, Cambodia, and Burma who arrived in Thailand 
after 2004 and are employed in five sectors: fishing, 
fisheries-related work, construction, farming and livestock, and 
domestic work.  According to the plan, unregistered migrants in 
these economic sectors must apply for identification cards (that 
will act as work permits) and complete a citizenship verification 
process by February 2010.  Thai officials have stated the government 
may, at some later date, expand the registration to include workers 
in other sectors of the economy should the government see a need to 
do so.  Migrant workers (from Cambodia, Laos, and Burma) who had 
previously registered to work temporarily in Thailand may continue 
to renew their work permits. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Economic migrants from Cambodia, Laos, and Burma, as well 
as those seeking to escape the Burmese regime, began crossing into 
Thailand in great numbers in the 1980s.  Technically under Thai law, 
all such entries are illegal as are efforts to aid and assist 
illegal migrants.  Recognizing the value of these migrants to the 
Thai economy, however, the government in 1992 began a series of 
amnesty registrations that allowed for those illegal migrants 
already working to remain in Thailand for a limited period to work 
legally.  Limited amnesty registrations (by sector, geographic area, 
or for renewals only) continued until 2004 when a blanket amnesty 
was provided for all working illegal migrants from Cambodia, Laos, 
and Burma.   Every year since, these registered migrants have been 
allowed to renew their work permits.  The number of registered 
migrants has gradually declined, however, from approximately 1.26 
million in 2004 to approximately 540,000 today.  Reasons given for 
this decrease include the changing of employers by migrants (who 
then thereby lose their registered status) and the lack of perceived 
benefits of registration by many migrants who often face poor 
treatment and discrimination.  Today, the RTG estimates that in 
addition to the 540,000 registered migrants, between 1.3 and 1.5 
million additional illegal migrants reside within Thailand. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) RTG discussions about a new registration process have been 
on-going for months.  Plans for a registration last year were put on 
hold out of concern for rising unemployment due to the global 
economic crisis.  The Thai government conducted several job fairs at 
which only a few Thais applied for jobs in the sectors covered by 
the registration.  In light of this excess labor demand, the plan 
for a new migrant registration went forward. 
 
The Process As Envisioned 
------------------------- 
¶5.  (SBU) While the Thai Cabinet has approved the registration plan, 
various aspects of it, including the related citizenship 
verification system for those claiming Burmese nationality, still 
need to be developed.  This citizenship verification process is 
expected to take at least a few months to be implemented.  Some 
aspects of the plan have apparently been established and will 
require action by laborers, employers, and government offices by the 
following deadlines: 
 
- The Ministry of Interior (MOI) must issue an official notification 
(much like a USG Federal Register Notice) that allows illegal 
 
BANGKOK 00001376  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
migrants from Laos, Cambodia, and Burma to temporarily reside in 
Thailand.  The RTG plans for this to happen within 30 days of the 
cabinet decision (possibly by June 25). 
 
- The MOI's Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) must 
receive all applicants for registration (from employees or their 
employers) within 30 days after the MOI issues its notification. 
 
- The Ministry of Public Health will need to conduct health checks, 
and register migrants for health insurance by no later than 45 days 
after the DOPA registration. 
 
- The MOL's Department of Employment (DOE) must receive from the MOI 
the names of the migrant workers applying for work permits and 
provide the MOI authorization for them to be issued.  This is to be 
done within 60 days after DOPA first receives a migrant's 
application for registration. 
 
- After DOPA receives proof of health screening from the MOPH and 
authorization from the DOE, DOPA will issue a migrant 
identification/work permit card (within 60 days after receiving 
authorization from the DOE). 
 
- While migrants can receive work permits prior, they must complete 
a nationality verification process by February 2010. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) According to the current plan, spouses and children of 
migrant laborers will not be allowed to register, unlike the 2004 
registration.  Migrant workers registering in this round, regardless 
of which of the five listed employment sectors they enter, will 
receive work permits that prohibit them from working outside these 
five sectors.  In order to change jobs within the five listed 
sectors, laborers (or their employers) must first transfer 
registration documentation from one employer to the next, and file 
the documentation with government authorities. 
 
 
Citizenship Verification - A Necessary Evil 
------------------------------------------- 
¶7.  (SBU) One key component to the registration process, which even 
RTG officials admit is fraught with difficulties, is the 
verification of citizenship, at least for those claiming Burmese 
nationality.   For those claiming citizenship from Laos and 
Cambodia, the RTG plans to (in collaboration with the governments of 
Laos and Cambodia) set up one-stop service centers in various 
locations in Thailand where migrants can go to verify their 
nationality.  After doing so, migrants will receive a temporary 
passport and visa, allowing them to live and work in Thailand for 
two years.  Registered migrants will generally be required to return 
to their country of origin to receive a permanent passport and visa 
(to replace the temporary ones received in Thailand) and then return 
as legal, temporary migrants.  However, the RTG will allow migrants 
who do not want to return to Cambodia or Laos for the new passport 
to apply for a temporary passport extension at their embassy in 
Thailand. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) For migrants originating from Burma, the RTG has been 
negotiating with Burmese government officials for months with the 
hope of establishing a process similar to that established for 
migrants from Laos and Cambodia (Minister of Labor Phaitoon 
Kaeothong traveled to Burma the week of May 18 for this purpose). 
The Burmese government initially insisted that those claiming 
Burmese citizenship should travel to Burma to verify their 
citizenship, but has since backed away from this stance.  According 
to a Thai MOL official June 5, the Thai and Burmese governments have 
agreed (at least in theory) to a plan that will require Thai 
employers to bring the Burmese migrant laborers to (yet to be 
established) Thai processing centers along the Burmese border for 
processing.  Once registered at the Thai center, the migrant would 
then cross to another processing center on the Burmese side of the 
border to receive a temporary passport with which to cross back into 
Thailand.  Once back on the Thai-side of the border, the migrant 
would then receive a non-immigrant visa from the Thai center and 
would be able to proceed to their place of employment.  A Thai labor 
official claimed this entire process could be done in a day. 
 
¶9.  Several logistical hurdles stand in the way of this 
implementation, however.  Currently, registered migrant laborers are 
not allowed to leave the province in which they are employed without 
seeking permission from the provincial governor.  Also, under Thai 
immigration law, immigration police are obligated to deport 
unregistered illegal migrants whom they encounter.  As such, MOL 
officials are discussing with MOI and Immigration police officials 
how to establish procedures that will allow for unregistered 
migrants to cross provincial lines and national borders in order to 
verify their nationality. 
 
 
BANGKOK 00001376  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
Reaction Mixed, But Mostly Negative 
----------------------------------- 
¶10.  (SBU) Observers from international organizations (the 
International Labor Organization and International Organization for 
Migration) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have little 
knowledge of the details of the plan.  Some, including a 
representative from the International Organization for Migration 
(IOM) and a prominent labor activist, believe the registration is a 
good initiative.  The IOM official plainly stated, "Is it a move in 
the right direction?  Absolutely."   Nonetheless, others are 
critical of the plan: the timeframe in which migrants can register 
is too short; migrants cannot change employers when they wish 
(potentially tying them to labor abusers); the nationality 
verification process (for Burmese) is overly burdensome on employers 
and laborers in terms of cost and time, and may require a reliance 
on potentially unscrupulous labor brokers. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) One NGO activist who works with ethnic minorities from 
Burma who reside in Thailand noted the communities he assists are 
confused by the lack of detail on the registration so far.  He 
stated that virtually none of those he works with plan to 
participate in the registration, fearing they or their families in 
Burma will face extortion or other abuse should they have contact 
with the Burmese regime in order to verify nationality.  They also 
fear for their fate in Thailand if this is to be the last 
registration of migrants, as RTG officials have reportedly stated. 
In short, many echo the sentiments of a May 29 editorial in the 
Bangkok Post on the topic that "the short deadline and complicated 
system with its old constraints will fail to attract these 
underground workers."  As one contact put it, perhaps a bit less 
eloquently, "same whiskey, different bottle." 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶12.  (SBU) Should the Thai government's plan go forward as described 
to us, we should not expect Burmese migrants to flock in droves to 
apply for registration.  The intransigence of the Burmese regime is 
to blame for what may very well be the most costly, complicated, and 
prone-to-abuse aspect of the plan - the verification of Burmese 
nationality.  Thai officials with whom we spoke appeared genuinely 
frustrated when discussing negotiations with the Burmese government 
on the issue, nevertheless feeling that the registration process as 
envisioned is the best that can be hoped for under the 
circumstances.  At the same time, aspects of the plan over which the 
Thai government has full control, for instance, the inability of 
spouses and children of migrants to register, also invite criticism 
for limiting benefits to the illegal migrant community in Thailand. 
We will seek opportunities, however limited, to urge our contacts 
both in government and in civil society to develop registration 
procedures in ways to maximize their success, at least to minimize 
vulnerabilities of those laborers who choose to participate.  End 
Comment. 
 
¶13.  (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Rangoon.