People from neighbouring countries seeking work in Thailand are facing big and unfair hurdles
July 28, 2012
Bangkok Post
Migrant workers desperate to find jobs in Thailand are being exploited by brokers who force them to pay exorbitant fees.
One Cambodian worker, who asked not to be named, has complained that many Cambodians are currently charged as much as 30,000 baht in order to work in Thailand; however, they have no choice but to pay this to escape the poverty in their home country.
The largest portion of the expense is kha hua, which is between 18,000 and 24,000 baht, while other "service fees" come to more than 5,000 baht.
A farm-raised man from Kampong Thom province in central Cambodia is among Cambodians who have walked down this rough path. He and his four younger brothers decided to work in Thailand and borrowed money to pay mainly for kha hua. His family did not earn enough income from crop yields to support their children's travel to Thailand. He also did not know how to directly contact his employers to avoid kha hua from job placement companies.
After getting a job at a frozen seafood factory in Songkhla, the man's employer, who paid for his expenses in advance, deducted part of his wages for nearly a year to settle the debts.
However, he said: "We're proud to send money to our parents' home so that they can live more comfortably".
The Thai government has tried to get rid of kha hua by serving as a go-between for employers and employees to put an end to workers' dependence on job brokers.
Employers who do not know how to find and hire foreign workers can contact the Labour Ministry, which will then forward their quotas for workers to labour officials in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
This process is done under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the subject of transnational labourers between countries.
Labour Minister Padermchai Sasomsap stresses foreign workers wanting to work in Thailand must enter the country under the MoU deals.
He believes the measure will help solve illegal immigration of foreign workers, which has long been a problem in the country.
"I intend to have foreign workers protected under laws," Mr Padermchai said.
"I don't want to see the 'business' that makes money from labourers. I don't want to see them be exploited by kha hua."
However, the MoU cannot completely solve financial burdens among the workers as the removal of kha hua is allegedly leading to tai toh, or money secretly given to people in return for a favour done for givers.
An employer, who asked not to be named, said the job placement process under the MoU results in people getting caught up in red tape, sometimes for as long as three months.
As a result, factory owners who are in a rush for hiring workers are willing to pay tai toh to some state officials to speed up the process.
The tai toh burden, along with other bills, will be eventually pushed to labourers whose wages will be deducted to settle the expenses, the employer said.
Though factory owners are required to make work contracts that meet labour laws, including the MoU, some of them make the other secret contracts with the workers, demanding that they pay for expensive kha hua, said Nasser Artwarin, of the Lawyers Council of Thailand's human rights subcommittee, citing complaints received from labourers.
More than 100,000 foreign workers have entered Thailand under the MoU. Many of them are struggling because of their kha hua debts.
The farm boy from Kampong Thom and his four siblings hope one day they will return to their homeland.
"Our parents are buying more land for all of us to reunite," he said.
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