About 200 Burmese illegal workers have been arrested per day in Mae Sot, Thailand, after authorities launched a crackdown this weekend, according to the Joint Action Committee for Burmese Affairs (JACBA).
July 14 was the deadline for a migrant to register for a work permit in Thailand. During the registration period, the Ministry of Labour ordered police not to arrest migrant workers.
Two days after the deadline, Thai authorities launched the crackdown.
“They arrested illegal workers in accordance with their action plan to send back illegal workers to their motherland,” Moe Kyo, a JACBA official, told Mizzima.
Most of the illegal workers who have been arrested are itinerants and construction workers.
“The Burmese workers were arrested either in factories or in their apartment blocks. Most of them were arrested while they are going to markets or their work,” Moe Kyo said.
Illegal workers can be sentenced to five years in prison or fined from 20,000 baht (about US$ 675) to 100,000 baht. Most of the Burmese illegal workers were sent back to Myawaddy on the Burmese side of the border shortly after they were arrested.
According to workers’ rights groups, up to 100,000 Burmese workers in Mae Sot did not register for work permits.
Many illegal workers were also found to be in possession of forbidden items including illegal drugs, forestry products and orchids.
Estimates place the number of Burmese workers in Thailand at more than 2 million. About 1.5 million have temporary passports or legal work permits, according to workers’ rights activists.
Sources: Mizzimae News Agency
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