Rapid Assessment for Resilient Recovery and ... - GFDRR

Pre-disaster planning also presents an ideal opportunity to create mid- to long-range work
opportunities for flood affected communities, as well as measures to mitigate disaster
risks and reduce future damage and losses on livelihoods and employment. The government
can work with communities, through community contracting modalities, to identify,
design and implement small projects to, whenever needed, drain excess water using local
resources (including labor) to the extent possible. This long range intervention requires
collaboration with communities, local authorities and universities. Such an approach was
successfully implemented by the ILO in the Philippines and could be adapted to the current
Thai context. It will be important to incorporate provisions to ensure that these plans
recognize the potential contributions of migrant workers and other vulnerable groups.
Protections for Migrant Workers
Thailand needs both Thai workers and migrant workers to rebuild certain sectors of the
economy. The floods impacted on areas with a high concentration of migrants (see
Table 81) thereby further exacerbating foreign workers existing vulnerabilities. Official
statistics show that over 800,000 migrants, excluding irregular workers, lived and worked
in provinces that have been devastated by the flood. As a result, a significant number of
migrant workers have lost their jobs, either temporarily or permanently.
To its credit, the Ministry of Labor recently approved relevant measures to protect migrants
by establishing a Flood Relief and Assistance Center for Migrant Workers. Assistances
provided include the provision of food, shelter, limited work opportunities, and assistance
relocating to their communities of origin. However, migrant workers are not well informed
about these measures due to miscommunication during the flooding crisis and limited
availability of information in their native language. As a result, many migrant workers cannot
benefit from this support. Translating emergency messaging and relevant hotlines is
crucial. There is a particular need for information related to registration, re-entry, changing
employers, and obtaining replacement documents.
There have been troubling reports of exploitation of migrant workers including nonpayment
of due wages and identification documents withheld by employers, as well as incidents of
Burmese workers attempting to return to their communities of origin being detained at the
border by immigration authorities, charged excessive amounts by brokers, and extorted
once inside Burma. The best way to counter these abuses will be for the Thai government
to escalate enforcement of existing protections and intensify bilateral negotiations on labor
migration management with origin countries to ensure that migrants entering Thailand
after the floods can do so through regular channels that are affordable and secure so as
to avoid the worst consequences of irregular migration, such as human trafficking and
other forms of exploitation. This implies ensuring that brokers are regulated, corruption is
countered and violations of rights are effectively reduced. Creating policies to ensure migrants
can speedily obtain and always have access to their documents will also be important.
IOM has long lasting experience in advising and supporting governments to facilitate
labor migration flows through the provision of relevant technical and global expertise and
through supporting the establishment of fair and transparent recruitment practices.
212 THAI FLOOD 2011 RAPID ASSESSMENT FOR RESILIENT RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION PLANNING