Rapid Assessment for Resilient Recovery and ... - GFDRR

The ILO is also well placed to provide support to address the additional vulnerability of
migrant workers caused by the floods through its existing technical cooperation project
(TRIANGLE). In order to ensure that migrants’ rights are protected and their legal status
is maintained, The TRIANGLE project will work with government, workers’ and employers’
organizations to ensure that migrant workers’ rights are protected and their legal status is
maintained.
Partners working with migrant workers suggest that, in the immediate term, migrants that
decide to return to their home countries should be guaranteed safe return without the
threat of arrest or extortion. They also suggest that, when the waters recede, there should
be sufficient flexibility to allow registered migrants to re-enter the country and either take
up their old positions, or transfer to a new employer in a new sector or in a new province if
necessary.
Create Policy-Based Incentives to Ensure Credit and Financing is Available
Financing, loans, and credit will be crucial to rebuilding enterprises at every level to ensure
that businesses can make necessary repairs and rebuild stronger to limit the impact of
future disasters. Through the Social Security Department, the government has already
implemented beneficial short-term projects to assist enterprises with existing loans and
extend financing to registered employees.
To ensure medium- and long-range growth, policies should be extended to address new
loans and encourage lending. This includes everything from large-scale recovery loans
for factories and medium-large sized enterprises to microcredit and financing for small and
medium enterprises, as well as informal sector entrepreneurs. The government should
consider backing microfinance loans and consider subsidizing loans that encourage the
hiring of new workers and business expansion.
While encouraging microfinance, policies should ensure that loans are accompanied by
adequate training for recipients. These potentially beneficial policies must not lead to
vulnerable groups entering into an irrecoverable level of indebtedness.
These policies must be preceded by an analysis of the financial needs and current credit
availability within the flood affected areas. The ILO has a credit market and finance mapping
tool that would assist in this effort.
Use the Recovery Effort as an Opportunity to Strengthen the Local Economy
In spite of the tremendous damage inflicted by the floods, it is still possible to foster a ‘recovery
boom’ and create opportunities to use the recovery to strengthen the local economy
in both the short and long term. Recovery and disaster prevention contracting mechanisms
should be reviewed to ensure they favor local businesses wherever possible and encourage
labor intensive and local-contracting strategies.
THAI FLOOD 2011 RAPID ASSESSMENT FOR RESILIENT RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION PLANNING
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