Migrant worker registration push ignored

Many fishery business operators have ignored the government's push for the registration of migrant workers, saying the process is a burden.

Fewer than 20,000 foreign workers have registered as working in the fishery industry, although it is estimated that close to 100,000 are hired in this sector, said Anurak Thosarat, director of the Office of Foreign Workers Administration, yesterday.

The most recent round of foreign worker registrations was conducted between June 15 and July 14.

The fisheries sector had requested more foreign workers be registered to replace those who had either run away from their employers or gone to work for new companies, said Mr Anurak.

Employers cited worker shortages as the main reason to petition against the new registration system.

But Mr Anurak said if workers fled their jobs it was a sign they were being poorly treated.

The office had already offered a more flexible option of fishery worker registrations in which new foreign workers registered themselves with a fishery association instead of a certain employer so that they could work for different boats in rotation under the same association, he said.

A certain number of fishery operators had shrugged off the past worker registration system because they said it did not resolve the problem of worker shortages, said an informed source.

These employers had instead turned to illegal labour broker services to find more staff, although those migrants did not have work permits because they were not properly registered, said the source.

"These fishery operators are really fed up with the same problem of their workers running away even before they have recouped the money they paid for them in the registration process," said an unnamed operator.

Using illegal labour brokers not only costs a lot of money but also comes with a risk of the company being perceived as being involved with human trafficking, said the operator.

However, another unidentified employer said that to hire legal workers was even more costly and it was complicated too, not to mention the fact that it did not help solve the problem of runaway workers. He said migrants often viewed fishery work as a stepping stone to other jobs in Thailand.

Khomdet Rattanaphonwarisakun, president of the fishery association of Rayong province, said he still thought employers would be better off following the proper procedure for the registration of foreign workers.

Mr Khomdet said both the government agencies concerned and the affected employers should discuss ways to solve the problem of workers fleeing.

He also encouraged foreign workers to formally request for a change in employer if they were unhappy with their current ones.

This way, the workers would not have to become illegal labourers as a result of escaping from employers whom they have legally registered with.

Mr Khomdet added that employers would also stand a better chance of their workers staying with them if they treated them well.

He said he believed that if the employees were treated fairly by their bosses, they would never want to run away and become illegal workers.

"On average, a fishery worker can earn more than 10,000 baht a month and some make as much as 200,000 baht a year," he said.