28 Migrant workers arrested on Thai-Myanmar border
Published on Thursday, 09 January 2014 21:51
Myanmar migrant workers seen at the jetty near Thaungyin River in Myawaddy-Maesot (Photo-EMG)
Twenty eight Myanmar migrant workers possessing legal passports were arrested and fined by Thai immigration officers on the Thai-Myanmar border on January 2.
The migrant workers were arrested by plain clothes officers as they crossed the bridge that connects the border towns of Mae Sot and Myawaddy.
"If we pass on the bridge, visa fees cost 2500 Baht equivalent to approximately Ks 100,000. Therefore, we travel under the bridge," said Aung Win, who was among the 28 arrested by the Thai immigration officers.
"They (the Thai immigration officers) fined us baht 5000 each but in the court's voucher it was written only as baht 1800. The rest they shared among them," he added.
Thai employers usually give permission to Myanmar migrant workers holding legal passports to return home at the end of the year. Many cross the Moei River under the official bridge checkpoint to avoid paying visa fees.
Thousands of workers have fled to seek work in neighbouring Thailand due to the poor economic conditions in Myanmar over the past decades. Currently there are about 2 million Myanmar workers legally working in Thailand. According to various NGO's, there may be over 3 million Myanmar working illegally.
Many migrant workers are forced to do menial labour or work in sweat-shops earning a third of the minimum wage afforded to Thais. They are often exploited by factory owners in cahoots with the Thai police.
Though they earn more in Thailand, many Myanmar migrant workers have expressed a desire to return home as Myanmar undergoes economic and political reforms that promise to create more jobs and opportunities.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/28-migrant-workers-arrested-on-thai-myanmar-border/
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