Human Rights Challenges of Irregular Migrant Laborers’ Dependent Children in Thailand’s Construction Sectors: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

Despite being a vital component of economic growth, irregular migrant laborers staying with their children on construction sites in Thailand face various challenges. Irregular migrant workers face discrimination in wages, inadequate documentation, and limited access to basic rights, and their children are not covered by public services guaranteed in the Thai national legal framework for migrant laborers. The children, or dependants of the irregular migrant workers in this sector, face difficulties accessing fundamental rights. Through the conceptual framework of irregular migrants together with the complex definition of dependent children of migrant workers, this documentary research analyses the basic protection deficits, risks, and needs of migrant workers’ dependent children in the construction sector in Thailand. The study found that their identity as 'children' is largely ignored due to their parents' identity as migrant workers or irregular migrants. Therefore, migrant workers’ dependants or children in Thailand's construction projects are deprived of their fundamental human rights, such as education, healthcare, and protection. The study’s findings provide insights into both academic research and policy analysis in the field of migrant worker management by highlighting the human rights deprivation of children as the key dependents of migrant workers, which affects the productivity of migrant workers and indicates the lack of efficacy of the Thai government’s labor migrant policies. The study recommends weighing migrant workers’ voices in the design of labor migration programs, broader consultation among migrant workers, employers, and government officials, and policy review to allow children of migrant workers to access fundamental human rights.