Comparison of Implementation of International Migrant Worker Protection in Thailand and Indonesia

Abstract

         The objectives of this 12-month research were to compare and analyze the from implementation of the regulations and the agreement of the international migrant worker protection in Thailand and Indonesia, and to suggest practice of labour protector officials and law enforcement. The secondary data were collected from documents and websites, and the primary data were obtained through the in-depth interview with the 45 representatives of each country based on semi-structured questions. Finally, focus group discussion was conducted with 50 representatives (5 times) of each country consisting of employees, employers, experts, and international organizations.

            This research focused on the international migrant worker protection policy, practice of officials, and governmental organizations, law enforcement, and implementation of the labour protection system. It was found that Thailand government is adjusting the policies and laws related to labour, but in practice, the labour protection has the limitation in law enforcement and the outside labour has increased under the limitation of rights and liberty in the groups of labour union. Concurrently, the human trafficking problem is the critical challenge for the Thai government. At the same time, Indonesian government is adjusting the social security system to cover the outside employees and to procure the employees following the request of the labour union, and has the limitation of the law, the labour patrol, and the political intervention. Now, the improvement of competition is the critical challenge for both Thailand and Indonesia. Similarly, the laws which focused on the control of migrant workers and the rights to organize trade unions need to be considered in every dimension, in conjunction with limiting the discretion of government officials under territorial conditions.