Lack of formal legal status and fears of arrest and deportation make many Myanmar workers in Thailand vulnerable to abuse by their employers, migrant rights advocates and researchers say.
The issue, which has long been recognised by experts, was highlighted recently in the case of a Myanmar national who was allegedly tortured by his Chinese employer last month while working in eastern Thailand.
The man, identified as Thar Thar, said he was beaten with golf clubs and scalded with boiling water after demanding withheld wages. He also accused his employer of destroying his passport, which he used to enter Thailand earlier this year.
The incident, which took place on April 30, reflects the increasingly precarious situation of Myanmar migrants in Thailand since the 2021 military coup, which has pushed millions into economic hardship, displacement, and fears of forced conscription.
According to Amporn Jirattikorn, a researcher at Chiang Mai University who studies Myanmar migrant communities in Thailand, Thar Thar’s experience is not unique, and should be seen in the wider context of conditions affecting many Myanmar workers.
“This case should not be viewed only as labour abuse,” she told Myanmar Now. “It has characteristics of human trafficking and coercive labour.”
The situation is especially difficult for Myanmar migrants who enter Thailand through informal border crossings, many of whom remain undocumented and highly dependent on brokers, employers, and informal networks for survival.
“Workers who lack documents or legal status are often unable to leave abusive workplaces freely because they fear arrest, detention, or deportation by Thai authorities,” she said.
One reason many migrants avoid seeking help from police, she added, is that undocumented workers are often treated first as immigration offenders rather than victims of abuse.
“In practice, many migrants fear that approaching police could lead to detention or repatriation back to Myanmar, which they do not want to return to after paying large sums of money to escape military recruitment or economic hardship back home.”
In 2024, Myanmar Now reported that regime authorities were screening Myanmar nationals deported from Thailand through border checkpoints, in some cases forcibly recruiting them into military service under a mandatory conscription law activated earlier that year.
The conscription campaign triggered a mass exodus of young people, despite junta efforts to prevent them leaving the country. In many cases, they joined the ranks of undocumented migrant workers in Thailand, living in constant fear of being sent back.
Post-coup migration pressures have created conditions for widespread abuse of Myanmar workers in Thailand, particularly among undocumented labourers employed in isolated workplaces, according to migrant worker rights specialist Andy Hall.
Hall said abusive employers often exploit workers’ fears of deportation and their lack of legal protection, making it difficult for victims to escape or report violence.
He also called on Thai authorities to strengthen protections for migrant workers and ensure victims can safely report abuse without risking arrest or forced return to Myanmar.
Amporn said the sharp increase in migration from Myanmar since the coup had transformed Thailand’s labour landscape, creating a large pool of precarious workers vulnerable to exploitation.
“The precarity of migrants’ lives means that some employers can exploit the constant fear of deportation, while authorities may prioritise migration control over victim protection,” she said.
She argued that improving migrant protection would require stronger anti-trafficking mechanisms, safer reporting systems, and guarantees that victims seeking help would not automatically face deportation.
She also noted that there is a need to recognise both the severity and the complexity of the issue, which often straddles legal categories.
“Violence against Myanmar migrants in Thailand often cannot be separated simply as ‘labour exploitation’ versus ‘human trafficking,’” she explained.
Migrant workers are especially susceptible to abuse, she said, because unscrupulous employers can use debt, document confiscation, threats, confinement, and fear of deportation to control them.
