Thailand to close centres issuing ID certificates to Myanmar nationals

The Thai Ministry of Labour has announced that it will be closing all centres issuing Certificates of Identification, or CIs, to undocumented Myanmar workers in Thailand from July 7. The CIs, which allow Myanmar nationals in Thailand to legally work and travel in the country, were issued from centres in five provinces, as well as from mobile units in three other provinces. The move comes in response to a request from Myanmar’s military junta, according to the ministry. While the centres have reportedly received instructions to close, an official at the centre in Chonburi Province said it was unclear if the closure would be temporary or permanent. “At the moment, the instructions only refer to the closure on July 7. No further instructions have arrived as to whether this is a temporary suspension or a permanent closure,” the official told Myanmar Now. Last year the Thai government opened CI centres for migrant workers who had already obtained work permits, or pink cards, which are also issued to migrants from Laos and Cambodia if they have evidence of employment. The Thai Ministry of Labour confirmed on June 6 that it will issue a new pink card to undocumented migrant workers in Thailand, including those from Myanmar. Holders of a pink card have the right to work and reside in the districts where they are employed, but are not allowed to travel outside of those districts. The CI, which allows greater freedom of movement, is issued by the Thai government in coordination with the Myanmar regime. Moe Kyaw, the associate secretary of the Thailand-based Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association, said that permanently banning CIs—often referred to as green books—would be a significant loss for Myanmar workers in the country. “They will lose many benefits and workers’ rights, as well as freedom, if they have to go back to the situation they were in before, where they could only work in permitted areas,” he said. On the other hand, he added, dropping the green book might be an improvement if the new pink cards allow workers to travel more freely in Thailand. Myanmar migrant workers, who typically make the minimum wage in Thailand, are required to pay at least 6,000 baht (US$163) to obtain a CI. The CI centres in Thailand are operated by Khin Maung Kyaw, an army veteran whose United KMK Company has close ties to the Myanmar regime. Critics say that the junta uses the CI system to collect taxes from migrant workers, making them a valuable source of foreign currency at a time when the country’s diminishing reserves have fuelled high inflation and a dramatic fall in the value of the kyat.

Thailand to close centres issuing ID certificates to Myanmar nationals

Advocacy groups say the move could result in a loss of workers’ rights and freedom of movement

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