The Mekong challenge. Underpaid overworked and overlooked: the realities of young migrant workers in Thailand. Volume One.

Abstract

Is it legal political socio-cultural or purely economic reasons that drive employers and consumers to demand goods and services provided by migrant workers especially young and female migrants? To what extent do these demand factors play a role in either actively encouraging or tacitly accepting the ongoing exploitation of workers? This one-year research study sets out to answer these questions. It focuses less on the movement of young migrants and victims of trafficking and places greater emphasis on where most of the exploitation occurs - at the workplace. The primary objective of this research was to examine the level of labour exploitation occurring in the four sectors: agriculture domestic work fishing (fishing boats and fish processing) and manufacturing (textiles) and to determine to the extent possible how much of it is actually forced labour and trafficking. Secondly the study set out to examine the profile and attitudes of employers and recruiters who engage migrants to work in these sectors. Such employers and recruiters could either be parties to the exploitation or indeed partners to stop it from occurring. (excerpt)