NESDB survey reeks of ultra-nationalism

NESDB survey reeks of ultra-nationalism

Migrants may be running vegetable stalls in markets,but that does not equate to 'stealing jobs from Thais'. (Photo by Jiraporn Kuhakan)
Migrants may be running vegetable stalls in markets,but that does not equate to 'stealing jobs from Thais'. (Photo by Jiraporn Kuhakan)

A news item about migrant workers created a big nationalistic stir last week. It was about a survey showing migrant workers becoming self-employed and active in small, informal trading as small vendors in fresh and community markets.

"They are stealing Thai jobs!" was the immediate reaction from the Thai public, followed by "They are violating the law", and "These people should be arrested and deported instantly".

This kind of nationalistic reaction never ceases to amaze me, particularly when it comes from those who are obviously descendents of Chinese immigrants. More often than not, they are proud to tell you how their ancestors fled poverty and hunger in China with just "one mat and one pillow" to start life anew in old Siam. From manual labourers, these Chinese immigrants toiled their way up to become small vendors and small business owners, sweating and scrimping to give a good education and a good life to their children.

Despite some policy discrimination, their roles in commerce grew to become the dominant force in Thailand's modern economy. Within a generation or two, their children became Thai citizens and a vital part of the rising middle class. Many families have become among the world's richest. Their younger generations are fully integrated into society and politics, eventually rising to the political helm.

Sanitsuda Ekachai is former editorial pages editor, Bangkok Post.

What would have happened had these immigrants been arrested and deported back to China for stealing Thai jobs?

The research that triggered our nationalistic wrath was done by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB). According to its surveys, between May and June this year in eight provinces with high migrant labour concentrations, migrants run about 20% of stalls in fresh markets, 9% in community markets, and 2% in weekend markets.

The data evoked the images of the toiling and weary-looking mae kah and poh kah in smelly, wet markets. Yet the headlines screamed: Migrant workers invading Thai small businesses!

Did the headlines derive from the survey finding that non-Thais run about 6% of shops in supermarkets? Maybe. But to call this an invasion? Give me a break.

The national think tank is supposed to produce facts to dismantle myths and prejudices, making way for realistic and just policies. The mass media is supposed to question state authorities and give a voice to the downtrodden. What we have here are two powerful institutions feeding on each other to perpetuate injustice. Why? Because both the NESDB and the media assume that the current labour law and policy are just. They are not. They assume the migrant workers who violate the law are criminals. They are not.

Let's start with the rigid registration policy riddled with red tape. Instead of a year-round system, migrants can register themselves during a very short period of time. Those who miss it face routine police extortion. Those who made it still face the same ordeal, however, because their employers confiscate their documents to prevent them from running away. This is against the law, but the employers are most always spared while the police extortion spree continues.

Migrants must receive the legal minimum wage under Thai law. Yet the majority in the informal sector do not. So what do you do when you are subjected to maltreatment? Change jobs? Change employers? Tough luck.

According to the labour law, migrants cannot change jobs without their employer's consent. Why should abusive bosses let their workers leave? If migrants run away anyway, they immediately become illegal under the law. Instead of getting help, abused workers are punished, and thrown into another cycle of police extortion.

This is how many migrant workers end up illegal and selling food and vegetables in the wet markets to survive. This grim situation is not in the NESDB survey. Instead, it talks about migrants bribing officials to do business, building up mafia influence, cutting prices to compete with Thai vendors, getting richer than their Thai peers, causing the country lose money through their remittances and putting the public at risk from contagious diseases.

One thing we cannot argue. The NESDB perfectly captures our country's anxiety about migrants -- the fear, the disdain, the envy, the hatred -- in just one survey. What a feat!

Is it possible that the survey aims at encouraging policymakers to amend the labour law because it does not respond to the job market's needs? It does not look like it. According to the survey, nearly half of the migrants engaging in informal commerce are shop attendants. They can be arrested anytime because the highly restricted labour law allows migrants to engage in only manual labour and domestic work.

Meanwhile, another set of labour laws bars non-Thais from working in 39 fields, including agriculture, fisheries, law, engineering, architecture, tourism, sales, hairdressing, dressmaking and traditional handicrafts. Due to unrealistic job restrictions, many migrant workers found themselves in off-limits jobs, as shown by the NESDB. Many have become skilled workers and small entrepreneurs. Any countries would welcome their increasing productivity. Here, they live under fear and insecurity.

If unable to pay officials to turn the other way, undocumented migrants face a maximum jail term of five years and/or a fine between 2,000-100,000 baht. Registered workers who do not follow the work they have registered for face a maximum fine of 20,000 baht.

Are migrants stealing Thai jobs? Are young Thais ready to do jobs at migrants' work hours and low wages?

Without cheap labour from migrants, can the export industry here compete with neighbouring countries with lower wages? Another question we should ask is how we can ease migrant labour exploitation if we want to avoid trade boycotts from trading partners.

Rigid job restrictions for migrants and non-Thai nationals are based on ultra-nationalism which views "outsiders" as threats to national security. Obviously, this narrow mindset is out of touch with the globalised world -- and bad for the economy.

As a national planning agency, the NESDB should have recommended a more open labour policy. Instead, it advised stricter enforcement of this outdated law. Mind you, nothing is said about punishing corrupt officials. The punishment is only for migrant workers in off-limits jobs.

When the country is rapidly ageing, educating migrant children will provide a young, productive workforce to support the elderly population. The NESDB should have pressed for policies that allow these young people to realise their potential -- the exact same opportunities enjoyed by children of Chinese immigrants not so long ago. Instead it continues to support an archaic law which supports migrant clampdowns and freezes valuable human resources in dirty, dangerous and demeaning jobs.

The migrants are not our problem. The ethnic Malay Muslims in the restive South are not the problem. The Western countries that call for the return of democracy to Thailand are not the problem. Their threats of a trade boycott because of severe human trafficking and forced labour here are not the problem.

The problem is our ultra-nationalism. It narrows our minds, fuels xenophobia, blocks our reasoning and blinds us from the inhumanity people we consider as "outsiders" are facing.

The NESDB survey and the reactions from the media and the public only reconfirm this sad fact. Unless we confront this problem of deep-rooted racism, the international community will continue to frown on us, the southern fire will rage on and the inhumanity against migrants will continue.

The migrants are not stealing our jobs. The culprit is ultra-nationalism that steals our humanity.2016-09-08

Sanitsuda Ekachai

Former editorial pages editor

Sanitsuda Ekachai is a former editorial pages editor, Bangkok Post. She writes on human rights, gender, and Thai Buddhism.

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