Notwithstanding the public outcry over its punitive and oppressive nature, the executive decree on migrant labour management was upgraded into an act on Thursday.
It demonstrates the failure of both the government and the National Legislative Assembly to admit the shortcomings of the law and to understand the bigger picture.
Even though the government cited a crackdown on human trafficking as the rationale behind the enactment of this law, it remains questionable whether this goal can be achieved.
The law focuses too much on the registration of workers. Several harsh punitive measures against migrant workers and tighter restrictions on their employment conditions imply the law is an attempt to crack down on the migrant workforce from Thailand's neighbouring countries.
Instead of collecting more money through higher penalties, the law should have taken into account the need for better protection and employment conditions for migrant workers. The new penalties of between 400,000 to 800,000 baht that employers will have to pay for each unregistered worker are hefty. But liabilities on part of the "illegal migrants" are much harsher -- a jail term of up to five years or a fine of 2,000 to 100,000 baht, or both.
In addition, employers must pay 20,000 baht for a licence to hire migrants while their workers each pay about the same for a work permit and then its renewal. These fees are unreasonably excessive. They are 20 times higher than the fee for a Thai person to apply for a passport.
As long as the registration process remains costly, difficult and limited, exploitation of migrant workers and corruption will continue to thrive.
The government has made previous efforts to try to stamp out forced labour and human trafficking in the past three years. Its real motive is to help the country earn a better rank in the US's Trafficking In Persons report.
In fact, when introducing this law on migrant labour management, the government should have taken a more holistic approach to addressing this chronic problem while liberalising the labour market for migrant workers. It should focus more on decent work conditions and decent pay for migrant workers.
As Thailand becomes an ageing society, it can no longer overlook the importance of its foreign workforce. Given the high number of migrant workers in Thailand, estimated at up to 4 million for both registered and undocumented ones, the government should instead be thankful for their contributions in driving small- and medium-sized businesses, boosting the country's gross domestic product, and making life more convenient for Thais.
Thailand should start treating migrant labourers the same way as Thai workers by guaranteeing basic human and labour rights that can make them less vulnerable to exploitation.
While the existing Thai labour law prohibits changes of jobs and employees, the new act simply anchors this principle by making things worse for migrants. A maximum fine of 100,000 baht is imposed on those who do not do the job they are registered for. Thailand should instead revise its law to provide the workers better career opportunities so they can contribute more to the Thai economy as the country's own workforce is shrinking.
What the Thai government and its bureaucratic system need to do is get over their traditional prejudice against migrants. What Labour Minister Sirichai Distakul said recently reflects this notion. For him, the new law was required because there were many migrant workers in the country "stealing jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities from Thais". This mindset needs to be changed.
Without amendments to this and other labour laws, exploitation of migrant workers will continue to thrive, the Thai economy will suffer, and better work and living conditions for migrant labour will not become a reality.