"Andy Hall: 'Myanmar does not have a long-term migration policy'", 26 Dec 2016

...Thailand’s migration management has been half-hearted, nationalistic and national security-centric, with no long-term policy that ensures the human security of migrant workers. [It’s also] marred in deep-rooted corruption. Migrant workers remain too often unorganised, uneducated and without genuine channels of complaint that can bring about effective law enforcement and access to rights. In some circumstances the situation for migrant workers in Thailand has improved. Credit should be given for this visible improvement. This has only occurred when civil society and the Thai trade union movement has worked with more progressive employers, industries, as well as the Thai government and overseas buyers... to improve the conditions of migrant workers, the systematic corruption in Thai society, alongside the lack of rule of law and failure to afford workers basic respect, must be addressed on a societal or cultural level. Likewise, the Myanmar government does not have a long-term migration policy, in terms of national, economic and human security. Migration management is not falling within the remit of a centralised policy of the government...Thailand’s Memorandum of Understanding with Myanmar remains at an aspirational stage, and continues generally not to be enforced or applied...[Refers to Betagro]