Illegal Migrant Worker Public Management: Thailand Case Study

Abstract

This research aims to study illegal migrant worker public management in Thailand by conducting the government documents analysis (Laws, Policies, Resolutions and Announcements). The research shows that there are 4 periods of Thai illegal migrant worker public management: The first period; the government conducted the migrant worker registration for illegal migrants (legalization), the second period; the government conducted the non-Thai identification registration for migrant workers and followers, the third period; the government conducted the worker immigration via MOUs with Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar governments, and the fourth period; the government is regulating the worker immigration according to the Emergency Decree on the Bringing of Foreigners for Working with Employers in the Country, B.E. 2559 (2016), which identifies that the private sectors are responsible for bringing migrant workers to work with them, on the other hand, the government is only responsible for the regulation. However, this practice is still not successful; there are 1,320,035 migrants being registered by the government (January 2018). These findings, consequently, lead to 2 recommendations: (1) the government should persuade related sectors to involve as a committee, together with developing a policy, a clearly strategic plan (shot, medium and long terms), an effective evaluation practice, create a co-operation network with CSOs and change the role of the government from controlling to be regulating and (2) the government should develop the policy leading the private sectors to focus on improving the capital intensive industry instead of the labour intensive industry.