An Analysis of Labour Migration Trends Between Myanmar and Thailand Through the Formal MOU Process

During the last two decades, labour migration has emerged as a significant driver of economic growth and development in both countries of origin and destination in South-East Asia. 2015 estimates identified around 20.2 million migrants as originating from countries that are members of the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), among whom nearly 6.9 million had migrated to other countries within the region. Among these countries, Thailand was the largest receiver of intra-ASEAN migrants while Myanmar was the largest sender, making the Myanmar-Thailand migration channel a particularly crucial pathway.

Historically much of Myanmar-Thailand migration, reflecting overall trends of intra-ASEAN migration, has been irregular and informal. This has meant that much of the migration is not captured by official data and most statistics refer to estimates where they do exist. More recently, formal migration channels have been established in a number of ASEAN countries, including in Thailand, which has formalized Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with multiple neighboring countries, including Myanmar. These MOUs establish a clear government-to-government migration channel, which allows governments on each side to have more oversight over the migration process. While the formal channel continues to be challenging for workers to access due to high costs, long waiting periods and complex processes, use of the formal MOU channel has been increasingly steadily over the past five years, especially in the case of Myanmar and Thailand.

One obvious advantage of having a regular migration channel is the ability of governments to regulate recruitment practices to reduce risks for workers and jobseekers. Irregular brokers – who are the chief facilitators of labour migration through irregular channels – are harder to regulate, which allows them the freedom to exploit vulnerable jobseekers in a number of ways. With a regular channel, governments can regulate licensed recruitment agencies (RAs) and employers, who are meant to be the primary actors in the process, in order to reduce risks of exploitation (there is no clear evidence yet, however, that the regular channel has indeed reduced labour risks up to this point). Another advantage, however, is the availability of data for the migration pathway, which can not only help develop an overall understanding of the patterns of migration but also guide policy formation. This report undertakes a preliminary analysis of official migration data between Myanmar and Thailand in order to take the first step in the process. This data has been obtained by the Issara Institute from the Myanmar Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population (MOLIP) for the year of 2018. The analysis explores overall trends before taking a deeper dive into two specific industries – Seafood and Manufacturing. Finally, the analysis explores recruitment practices of RAs and employers to identify potential risk areas. The report concludes by identifying potential areas for further analysis and investigation.