Thailand’s rapid economic growth has resulted in fewer Thai people undertaking employment in sectors commonly perceived as ‘dirty, dangerous and demeaning’. The labor shortage has been mostly filled by an influx of migrant workers from neighboring countries. There are approximately 2 million registered and unregistered Burmese migrant workers, with Burmese migrants making up 80% of the total number of migrants (Amnesty International, 2005). The Thai government has initiated a series of registration processes in an attempt to formulate a legal framework and regularize the flow of migrants. However, despite this effort, confusion exists due to flaws both at the design and implementation phase of the registration process. The situation is exasperated by the limited flow of information to the migrant workers regarding the process and their entitlements. The registration process has failed to prevent employers from abusing migrant workers and migrant workers are still not claiming their full entitlements. Migrants remain extremely vulnerable to exploitation, resulting in reduced wages and at times, bonded labor.

Through partnering with and supporting activities of 4 CSOs, ADRA proposes to provide over 5,000 migrant workers with direct trainings and assistance (30 workers*36 workshops/year). Also, 30 members of the partner CSOs will be receiving trainings to improve their organization’s capacity and efficiency. The indirect beneficiaries include at least 15,000 workers receiving newsletters/bulletins about rights and entitlements (circulations of 3,000/month* 5 years). The intervention will have a ripple effect on a significant proportion of the migrant women, who will be receiving secondary support through increased entitlements and services.

This project has the following objectives:

1. Building capacity of civil society to engage in local decision making process- linking CSOs with Thai government agencies in Mae Sot.

2. Building capacity of civil society to engage in national decision making process- linking CSOs to national networks and forums which influence national policy in Thailand.

By reducing the vulnerability of migrant women and increasing their knowledge of and access to rights and services, it is envisaged that migrant women's abilities to earn a fair wage will be improved, workplace conditions will improve and access to health services will generally improve their health. Improved wage compensation will directly reduce the poverty of the migrant women, and improved health and working conditions will allow them to work longer and more efficiently.