Labour rights groups have expressed concern that a regional treaty on migrant workers may not be completed by the end of the year as the issue has divided ASEAN between countries that send and those that receive migrant workers.

A migrant worker from Myanmar in Chiang Mai. (Kaung Htet/The Myanmar Times)

With Malaysia set to take over from Myanmar as chair at the end of the year, rights groups say the treaty could be put off until at least 2016 if it is not finalised in the coming months.

ASEAN members have been negotiating the terms of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers since 2007. Despite an end-of-2013 deadline, they have reached agreement on only 58 of 68 sections as of the most recent meeting, which was held in Nay Pyi Taw from September 1-3.

Two more meetings – one in Malaysia from October 27-29, the other in Laos in December – will be held to discuss the issue before Myanmar hands over the chairship at the end of the year.

Ministry of Labour deputy director U Thein Win said the main stumbling block is that receiving countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei, have “strongly objected” to giving migrant workers the same labour rights as citizens.

Meanwhile, sending countries, including Myanmar, are “enthusiastic” about the prospect of greater rights for their workers abroad, he said.

Myanmar is thought to have several million citizens working elsewhere in the region, mostly in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

While Singapore rejects the idea of equal rights outright, Thailand and Malaysia do not want it to be extended to both documented and undocumented workers, U Thein Win said.

He said he remains hopeful that the declaration can be finalised this year and said Myanmar will make every effort to complete it during its chairship of ASEAN.

“Myanmar has two chances to complete it this year as two meetings are left. One is in Laos and the other is in Malaysia,” U Thein Win said.

However, the fact that one of the countries opposed to more rights for migrant workers is hosting a meeting may prove problematic.

Yuyun, a human rights activist from Indonesia and regular observer of ASEAN affairs, said Malaysian officials would be reluctant to raise the 10 outstanding sections of the draft.

“The meeting in Malaysia might end with disputes … The Laos one is a big chance for Myanmar” to finalise the treaty, she said.

She added that it was important for the treaty to be implemented by the launch of the ASEAN Community in 2015.

“There will be no ASEAN Community without the protection of the rights of migrant workers,” she said.

U Thein Win echoed the sentiment.

“We must try to finalise the declaration during our period as chair. If that’s not possible then we will have to finish it in 2015,” he said.

Daw Khin Nwe Oo, a deputy director general in the Ministry of Labour, said the declaration would give workers greater legal protection in all countries across the region, and improve on the patchwork of bilateral agreements.

“For example, at the moment we discuss migrant worker problems between Myanmar and Thailand as well as Myanmar and Malaysia through bilateral talks. But after the declaration comes out we could resolve these problems as a bloc,” she said. “Migrant workers can demand their rights according to the text of the declaration.”

The declaration’s section on the obligations of receiving states mentions that they must intensify efforts to protect the fundamental human rights, promote the welfare and uphold the human dignity of migrant workers.

They must also work toward the achievement of harmony and tolerance between receiving states and migrant workers, and provide migrant workers, who may be victims of discrimination, abuse, exploitation and violence, with adequate access to their legal and judicial systems.

Despite the potential implications for workers, U Moe Gyo, chair of the Joint Action Committee for Burmese Affairs based in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, said most were not aware of the declaration. He said they were generally sceptical of any promises to provide greater protection as bilateral agreements had previously been ineffective.

“Despite making promises to resolve migrant worker problems, most governments … fail to protect them and the problems haven’t diminished. If anything, they have increased,” he said.

Ma Theint, who has been working in Malaysia for the past seven years, said she would be happy if the declaration had a practical impact on her rights.

“We don’t know anything about the declaration – nobody has told us about it,” she said. “We want our rights to be protected whether the declaration is introduced or not. At the moment, we are looked down upon. If we are shown some respect, we will also respect the country in which we are staying.”

By: Nyan Lynn Aung , Myanmar Times