Efficiency of Immigrant Worker Management in Special Economic Zones: a Case Study of Mukdahan Province

Abstract

The research aimed to study conditions of immigrant workers’ problems in three districts of Mukdahan special economic zones. The samples were 50 immigrant workers. The research instruments were in-depth interviewing, organizing a brainstorming session, and analyzing data by using a descriptive analysis method.

The research findings were as follows.

The conditions of the immigrant workers’ problems in Mukdahan special economic zones could be analyzed and identified into 7 items as follows.

1. In privilege: equality to services and basic welfares, and in public health of migrant workers, the findings showed that the systems: services, welfares, social security, and health insurance, in providing the public health welfares for the immigrant workers were inaccessible.
2. In the life quality and opportunity to work according to the immigrant worker laws, the results showed that the laws lacked of mechanisms to take care the immigrant workers and protect the immigrant workers’ rights, and the staff lacked of the unity and the integration in using the laws.
3. In the processes of the immigrant worker movement from the original states to the destination states, the results showed that the processes of the immigrant worker movement were still illegal starting from the original states to the destination states.
4. In the enhancement of the partners, the security, and the cooperation of the original countries towards the immigrant worker problems, the results showed that the security was a sensitive issue for the neighbor countries. Therefore, to protect the conflicts, organizing and managing the border areas were needed to be done by people and by using technologies to help.
5. In laws, rules, and measures in protecting the rights and freedom for the immigrant workers, the results showed that the illegal immigrant workers increased. Therefore, protecting human trafficking and fleeing into the city needed to be done.
6. In the roles and responsibility in developing state human resources towards the life skills of the immigrant workers, the results showed that the immigrant workers were taken care based on laws and international standard regulations for the immigrant workers in the special economic zones to reduce social imbalance, to create job opportunities, and to provide stable and legal income for the immigrant workers.
7. In mechanisms, methods of changing population structures, and Thai worker market policies, the results showed that the education systems did not only provide knowledge to the immigrant workers but also build ability skills relevant to economic development in the market mechanism to make understanding different societies in Mukdahan special economic zones.