“LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND” REPORT: RELIEF PROGRAMMES DURING COVID-19 AND THEIR CHALLENGES

“LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND” REPORT: RELIEF PROGRAMMES DURING COVID-19 AND THEIR CHALLENGES

Overview The Covid-19 pandemic saw us all struggling with a disruptive and unprecedented event. The difficulties experienced among various groups during the pandemic were extremely diverse. HRDF explores whether and how migrant workers could access the economic support measures put in place by the Thai government as relief programs to mitigate the pandemic’s effects. The Report “Leaving No One Behind”, published in August 2022, is the result of such an investigation. Through the analysis of the requirements for accessing the multiple relief programs and a reflection on the challenges for migrant workers, the report tackles the numerous difficulties, inequalities, and discriminations experienced by labor migrants during the Covid-19 pandemic. The difficulties include:

• the access requirements that migrants do not meet
• the necessary cooperation from the employer in sending the required documents to apply
• language and/or bureaucratic barriers
• the widespread unawareness among migrant workers of their rights and the possible benefits they could obtain during the pandemic.

The report includes seven relief measures enacted by the Thai Government during the Covid-19 pandemic and looks at their benefits, requirements, and challenges. The relief measures include:

1. We Win
2. We Love Each Other (Section 33)
3. Relief programs for employers and insured persons in strict control zones
4. Compensations for days off not caused by the employees or by official closure order
5. Force Majeure Covid-19 unemployment benefits
6. Unemployment benefits for force majeure closure on construction camps
7. Employee Welfare Fund

Benefit

We Win  9000 bath/person	We Love Each Other (section 33) 4000 baht/person	Relief programs for employers and insured persons in strict control zones 2500bath/person for two times
Compensations for days off not caused by the employees or by official closure order   At least 75% of the working’s day wage	Force Majeure Covid-19 unemployment benefits  50% of the daily wage for every day of self-isolation or when their workplace is ordered to shut down	Unemployment benefits for force majeure closure on construction camps  – 50% of their wage in cash, but not more than 7500 bath, to all workers every 5 days – Every meal for one month – 2000 extra bath for Thai workers – Only 2000 bath for the workers not registered into Social Security system
Employee Welfare Fund To be established according to needs and specific situation

    Requirement

We Win 1. Thai nationality 2. Not being insured under Section 33	We Love Each Other (Section 33) 1. Thai nationality 2. Being insured under Section 33	Relief programs for employers and insured persons in strict control zones 1. Being in a strict control area 2. Being affected by the measures adopted by the government 3. Being an employer or an insured person 4. Thai nationality
Compensations for days off not caused by the employees or by official closure order   1. Being an employee	Force Majeure Covid-19 unemployment benefits   1. Being insured under Section 33 2. Having paid contributions for at least 6 months in the 15 months prior to be unemployed 3. Filling the Benefit Application Forms (both employee and employer)	Unemployment benefits for force majeure closure on construction camps   1. Being insured under Section 33 2. Having paid contributions for at least 6 months in the 15 months prior to be unemployed 3. Filling documentation (both employee and employer)
Employee Welfare Fund   1. Being an employee

    Challenges for migrant workers

We Win  – Discrimination based on nationality – Not eligible	We Love Each Other (section 33) – Discrimination based on nationality – Not eligible although being insured under Section 33	Relief programs for employers and insured persons in strict control zones – Only formal sectors – Informal sectors’ workers are not allowed to register for insurance thus they’re not covered
Compensations for days off not caused by the employees or by official closure order – Lack of awareness of the available benefits – Employers often make the employees declare that they renounce to it – Filing a complaint against the employer requires support from NGO/others	Force Majeure Covid-19 unemployment benefits – Max 90 days altogether – Unfriendly registration system – High volume of official documentation required from the employer – If obtained, the funds are deposited in the employer’s bank account thus a high risk of not (fully) reaching the workers – Lack of awareness of the available benefits	Unemployment benefits for force majeure closure on construction camps – Many workers discovered they haven’t been registered in the Social Security scheme even though their employer was taking money from them saying that they had to pay contributions – If obtained, the funds are deposited in the employer’s bank account thus a high risk of not (fully) reaching the workers
Employee Welfare Fund – High volume of documentation required – In the implementation phase, the entitlements are tied to legal migration status

Conclusion and the way forward It becomes clear how relief programs for migrant workers are more of an obstacle course and a chain of exclusion rather than a support measure. Some measures designed for all workers require Thai citizenship, thus constituting a glaring contradiction between wanting to reach all workers and then guaranteeing access only to Thai workers. For those measures where Thai citizenship is not required, the requirements ask to be insured and thus registered by the employer in the official systems, which is often not the case either because of the employer’s bad faith or because of limitations imposed by law in registering migrants for example in the domestic or agricultural sectors. In other measures for which the requirements of nationality and registration are not demanded, an important dose of official documents is demanded, for example those certifying the closure order by the government: this means that a key role is given to the employer, who is tasked with submitting an important number of official documents to receive the money to then distribute to his employees. Other difficulties are related to language and practical barriers, such as having access to an internet connection and having a certain amount of digital literacy and language skills to complete the application online. HRDF has been advocating for a more flexible reading of requirements and a move toward the direction of inclusive, non-discriminatory, needs-based action. Several recommendations are indicated in the report: although the peak of pandemic-related difficulties is now past, it is useful to keep in mind the observations and proposals indicated in the report in case of future pandemic-like events or in case of disasters. Last but not least, if the will is to “leave no one behind”, then steps must be taken by institutions to make this motto a real practice and not an empty slogan. For more details, read the full report here.