New report

Regulating recruitment of migrant workers: An assessment of complaint mechanisms in Thailand

This report provides the findings of an analysis of the legal framework and the complaint mechanisms for workers with grievances to seek redress - and puts forward recommendations for strengthening the system.

Regular abuses against migrant workers during the recruitment process have been documented by the Thai Government and other stakeholders for many years, but due to gaps in the legal framework and operation of complaint mechanisms, both foreign and Thai migrant workers are left without sufficient access to seek legal remedies for these unfair and illicit recruitment practices by private employment agencies and unlicensed brokers. To increase the knowledge base about the changes needed to strengthen the regulatory system, a comprehensive analysis of policy and implementation for the existing mechanisms was completed by the Asian Research Center for Migration, in partnership with the ILO’s GMS TRIANGLE project. The report produced by the study, Regulating recruitment of migrant workers: An assessment of complaint mechanisms in Thailand, fills a vital gap in the understanding of complaint mechanisms, in support of increased access to justice for migrant workers in Thailand.