The Worker's Lens

Bangladeshi Jobseeker, Gazipur, Bangladesh

This year has been particularly challenging for me as a determined job seeker from Bangladesh. The quota freeze in Malaysia and the political upheaval in my home country have cast a shadow over my dream of working abroad. Malaysia was a promising option due to its proximity and manageable recruitment fees compared to other destinations for low-skilled workers like myself. However, given the current situation and my financial constraints, I’m left uncertain about when, or even if, I will be able to find work abroad and support my family. Despite these difficulties, I’m holding on to hope and exploring all possible avenues to achieve my goals.

Nepali Migrant Worker, Electronic Factory, Malaysia

There is an app called Ujwal Sapana that helps with traveling to Malaysia. In the Ujwal Sapana app, I created my bio data and got the job under the free visa and free ticket model. I will also get reimbursement of the passport-making fee from the recruitment agency. I request all of you to download the app to get informed about other job demands. Please don’t fall into the trap of agents. Agents will charge 4 to 5 lakhs NPR (U$ 3,000-$3,700~) to secure a visa for Malaysia, so don’t run behind those agents. Download the Ujwal Sapana app and come via that app. It is also known as the Golden Dream app.

A Returned Migrant Worker, Bangladesh

After many years of working in Malaysia, my colleagues and I were unexpectedly informed that we needed to return home. This news came as a shock, as we had not been given any prior notice about the company’s decision. During this time, our passports were not in our possession, and we later discovered that our visas had not been renewed for a couple of years. As a result, we were sent back with a special permit, which means we won’t be able to return for the next five years. While some of us managed to find new opportunities and stay behind, the rest of us returned home. Since coming back, I’ve focused on starting a new chapter in my life with my recent marriage and dedicating my time to my family.

Burmese Migrant Workers, Seafood Industry, Samut Sakhon, Thailand

"Before I met Issara, I didn't know to whom I should raise the issues. Now, after learning about Issara, I feel confident discussing any issues I have. Thank you for the opportunity to attend the training. I gained knowledge about basic labor rights and employer-employee communication. I have also shared it with as many other workers as I can."

Burmese Migrant Worker, Electronic Factory, Phetchaburi, Thailand

"I should be the one addressing the issue in the first place since I came here willingly, without any external pressure. I also express my respect to all organizations that support migrant worker issues. I believe that if we collectively find solutions, we will succeed. However, one thing we need is patience and mutual understanding towards each other."

Cambodian Migrant Worker, Mobilizer, Chanthaburi, Thailand

This is a picture of the activities found and rescuing our Cambodian fishermen who were the boat sinking victim on June 24, 2024, recently in my community in the Pak Nam Khemno area in Tha Mai district, Chanthaburi, Thailand. Within this picutre, I would also like to show that there are still some Cambodian people who are poor and need money to pay off their debts and have crossed the border to work in the fishing industry, despite the high risk of working conditions.

Burmese Migrant Worker, Seafood Factory, Samut Prakan, Thailand

Pregnant workers face safety challenges at their workplace when their employer doesn't follow the rules for maternity rights according to the Thai Labor Protection Act. They are asked to do tasks that are normally done by non-pregnant workers, like lifting heavy things and walking on slippery floors. Sometimes, they're even told to hide near the restroom when important visitors come, so the visitors don't know they are doing the same work as others.

Cambodian Migrant Worker, Seafood Industry, Chanthaburi, Thailand

This is a picture I took with the four Cambodian fishermen who were rescued from a boat sinking in Tha Mai District, Chanthaburi Province, Thailand, and also brought generous donations of money and equipment for them that we got from the Cambodian mingrant workers network and civil society organization. This picture also I want to show that coming to work in Thailand, sharing and helping each other is still very important. For instance, for this boat sinking case, I observed that there is no civil society organization or employer having a tendency or action to support the victim properly yet such as the preparation of documents to get legalization as a migrant worker, and compensation for damages from this occupational risk. As far as I know from meeting them in person they have a poor life and need to pay off their bank debts in Cambodia and decided to cross the border to work in the fishing industry, despite the high risk of employment.

Cambodian Migrant Worker, Electronic Industry, Phetchaburi, Thailand

Right now, there are still labor issues at the workplace in some factories, even though they are documented workers. The issues with target setting, limited to the toilet break and verbal abuse. It would be great if the NGOs or Buyers could visit the factory or workplace regularly. It will help better when visitors come, such as auditors, buyers, and NGOs. But somehow, workers also used to face problems when audits come to interview workers, because they don’t keep it confidential, and workers are targeted. Thanks to Issara, my workplace is getting better, and we feel free to reach out to Issara for support. It is really helpful.

Cambodian Migrant Worker, Electronic Industry, Phetchaburi, Thailand

I want to raise concerns about labor rights. Some workers still face verbal abuse and labor exploitation. Related to labor exploitation, workers are assigned to work on many tasks beyond what they can do. And the other thing is benefits to workers; the business does not provide the benefits fairly and rightfully to the workers. Ex.: The overtime rate on holidays is 2X for migrant workers but 3X for Thai workers. And some other benefits, such as a due diligence allowance, were mentioned in company policy but not provided.

Job seeker, Myanmar

Getting a job in Myanmar is really hard. I was lucky to pass the interview for a job in Malaysia., but then the Malaysian employer changed their mind and didn't hire any workers from Myanmar, even though we all passed the interviews. It felt like winning the lottery and then losing the winning ticket. I felt very upset and unhappy. I had already quit my current job, thinking I would go to Malaysia soon. The agency only reimbursed my travel expenses, and now I don't know what to do. I'm reaching out to Issara for help. If there are any new job opportunities in Golden Dreams marketplace that don't cost anything, please let me know, as I'm really in trouble.

Jobseeker (Mobilizer), Kompong Cham, Cambodia

I saw many villagers in my hometown go to Thailand without proper documentation; they just followed their relatives who were working in Thailand. They were cheated and exploited when they arrived in Thailand, and some even couldn’t get a job as promised by the broker. The reason they don’t go through the MOU process is because they can’t wait; they just need a temporary job and will come back when farming season comes.

Cambodian Migrant Worker, Mobilizer, Chanthaburi, Thailand

Hello! I am a migrant worker in Chanthaburi province, I have worked for more than ten years, and I started working in the seafood industry in Chanthaburi province. I would like to share about the current migrant workers' challenges. Most of them have issues related to document processing, particularly through MoU processes by brokers. Those brokers provide their service for employers without responsibility and for the two years visa extension services workers need to pay lots of money. Most migrant workers paid lots of money for those kinds of document processing fees so they don’t have much saving money left. Not just me or others are facing this kind of issue and not just that regarding document processing service fee collection, there were many groups of migrant workers deceived by brokers. They got the money and didn’t process documents for migrant workers.

Furthermore, migrant workers didn’t know about their rights. They don’t know about their rights to use social security benefits or health services in the hospital. Moreover, there were some migrant workers who were exploited for their wages, and some did not get paid by their supervisor/clerk who managed migrant workers directly instead of employers. This is the current issue that Cambodian migrant workers incurred frequently the most, there has been cases where migrant workers have be able to solve the issues by themselves. They went to the provincial department of employment where they were residents to demand their rights, some went to discuss it with the police, some got support from civil society organizations to indicate, protect, and help in processing for case issue remediation.

Returned migrant workers, Consumer goods (Incense) manufacturing industry, Kampong Speu, Cambodia

Hello! I now live in Kampong Speu province. I am a returned migrant worker who used to work in Thailand. I have worked in Ban Lem, Nakhon Pathom province. At that time, there was no challenge because I had enough documents, including my passport and got through the MoU process, so I worked without fear, but now I have returned to my hometown in Cambodia. This return didn't have any challenge as I had enough documents. The problem that is facing the returned migrant workers, whether I am, as well as others in the provinces or communes is the difficulty to find a job because of their age and lack of skills. However right now the Royal Government has provided vocational training skills. I also would like to thank the Royal Government for providing training skills opportunities for the returned workers but the problem is those returned workers still are not aware of this due to limited publicity, some communes aware of this, some not yet have any civil society organization outreach activity about this.

On behalf of the returned migrant workers in Kampong Speu, I would like to request the civil society organizations and the Ministry of Labor to help disseminate the training skills opportunity from the vocational center established by our Royal Government for migrant workers widely. Help to inform all the target communes where there are lots of migrant workers so that they will dare to dedicate their time to attend all the vocational training courses that they desired and are looking for. Thank you very much.

Burmese Migrant Worker, Electronic Factory, Johor Baru, Malaysia

It is too hard to survive as we do not have overtime hours at the factory these days and the basic salary is too low to fulfill the needs of my family and my dream to grow. I even think to go to another country where I could earn more, however I am afraid of very high recruitment fees. It would be good if I can go to Japan with a "Zero Recruitment fees" policy so that I do not have to borrow money from others.

Burmese Migrant Worker, Garment Factory, Batu Pahat, Malaysia

In Malaysia, we face many challenges, such as language barriers, lifestyle adjustments, and the need to navigate a multicultural environment while meeting production targets. Therefore, leisure and recreation time is essential for everyone. This International Labor Day event is an opportunity for all nationalities to come together, play, and share joyful moments. Every migrant worker in Malaysia deserves recreation and fun, provided by their employer.

Job seeker, Myanmar

Getting a job in Myanmar is really hard. I was lucky to pass the interview for a job in Malaysia., but then the Malaysian employer changed their mind and didn't hire any workers from Myanmar, even though we all passed the interviews. It felt like winning the lottery and then losing the winning ticket. I felt very upset and unhappy. I had already quit my current job, thinking I would go to Malaysia soon. The agency only reimbursed my travel expenses, and now I don't know what to do. I'm reaching out to Issara for help. If there are any new job opportunities in Golden Dreams marketplace that don't cost anything, please let me know, as I'm really in trouble.

Job Seeker, Bago Region, Myanmar

For the past six or seven months, I've been looking for jobs since I got my new passport. I faced challenges with fake job ads and unreliable agencies, which my friends also experienced. Actually, I was the returned worker from Malaysia and I have experience about the recruitment process and even for me, it was not easy to find a job.

Fortunately, I discovered Issara on Facebook and connected with Issara as I saw a Malaysia job advertisement for which I could that apply through Golden Dreams marketplace. Despite some difficulties, I persisted and managed to submit my CV through the Golden Dreamss app after a few attempts. I frequently reached out to Issara's hotline and even shared application process screenshots from their Viber.

After waiting for 40 days, the recruitment agency called me for an interview, and I passed it! This is why I would like to say that Golden Dreamss app is very useful for job seekers. Now, I'm sharing about the Golden Dreamss app with others and expressing my gratitude to Issara for their guidance.

Having such resources to avoid scams and find genuine job opportunities is reassuring. I would like to say “Thank you so much” to the brothers and sisters from Issara for their kind guidance. We are proud that these kinds of things are helping us to be comfortable. In order to avoid being cheated due to lack of knowledge, I will help other people as much as I can to get the right job opportunities from the Golden Dreams app easily.

Cambodian Migrant Worker, Mobilizer, Chanthaburi, Thailand

Due to the limited understanding and knowledge, workers lose their rights, such as social security fund benefits, insurance protection, etc. And more serious is the issue with the middleman helping workers process the documents; they ask for money first from the workers and charge the worker unreasonably amounts up to 35,000 baht (U$1,030). Workers work for 1-2 years just to pay for the document fee; there is not much for saving and sending back home. This is the main issue that workers are facing nowadays and the one that concerns them most. One more thing, due to the language barrier, workers didn’t know much about their rights and benefits. Each factory should have interpreters to communicate with the workers and educate them about labor rights. As workers lack this, they don't dare to raise their voice or don’t know how to find support and claim their rights, so they easily get cheated. The government and recruitment agencies should find a way to raise awareness before workers leave the country, especially about job opportunities, to avoid bad brokers.

Burmese Migrant Worker, Seafood Factory, Songkhla, Thailand

My employer is good, they take very good care of the workers, and we all have worker rights as mandated by the law. I am happy working here; it has been 8 years since I came as an MOU worker. However, I have heard about some employers who are not good, and workers facing troubles and struggles. I have also heard that workers need to pay a large sum of money to secure a job. It saddens me greatly to hear about this. I sincerely hope that all migrant workers will have decent working conditions and kind employers.

Cambodia worker, Rayong, Thailand

This picture is of one of the activities where I went to discuss and help Cambodian migrant workers in my community in Rayong province, where they were deceived by brokers, left them without looking for work for them and threatening them not to seek for any legal services support. As far as they know, they were in debt bondage owing money to banks and private lenders, some sold out their farmland to cross the border to find a job in Thailand, and unfortunately, were deceived by brokers. Some paid 3,000 to 4,500 baht per person to get a job and they were also faced the issue such as unpaid wages, not receiving proper documents to work becoming undocumented, not having enough food and having to pay for accommodation.