By Yoon Sat - May 07, 2024
Starting on May 1st of this month, the Junta forbid domestic male workers to work at abroad, but will be allowed again with an age limit. The ministry of labor of the Junta has issued a letter instructing the agencies that men over the age of 23 and under 31 will not be allowed to work under contracts with agencies.
“Yes, they re-allowed but with age limits. They only allow workers who are under 23 and above 31 years old. Those who age lies between them are not allowed to go abroad yet,” said an employer who is sending workers to abroad.
The Junta’s decision from May 1 to ban domestic men from working abroad without a reason has raised a lot of criticism among the public since it restricted only male workers.
Migrant workers activists said that the age limit of the restriction is those who can work well and have opportunities. Workers are hard to get a job whether at the local or at the abroad if they are over 31. They said that the age restriction crushed the young people’s futures.
“Young people from 23 to 31st are the age that are the most active for their careers. Even migrant workers find difficulties if they are over 30. This action is crushing the future of the youths,” a migrant worker activist criticize the instructions of the ministry of labor.
The MOU system is re-allowed to send workers to abroad but employers can only send workers from 18 to 23 years old and above 31 years old. The workers who age lies between 23 and 31 are still restricted.
“Those between 23 and 31 years old can go if they already have a demand but the new workers are restricted,” said an employer who is sending workers to abroad.
This restriction is directly related to the military service law as it is restricted to men only. This is the beginning of a prevention against the increasing number of young people who leave for foreign countries to avoid military service law. According to a Myanmar migrant worker activist in Thailand, the influx of illegal workers into Thailand will increase.
The junta’s post coup conscription law make men between the ages of 18 and 45 fled to foreign countries by both legal and illegal routes, so it is said that illegal departures may increase even more as the young people are leaving more.
