Chonburi Immigration conducts raids

[reader]

From Pattaya Mail

Chonburi Immigration, in collaboration with the Labor Department of Chonburi and the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), conducted a series of raids targeting illegal foreign workers who were violating immigration laws and taking jobs away from Thai nationals in Pattaya on November 21. The operation, aimed at reinforcing immigration enforcement and ensuring public safety during the high tourist season, was carried out at two separate locations in the city.

The first raid focused on a hotel on South Pattaya Road, where authorities had gathered intelligence about the illegal housing of foreign workers. Upon searching over 50 rooms, officers discovered more than 100 foreign nationals, primarily from India and Myanmar, hiding in bathrooms and on balconies. Several individuals attempted to flee but were apprehended, including a couple from Myanmar who admitted to entering Thailand illegally.

Authorities also found that 14 workers, mostly from Myanmar, Cambodia, and India, were residing in the country without proper documentation or had failed to report their residence, leading to their detention.

The second raid targeted foreign workers taking jobs typically held by Thai citizens. Two Myanmar nationals were arrested for working as car washers at a gas station in South Pattaya without proper work permits. In a subsequent search at the Wat Chaimongkol Market, officers detained a Lao woman and a man of unclear nationality who was operating a motorcycle taxi without authorization.

Colonel Napatpong Kositsuriyamanee, the Superintendent of Chonburi Immigration, emphasized that this crackdown is part of a proactive strategy to identify and apprehend foreign nationals involved in illegal activities, especially during the peak tourist season. He reiterated that these operations are intended to protect both local employment and the safety of tourists, and that further raids would be conducted regularly to ensure compliance with immigration and labor laws.

[bkkmfj2648]

52 minutes ago, reader said:

conducted a series of raids targeting illegal foreign workers who were violating immigration laws and taking jobs away from Thai nationals in Pattaya

Interesting - many of these non Thais that I meet here in Pattaya Jomtien are not taking jobs away from Thai nationals - as the Thais themselves do not want to do the work that is relegated to these non Thai nationals.

There simply are not enough willing and able Thais to go around to fill all of the jobs that need to be done.

I recently got to know 2 Myanmar nationals who told me their sad story - they work here in Jomtien and they are only paid 150 baht per day.  They need to report for work at 6:30pm every day and finish work at 2am.  If a customer wants to buy them a drink they are under strict orders to tell the customer that they can only drink whisky/coke or a beer.  All other drink options are forbidden.  I asked them why - because of the profit margin ratios so that the boss can make the maximum profit off of the guy drink.

From the customer offered guy drink they get 50 baht.  They told me that many days pass when they do not get any offers of paid drinks from the customers.  And if they drink anything from the bar, their daily salary of 150 baht is reduced by 50 baht for each drink.  So, after 3 drinks (even water) their net salary for the day is ZERO.  So, they choose to stock up from 7-Eleven to have something to drink when they get thirsty in the bar.

They told me that they have the fear of God - that a raid would come into the Complex where they work.

Ironically, the owner of this said bar is from Cambodia.  I asked them if they could choose from these 3 nationalities to work for, which one would they choose from Thai, Laos, Cambodia?  Let me just say that the option to work for a Cambodian owner came in last place.

Every week of living here I find out more and more about the dynamics of what it is like for our guys to survive and live here in our fun entertainment city = Pattaya.

 

[bkkmfj2648]

[vinapu]

to put it into perspective, one of boys I offed last week told me told me he lives with 6 other boys in highrise near Silom Market , sleeps on the floor and his share of rent is 2300/ month. 

[reader]

10 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Interesting - many of these non Thais that I meet here in Pattaya Jomtien are not taking jobs away from Thai nationals - as the Thais themselves do not want to do the work that is relegated to these non Thai nationals.

No more than illegal Latinos are taking jobs away from Americans. The sad fact is that everyone knows this but still drink the Kool Aid.

10 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Every week of living here I find out more and more about the dynamics of what it is like for our guys to survive and live here in our fun entertainment city = Pattaya.

Because I know a lot of guys who do massage, I hear many tales out of school. Here’s one from earlier this week.

A young guy from Taiwan comes into a shop for a two-hour massage. As the session is winding down, he says to guy: “I’ll give 1;000 baht if I can fuck you.” Guy declines because he does not do anal. Customer replies, “then you’re not getting anything.”

Then customer has audacity to complain to manager that he had been disrespected!

 

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, reader said:

give 1;000 baht if I can fuck you.” Guy declines because he does not do anal. Customer replies, “then you’re not getting anything.”

 

that disadvantage of working in shops without minimum tips as boy's interests are not that well protected. Since boys are still sticking there,  my guess will be somehow it evens up in longer terms. We know some customers sometimes can be unreasonably generous. 

Hopefully manager took boy's side which here I'd not be so sure. When I was working,  company usually sided with customer even if complains were unreasonable.  

[reader]

38 minutes ago, vinapu said:

Since boys are still sticking there,  my guess will be somehow it evens up in longer terms. We know some customers sometimes can be unreasonably generous. 

They remain with the shop for reason you cite but also because they like guys they are working with.

But they don’t forget being treated as inferiors, especially by fellow Asians from the northeast who have a sense of entitlement.

[vinapu]

40 minutes ago, reader said:

They remain with the shop for reason you cite but also because they like guys they are working with.

But they don’t forget being treated as inferiors, especially by fellow Asians from the northeast who have a sense of entitlement.

You must be right as its not  a first time I hear complains about boys being mistreated by fellow Asians. I always recall case of Tawan boy taken as trophy boy to Malaysia , well treated there for a month but at end sent back with some pittance like 2000 baht or 100 $, don't remember exactly,  like lavish dinners pay for his expenses home.

[Ruthrieston]

Given how many people are dying in the violence inflicted on the population by the fake government there, these Myanmar nationals should be given asylum in Thailand and treated decently.

[bkkmfj2648]

1 hour ago, Ruthrieston said:

Given how many people are dying in the violence inflicted on the population by the fake government there, these Myanmar nationals should be given asylum in Thailand and treated decently.

YES - Halelujah!!!

I agree 200%

In my opinion, Thailand has a responsibility to protect them from a humanitarian point of view.

If they deport them back to Myanmar they are often forced into the military to fight in this senseless war - which can become a death sentence for them.

[bkkmfj2648]

In my trip report from Koh Tao earlier this year - 90% of the workers on the island (Turtle Island) were Myanmar nationals. We often asked them if they were happy to live and work on the island and the answer was almost = YES.

The irony was that hardly any of them spoke Thai and my Thai friend was so perplexed that hardly anyone on Koh Tao could speak Thai.

So, Thailand wants the millions of baht income that comes from tourists - but they don't want to support the foreign workers who are working in the hospitality sector.

When we were able to find a true Thai citizen on Koh Tao we asked her:

--> Why was almost everyone who works here from Myanmar ? "

She replied:

1.) The Myanmar people speak English very well,

2.) The tourists like the kindness of the Myanmar people,

3.) It is extremely difficult for them to recruit Thai people to come and work on Koh Tao,

4.) The local Koh Tao mafia likes the Myanmar workforce because they can pay them less than any other potential worker (both domestic Thais and foreign workers { Lao + Cambodia}.

Related Koh Tao trip report from June 2024 can be found here:

 

[vinapu]

19 minutes ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

 

4.) The local Koh Tao mafia likes the Myanmar workforce because they can pay them less than any other potential worker (both domestic Thais and foreign workers { Lao + Cambodia}.

 

while at first look it amounts to exploitation and in fact it is indeed,  we need to consider that Myanmarese and other foreigners  treated that way may  not necessary share that view.

When they repatriate portion of their earnings to families at home it may turn out that purchasing power of that remittance  there is much higher than it would be in source country. As example  - when I was in Myanmar  back on 2001, in Mandalay I was shown decent looking , free standing home and was informed that it can be  mine for 2000 or 3000 $. While no doubt prices went up since ,  difference in purchasing power still exists.

 

[bkkmfj2648]

28 minutes ago, vinapu said:

When they repatriate portion of their earnings to families at home it may turn out that purchasing power of that remittance  there is much higher than it would be in source country.

I agree, as the Thai baht has remained strong against the Myanmar currency.

Furthermore, the Myanmar junta often demands via legislation that some of these foreign remittances go to them to support their war.  

This has put some of the Thai banks in difficulty, as they are inadvertently helping to fund this war when Myanmar nationals remit their wages earned in Thailand back home.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/27/asia/myanmar-junta-weapons-thailand-banks-intl-hnk/index.html

 

[vinapu]

I'm pretty sure that most of them find the way of circumventing that 25% legislation  

[Keithambrose]

On 11/24/2024 at 4:17 AM, vinapu said:

while at first look it amounts to exploitation and in fact it is indeed,  we need to consider that Myanmarese and other foreigners  treated that way may  not necessary share that view.

When they repatriate portion of their earnings to families at home it may turn out that purchasing power of that remittance  there is much higher than it would be in source country. As example  - when I was in Myanmar  back on 2001, in Mandalay I was shown decent looking , free standing home and was informed that it can be  mine for 2000 or 3000 $. While no doubt prices went up since ,  difference in purchasing power still exists.

 

Does the 2,000 or 3,000 include all the necessary  brown envelopes?

[vinapu]

49 minutes ago, Keithambrose said:

Does the 2,000 or 3,000 include all the necessary  brown envelopes?

probably no but such ' overhead"  expense at that price range can't amount to much.

I did not pursue that purchase, just quote what I was told by my guide.

[Moses]

On 11/24/2024 at 5:26 AM, Ruthrieston said:

Given how many people are dying in the violence inflicted on the population by the fake government there, these Myanmar nationals should be given asylum in Thailand and treated decently.

"Given how many dying in violence in Myanmar" is easy to make conclusion, what "fake govt" isn't reason: fights btw nationalistic elites existed in Myanmar since the first Myanmar day of independence, esp. on the North and East - regions with gemstones. Myanmar workers were well known in Thailand far before that "fake govt" appeared on Myanmar scene. Since my first visit to TH in 2007 I saw only Myanmar workers on construction sites, for example. Shan villages are located on the West of TH for many decades already.

[Keithambrose]

6 hours ago, Moses said:

"Given how many dying in violence in Myanmar" is easy to make conclusion, what "fake govt" isn't reason: fights btw nationalistic elites existed in Myanmar since the first Myanmar day of independence, esp. on the North and East - regions with gemstones. Myanmar workers were well known in Thailand far before that "fake govt" appeared on Myanmar scene. Since my first visit to TH in 2007 I saw only Myanmar workers on construction sites, for example. Shan villages are located on the West of TH for many decades already.

Pretty much nonsense and incomprehensible comment. 

[Moses]

1 hour ago, Keithambrose said:

Pretty much nonsense and incomprehensible comment. 

Thank you for your "expert" opinion.