Radio Free Asia reports that low wages and soaring inflation push Laotians to Thailand. The same radio reports that the number of migrants illegally crossing Myanmar to Thailand has increased since the closure of factories in Myanmar. Many factories in Myanmar have been closed due to COVID and the coup, and as a result many people have been left without work.
Laos:
Hundreds of Laotians are lining up daily outside the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Laos' national capital Vientiane to apply for or renew passports so they can go to neighbouring Thailand, where they hope to find better paying jobs and escape crippling inflation at home.
“How can we live on 1.3-million-kip salary in the current situation?” asked a garment factory worker in Savannakhet province, adding that the minimum monthly wage should be at least 2 million kip (U.S. $150) because consumer prices have doubled.
Myanmar:
Media report that the number of migrants crossing illegally from Myanmar to Thailand has surged in recent months as residents of regions near the border flee fighting with government troops and outbreaks of COVID-19. Some have been looking for work after factories in Myanmar shut down, said Thida Win, who now works at a garment factory in Thailand after crossing the border in April. “Most of the factories in Myanmar were closed because of COVID and the coup, and as a result many people were left without jobs. So instead of just sitting at home they took loans and came to Thailand to work. Because we are here illegally, we don’t dare go out except to go to work and then return home. I send every penny I earn back to my sisters."
