Burma Labour Solidarity Organization (BLSO)
Located on the border with Burma in the Thai town of Mae Sot, the Burma Labour Solidarity Organization (BLSO) began its work assisting migrant workers from Burma in 2000.
The burmesemigrantworker.com website is a gateway for understanding the plight of Burmese Migrant Workers working in Thailand, specifically along the Thai/Burma border. Further, we are introducing to you the Burma Labour Solidarity Organization (BLSO) who assists these workers and their families. This website also provides an opportunity for you to help.The group was created by several young Burmese refugees, who had fled to Thailand as political or economic refugees. They had four goals:
- train workers on their employment rights
- advocate for workers in the Thai courts,
- help workers organize and form unions,
- run schools for workers children
Migrants on the Thai/Burma border still need these services. There are 4 million Burmese migrant workers living near the border attracted to the textile, garment and other factories in Mae Sot.
But conditions are appalling. Some factories have over 1000 employees who are virtually prisoners living behind metal gates, high walls with barbed wire, and CCTVs tracking their movements.
If you require further information, please write to burmesemigrantworkers@hotmail.com
On behalf of all those we are assisting, “Jay Zuu Tin Bar Taae” Thank you in Burmese.
The Aims And Work Of The BLSO
About Our Organization
How We Help
We have traditionally had two primary organizations providing the base funding for the BLSO; the BCGEU provides approximately one-third of the annual budget while Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA from Australia provided the remaining two-thirds. However, APHEDA has informed us that effective on June 30, 2018, their funding for the BLSO will end. This will leave the annual budget short of $25,000 Canadian.
Why We Need Help
As mentioned, those of us from Canada are volunteers. Time spent in Mae Sot by any of us is at our own personal expense. Mike Orders has retired to Thailand for half of the year and is able to visit with the BLSO on a regular basis. We will continue our present efforts to find long term stable funding to make up for the approximately $25,000.00 Canadian we are losing, but at this point we have no new funds. Our hope is that through this website you too may want to help.
A Brief History Overview
The people of Burma, also known as Myanmar, have been a steady source of cheap labour for many countries in Southeast Asia, but they are nowhere as prevalent as they are in Thailand, almost 4 million in 2018.
As the economy of Burma has been in ruins since the early 1960's, economic refugees are forced to leave their homes, sometimes for 50 weeks each year, and work mostly in the garment, textile, construction and service industries.
Some can to bring their families with them, but in all cases, time spent working in Thailand makes them vulnerable to many dangers including extortion, sexual harassment, theft, and prejudice.
We have been advocating for and supporting migrant workers and their families since 2000 and we invite you to read through our topics to help us bring awareness for these people and if possible, help us financially in our efforts.