mizzima.com-March 24
More than 200 Myanmar migrant workers are deported from the Chinese border town of Ruili each day as Chinese authorities tighten immigration controls, several workers told Radio Free Asia. Hundreds of people line up daily in Muse, a town on the Myanmar side, to cross into China to find jobs or to return to jobs they already have in restaurants, clothing stores, factories, on farms and at construction sites. But limits on the number of people who can cross, the duration of their stay and changes to border crossing protocol have resulted in many of the workers being in violation of immigration statutes once they get to China, prompting many to be sent back, the workers said. Crossing into Ruili is never easy, workers said. “If there is direct contact with the employer who can give guarantee, the worker can get a QR code and the entry pass,” he said. “If the worker is not taken by the employer and they say they are only visiting, we are not allowed to get a QR code that would allow us to stay.” Many of the workers enter China without the QR code, instead applying only for the temporary border pass, which allows them to stay for only seven days. After that they need to return to Myanmar or be in violation of the law. In the past, workers could pay as little as 2,000 kyats (about US$1) to get the border pass, work a full week in China, return to Myanmar – and then buy another pass to re-enter China. But these days, they have to pay employment agencies 200 Chinese yuan (about $28) for the QR code, making frequent border crossings unaffordable. Since August, thousands of Myanmar people have been trying to get into China through the Muse-Ruili crossing as Myanmar’s economy has deteriorated. The influx of workers in Ruili has resulted in employers paying lower wages. A job that previously paid 3,000 yuan ($415) per month now only pays around 1,500, a resident of Muse said. Still, thousands line up to get into China every day. Read more at:
