Migrants working as cleaners in Chiang Mai are saying that they risk becoming unemployed if they get pregnant, and even if they wanted to get an abortion, it is difficult to access in Thailand.

On International Migrants Day 2025, the Mekong Migration Network (MMN) calls on all stakeholders to work together to counter the rise in xenophobia and discrimination and to develop comprehensive policies which protect migrant workers’ rights.

For young Thais seeking to move overseas, au pair programs open doors to the world. But the same flexibility that makes them accessible also leaves room for abuse.

The House of Representatives today (24 September) approves a new bill proposing amendments to the Labour Protection Act so that employees are entitled to 3 days of menstrual leave per month.

The Thai Senate has approved a draft of the labour protection bill, granting female employees 120 days of maternity leave. The bill is expected to become law soon.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Employee Welfare Fund must compensate 35 undocumented migrant workers regardless of their immigration status when their employer had refused to pay their wages.

On Wednesday (16 July), parliament passed in the second and third readings a new labour protection bill increasing paid parental leave from 90 to 120 days. Employees whose partners had given birth are also entitled to up to 15 days of paid parental leave.

A House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee has approved a bill increasing paid parental leave from 90 days to 120 days. The bill is expected to be returned to parliament for its second and third reading once the session opens in July.

"After retiring from the Myanmar army, I fled to Thailand because I saw that Thailand was the safest,” said Ot, a migrant worker from Myanmar who, like many others, came to Thailand seeking a better life. But just as his life began to settle, disaster struck. Ot fell from a six-story scaffold. The injuries to his spine meant that his chance of walking again was slim to none. Like Ot, many migrant workers in Thailand became disabled after a workplace accident, from falling from unsafe scaffolding to losing limbs to factory machines. In most cases, they are left without protection or welfare.