Migrant workers in Thailand’s apparel sector are supposed to earn a minimum wage, but a new study on the working conditions of migrants from Myanmar revealed that the workers are making roughly half of what they are owed. Workers are denied the right to collective bargaining and social security, and are also denied the legal minimum wage.

Overtime is also a common requirement. On an average, work days last nearly 11 hours, reaching as long as 12 to 16 hours during peak period or when deadlines must be met. Thailand’s major garment production sector is in an area bordering Myanmar. A significant portion of the factories there are sub-contracting for factories in central Thailand and workers don’t know which brands they are producing for.

By focusing production in border towns, the garment industry aims to reduce production costs by hiring migrant workers, who are seen as desperate and therefore easily exploited, at below the minimum wage. A campaign has been launched to ask brands to stop being complicit in this systematic wage theft and ensure that all workers in their supply chain, including migrants, are paid living wages. Migrant workers make up an estimated 10 per cent of the Thai workforce.