THE ASEAN Community, which took effect at the end of last year, has expressed concern about the movement of skilled workers around the region.

But its interest in the unskilled labour remains poor, despite the fact that this group provides the real workforce that dominates labour flows around the region.

In 2007, Asean agreed to the Cebu Declaration, an agreement on the Protection and Promotion of Migrant Workers as a fundamental instrument to deal with such workers from other areas and nations.

In 2009, the widely-known Asean Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) were introduced, in line with the Asean Economic Community, to facilitate free movement of eight occupations for the setting up of mutual standards accepted by all Asean member states.

The MRAs were designed to serve mainly labour with acceptably high skills, considered a minority in the Asean labour market.

The Asean Secretariat admitted that the majority of workers in the region were people with a medium or lower level of skills in the informal sector.

A 2014 study by the International Labour Organisation and the Asian Development Bank found that the MRAs actually helped just 1 per cent of Asean workers.

International Organisation for Migration (IOM) regional director Nenette Motus said one of the main challenges was the lack of protection and social security. Many low-skilled labourers, especially those in “irregular situations”, were excluded from social security systems, she said.

One reason, she explained, was their position in the informal sector, which blocked workers access to social protection provided by their home or destination countries.

They also tended to have limited access to healthcare and referral services, including psychosocial support, she said.

Low-skilled workers also tended to be more vulnerable to ill-health and preventable physical injuries, she said. Many may not have had pre-departure orientation sessions, especially advice on occupational health and safety.

For special concerns regarding women migrants, she said that many were concentrated in domestic work, an area not acknowledged as a work sector and thus not fully protected as a form of labour.

“This could potentially increase the domestic migrant workers’ vulnerability to exploitation, abuse and human trafficking,” she said.

Another challenge is irregular migration between neighbouring countries in the Asean region, she said, noting that regular migration processes in receiving countries were very costly and applicants had to wait to go through. So, there were considerable numbers of employers in receiving countries willing to hire people irregularly, and pay even lower wages.

Although the Cebu Declaration has existed for more than 10 years, Asean member countries still cannot agree on a concrete instrument to protect migrant workers’ rights.

“Coherent and consistent policy on migrants remains a challenge,” Motus said, “and thus contributes to the vulnerability of migrants and the difficulty in regularising their status.”

Thailand, home to millions of migrant workers from around the region, has raised concern about security matters, although it accepts that they are needed for economic development.

“We tend to think of the economy when it comes to labour issues,” an official at the Labour Ministry said “but some may seem to forget that it is also largely about national security.”

While many are designed to facilitate labour with skills, the official revealed that his office has not considered those with lower skills.

“We’re not welcoming alien low-skilled labour, but we need to rely on them,” he admitted, reasoning that Thailand’s birth-rate has been declining and Thai citizens, overall, are getting better educated. Those trends have reduced a number of Thai in low-skilled occupations in the market, he said.

The Labour Ministry has pushed a decree on alien labour management in the country but it is still being considered by the Council of State.

The decree was designed in a bid to draw stricter lines on workers. For instance, it will stipulate that all incoming foreign workers must be approved by responsible registrars before they are able to work in the Kingdom.

Future legislation will also adopt stricter legal measures in a bid to force employers and recruitment agencies to register all foreign employees, he said.

He said the decree, while it sounds not very different from current laws, would help protect “alien” (foreign) low-skilled workers, who usually have less protection compared to people deemed to have skills, with effectively.

For Thailand to achieve greater labour management, the official said it could not be denied that the country would eventually have to look to have a more skilled workforce.

The latest incident to grab the attention of traditional and social media relates to a cavity search conducted on a female student charged with violating the National Council for Peace and Order ban on political gatherings after she joined a train rally to the scandal-plagued Rajabhakti Park.

The directive on conducting searches on prisoners, enforced since 1936, stipulates that body searches must be carried out by someone of the same sex.

For females, if a woman prison official is not available another trusted woman can carry out the search.

Prison officials have taken a hardline approach to body searches following a number of incidents involving prisoners smuggling illegal drugs into prisons by swallowing them or inserting mobile phones into someone’s anus or vagina. Three phones have been inserted into an anus before.

Prison officials have said they do not want to carry out body cavity searches as they feel uncomfortable doing them and know prisoners feel the same. Many times they prefer to order prisoners to sit and stand many times in the hope that any inserted contraband will fall out.

National Human Right Commission secretary-general Chatchai Suthiklom said the Central Women’s Correctional Institution was a model for body searches as it followed clear guidelines on ordinary and special searches.

He said body searches must be conducted in a private setting and body cavity searches were necessary only when prison officials had reason to believe an |inmate was concealing contraband.

“Not all prisoners are subject to body cavity searches. Prisoners who are awaiting court decisions on bail must be separated from convicts but because of overcrowded jail conditions this is not possible,” he said.

Prison officials cite this reason for carry out cavity searches on every prisoner, he said. “But the officials must strike a balance between human rights and enforcing strict measures,” he said.

Wanchai Rujjanawong, a senior prosecutor and former Corrections Department director general, said he did not agree with cavity searches on the grounds they were a human rights abuse. But he called on society to make a choice between having prisons free of drugs and other contraband or having no human rights violations.

“If we do not want body cavity searches, we must accept it when drugs and mobile phones are found in prisons.

“We can only pick either way and we cannot put high expectations on the Corrections Department [if we choose |not to conduct searches],” he |said.

Justice Ministry deputy permanent secretary Kobkiat Kasiwiwat said the Corrections Department had started using body scanners to search inmate to prevent human rights violations.

One scanner has been installed at the Central Women Correctional Institution.

With this scanner, prison officials do not have to conduct body cavity searches on all prisoners but only those who receive positive results when walking past the scanner.

“They would be ordered to sit and stand many times till foreign objects come out of their body and if not, body cavity searches are necessary,” he |said.

He said had prison officials known the female student charged with violating the NCPO order was awaiting a court |decision on her bail, she would not have faced body cavity searches.

In a cool meeting room crowded with senior agricultural officials discussing the national rice plan, a 23-year-old reporter was trying his best to live-stream the event from his tablet. With one shaky hand counterweighing the bulky tablet as he jotted down the key points of the meeting, Tanpisit Lerdbamrungchai was hesitant whether to stop broadcasting or put the pen down.

Obviously, pressure had been placed on him. Reporters are using Facebook Live to stream videos online with the hope of grabbing their followers’ attention and enticing them to follow up reports on the TV news programmes. “We want social media users to watch TV more,” said Tanpisit, who works for Nation TV.

He has used the “live” feature for months when required to do so by his employer. He said the footage is used like a movie trailer to promote news bulletins. “I have tried to make them compelling trailers, a brief and quick news brief to attract people to further explore stories far more in-depth on TV programmes I host,” he said.

After viewers watch the streaming videos, Tanpisit hopes they are eager to know more about the story. The challenge here, he added, is attracting people to tune in to the live Facebook broadcasts and look forward to seeing his next live video.

One thing he has noticed since using Facebook Live is that people like controversial issues to be further unfolded.

Tanpisit is among more and more reporters who are using Facebook Live. This, however, has presented a challenge.

They have to do more multi-tasking, while having to maintain the quality of their news report. “This is a big question for all reporters,” said prominent veteran journalist and news editor Nattha Komolvadhin from the Thai Public Broadcasting Service.

Despite the high technology on offer, reporters still need to carefully choose and creatively craft content, Nattha said. She said stories should not end with just a short video and in-depth information should be provided on TV so people can watch more complete stories.

“The reporters have to extend content while keeping the live videos concise,” said Nattha. Mana Treelayapewat, dean of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce’s Faculty of Mass Communications, said with new technology available people prefer brief information and tend to absorb sketchy stories.

In light of the changing behaviour of news consumers, broadcasters have to consider the attractiveness, rapidity, accuracy, and legitimacy of content, said Mana. For attractiveness, reporters have to find the right content that swiftly catches people’s attention, he said, or run the risk of presenting boring or dated information.

He said that like almost every other emerging technology, Facebook Live is a double-edge sword. Though in-the-moment updates provide viewers with exclusive experiences, it could harm broadcasters if they present stories that viewers dislike and don’t follow up on TV. It is the task of broadcasters to study what their viewers like and dislike in a bid to keep them tuning in. Along with attractive news, reporters must also be aware of accuracy, Mana said. When covering live events, there are no editors overseeing reporters in the filtering of information and getting to the crux of matters. The reporters must make fast decisions in evaluating the appropriateness of content. Some content is too sensitive to be on the air, he said, while other content might be dodgy.

“Interviewees may allege or curse another people and it could result in a defamation lawsuit. The reporters should quickly assess whether to broadcast that kind of content,” he remarked.

He said that reporters also had to consider the legitimacy of a story. Prior to broadcasting something, a reporter should get permission from their source(s) to stream a video online.

“It is the right of the news sources to decide whether or not they will be recorded.”

Before clicking the live icon, especially for their first video, reporters must be very careful, the academic added. He said to shed light on the first video’s potential impact on a broadcaster’s reputation, think of whether someone would follow a page if they are annoyed by the first report they see on it. If they are not impressed, the possibility that they will follow that page is reduced.

In addition to content, viewer feedback is also worth considering, he said. “It [a live video] is good, has high definition vision and a clear voice,” said Akradej Chakjinda, a follower of Tanpisit, in a comment on one of his live videos.

To produce videos of good quality, the Internet connection plays a very essential role. High-speed Internet promotes the popularity of Facebook Live, Mana said, while a poor Internet connection could block its growth. With a poor Internet infrastructure, he said the live video feature is unlikely to prove more popular than conventional TV.

Although the online live video platform has not yet dominated the TV industry, like the academic said, there is no guarantee it will not eventually if the TV industry does not improve its content and production quality.

Except, now the victims come from broken homes or are involved in gambling, drug abuse or engaging in premature sex.

The issue of child prostitution also reveals the complex nature of rural Thai society, and tackling that would require cooperation from community leaders, health-promotion volunteers, schoolteachers and, most importantly, parents who can immunise and steer their children away from vice amid social change.

With experience of more than a decade in such issues, Pol Lt-Colonel Chusak Apaipakdee from the police Anti-Human Trafficking Division said most child prostitution cases were found in the Northeast, border provinces and tourism destinations.

Gangs procure youngsters for the prostitution industry at venues that have a glut of businesses such as restaurants, karaoke bars and massage parlours.

Since young people from the Northeast and neighbouring countries are in high demand, illegal sex trade is difficult to crack down on because it is often done with consent from both sides, he said.

More youths from the Northeast enter prostitution due to dire poverty, while many of their family values are inclined towards materialism, driving them to find money to cater to their family’s and their own wants and needs. This makes them vulnerable to predators, he explained.

Teams working to fight child prostitution find it difficult to identify the sort of customers that are serviced, as minors refuse to provide information, saying that the service is provided with their consent. Also some say they would be ungrateful if they reveal their clients’ details to police.

Chusak also voiced concerns now that the Kingdom is opening its doors under the AseanEconomic Community (AEC), saying that the problem might worsen and those concerned may use even more elusive methods.

“From our talks [two years before the AEC was implemented], the 10 member states agreed that opening up borders allowing a free flow |of people could lead to transnational sex trade, in which high-technology is used to avoid detection,” he said.

There are also reports that some procurers set up Line group chats so they can contact customers without having to know them in person, hence making it even more difficult for police to detect or trace the masterminds, he said.

“Even if we find the big fish, the court can still let them walk free if there is insufficient evidence to prove wrongdoing,” the senior policeman added.

A recent video clip that went viral of teenage girls fighting in Buri Ram province with others cheering on is further confirmation of the problem. Once the assailants were arrested, it was learned that the reason for |the attack was forced prostitution.

Pol Colonel Somchai Soponpanyaporn, superintendent at Chalerm Phrakiat Police Station, along with a multi-discipline team, talked with the girls – aged between 14 and 18 – and learned how easily rural girls can now enter the sex trade.

Since many come from broken homes and stay with elderly grandparents, they lack an emotional anchor and often become attached to friends who lead them astray.

Also, he explained, the Internet means that the youth have easy access to information that may not be age-appropriate, resulting in copy-cat behaviour.

“When out of school, young people cannot be controlled – sleeping and waking up late, sleeping over at friends’ houses, hopping from one night club to another, wearing trendy clothes, having boyfriends and adopting inappropriate, promiscuous sexual values,” Somchai said.

In the Buri Ram case, once the girls lost their virginity to their boyfriends, some of them thought they could have sex with others for money, hence falling victim to human traffickers, he added.

The “Mae Lao” procurer was often someone the girls knew from their hometown. The Mae Lao was entrusted with the girls by unsuspicious older relatives, while the girls also knew who to turn to when they wanted money, Somchai said. This relationship with the Mae Lao also opened the door to girls being invited to provide sexual services and meeting clients at appointed venues. If a girl refused or changed her mind, the Mae Lao would just get another girl for the client, he said, adding that since there was no force involved, such behaviour was considered consensual.

As for child prostitutes, which are in high demand among elderly customers, most clients have had long-standing ties with the Mae Lao and trust her. “Customers make contact via the phone or theFacebook messaging service to arrange meetings at venues such as one. Once the deed is done, the customers pay cash to the Mae Lao or the girls,” the superintendent said.

Samran Yimcheun, chief of a children’s and family home in Buri Ram, said: “A solution, which should be implemented immediately, would be to provide information to the parents, teachers and community leaders to keep an eye on the children and adjust their attitudes towards completing their education.”