It’s difficult to register and get a labour card, said a worker employed in Thailand for over ten years.

Migrant workers demanded a simplified labour registration process during a gathering on May Day in the Thai northern city Chiang Mai.

“We want a simpler and clearer process for when we need to register next year,” said Nang Keng from Myanmar. The government should announce changes to its labour policy at least three months before it’s enacted.

It’s difficult for workers to register and get a labour card because it’s complicated and expensive, said Sai Wee, who’s worked in Thailand for over ten years.

“I’ve worked in many different jobs as a bricklayer, in a restaurant and on farms and I’ve faced difficulties.”

His health has been compromised while administering toxic pesticides on a farm yet he was only employed for one day out of three. If Sai Wee tried to fill up the rest of the week with other work he risked getting arrested.

Migrant workers in Thailand are only allowed to work for one employer at a time. If they want to change jobs they need to apply for a new card.

During the gathering, there were calls for housemaids, sex workers and farm workers to be granted the same labour rights as other vocations.

Pi Htoung Kham, from the migrant’s association MAP Foundation, said some workers are refugees. They don’t have ID, therefore, can’t legally register in Thailand. The Myanmar government needs to provide them with documents, she said.

Female labourers should get the same wages as men, Pi Htoung Kham said. “Women have to work the same as men yet they don’t get the same pay.” Female labourers are supposed to get 320 baht (US$10) per day according to the law, she said. They also face sexual harassment in the workplace.

The migrant workers also asked for labour cards to be extended; to work until the age of 60; for those with hill tribe ID to work in other townships in Thailand without applying for a travel document; the ability to apply for a Thai driving license and for youth aged 15 to 18 to be able to work during the school break.

Labour Day, celebrated internationally on May 1, was started in Paris in 1889 during a Socialist conference in order to campaign for workers’ rights.