There are several reasons why migrants do not register. Migrants coming from
Burma are particularly fearful because the National Verification process requires
them to return home where they are subject to persecution and extortion at the
hands of the military regime. However, it is the linking of the work permit to a
migrant’s employer that discourages migrants from registering. Because employers
pay the registration fee in advance, they feel justified in seizing work permits to
prevent migrants from fleeing, even though the fee is repaid through deductions from
their pay. With this form of control, it is common that migrants are forced to work
more than 10 hours a day with perhaps a single day off a month. Many employers also
pay below the minimum wage and refuse to pay for overtime. With the only option
being to change employers and risk becoming undocumented, migrants become
prisoners of a system that leaves them open to abuse instead of protecting them.