CONCLUSION: As briefly outlined, the situation in Mae Sot makes it difficult for Burmese worker support organisations to operate effectively. As late as mid-2004 there were no Thailand-based labour organisations or trade unions working specifically on labour or trade union rights in Tak with an office and staff located there on a full time basis. The workers themselves are in an extremely vulnerable situation and greater organisational and protection efforts are needed. This organisational and political weakness is in stark contrast to that of the authorities, police and employers. This imbalance makes it difficult for workers to organise to protect and promote their rights. The handful of Burmese organisations attempting to assist workers is limited because of their problematic legal status in Thailand and the intense pressure preventing them from operating without fear of reprisal. Structural factors promote the gross exploitation and human rights violations of Burmese migrant labourers in Mae Sot. Burmese leave Burma due to political oppression and socio-economic hardship, and subsequently have a high threshold for difficulties they endure in Thailand. Thai authorities and employers, regardless of nationality, are eager to exploit this vulnerability for windfall profits. A lack of corporate social responsibility and adherence to corporate codes of conduct means workers at the bottom of the supply chain, in places such as Mae Sot, produce textiles and garments and other products for Northern markets in a state of acute vulnerability. It?s obvious that migrant workers in Thailand, particularly the Burmese, bear a lot of pressure from nearly every direction, both in Burma and Thailand. A myriad of human rights are abused in both systematic and random ways. Denying the right to freedom of association and right to organise effectively pulls out any attempts by migrant workers to improve their situation at the roots. The policy of the Thai government towards Burmese refugees and migrants is in the process of changing, for better or worse remains to be seen. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra?s forging of closer economic and political ties with the Burmese government has resulted in an increasingly hard-line stance by Thailand towards Burmese migrant workers and refugees, many of the latter have become migrant workers. Some million and a half Burmese migrant workers in Thailand are now stuck between one the most brutal military dictatorship in the world, and a Thai government intent on good relations with them, with an eye on increased revenue for businessmen operating in Thailand, and for Thai business operating in Burma. It is worth noting that the traditional gap between migrant support organisations and workers, and Thai unions and labour organisations has been reduced over the last year or so. This, in combination with greater advocacy for migrant rights ? by Thailand?s Human Rights Commission, international and global trade unions, academics in Thailand and the region, governments and human and labour rights organisations both in the region and internationally ? is creating space and the potential for greater transparency and respect for labour rights and adherence to labour laws and standards. It also enhances the ability of migrant workers to organise and improve work conditions."