Two Myanmar worker rights groups have been blocked from operating in Thailand by Myanmar authorities because they had condemned recruitment practices as ‘legal human trafficking’, reports Reuters.

The two worker rights groups, Aid Alliance Committee for Myanmar Workers (AAC) and Myanmar Association in Thailand (MAT), which had been looking after migrant workers in the country, need permission from the Government to operate in Thailand.  Their licence to operate had been revoked after they had called on the government to crack down on employment agencies. The groups have said that employment agency practices have led to the mistreatment and imprisonment of workers.