FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Illegal workers face major crackdown

Illegal workers face major crackdown

Government panel to set up new anti-trafficking centres on three borders.

IN A BID to counter the problem of illegal migrants, foreign workers without permits face the prospect of mass arrests and large fines, Arak Prommanee, head of the Labour Ministry’s Employment Department, said yesterday.
The Committee on Foreign Workers and Human Trafficking Resolution Policies, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, resolved yesterday to push for facilitation centres and guidelines for “alien” workers to cut the number of illegal workers without proper papers. 
In the meeting yesterday at the Ministry of Labour, Prawit encouraged the panel and concerned agencies to dissolve ineffective registration processes and verify the legal status of smuggled workers. He said the issue of illegal foreign workers affected national security.
The committee was set up following NCPO order no 73/2014 with Prawit as a chair, the Armed Forces Supreme Commander Sommai Kaotira and the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Labour ML Puntrik Smiti as deputy chiefs. It aims to crack down on people trafficking and illegal foreign labour.
According to Arak, the committee agreed to have a subcommittee study six resolutions: 
shortcuts in the registration process that workers can take without having to wait for a health certificate (which can be a slow process); 
guidelines to track registered workers’ homes and jobs; 
a new version of work permits that shows jobs and areas of residence; 
the International Labour Organisation’s work on fishing convention no 188; 
new remand centres in Tak, Sa Kaeo and Nong Khai provinces to prevent human trafficking; 
and worker service centres which have non-governmental agencies (NGOs) and private sectors involvement.
The director-general said to crack down on illegal labour, the ministry needs to take aggressive action. Workers without work permits will be jailed and made to pay a large fine. He said the ministry had tried to intensify punishment of employers who hire illegal labourers as well.
He said the ministry had to further study the possibility of easing the regulation that prohibits foreign workers taking some jobs.
Currently, there are 39 “skilled” jobs such as cooks, hairdressers, sellers and service sector work that Cambodian, Myanmar and Lao workers cannot do, Arak said. But many illegal workers do these jobs, he said, a key reason for the large number of illegal workers.
However, he said, the ministry would not jump to the conclusion that there was demand for foreign workers in prohibited jobs, adding the regulation would be maintained for now.
Arak also said in response to scandals over illegal workers bribing police to work without papers, police were responsible for the issue and the ministry would not interfere. 
The ministry could only ask for police and concerned parties to cooperate and crack down on non-registered workers. It was the police’s business to deal with people who had been arrested, he said.
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