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	In the fiscal year 2012-2013 that ended on March 31, Lao and Thai officials provided passports and work documents for some 9,700 Lao nationals employed in Thailand - leaving another 56,000 with illegal status, the Vientiane Times reported.</div>
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	Thailand&#39;s Labour Ministry has asked officials in Laos to speed up the granting of passports to its nationals by the August deadline, and to consider extending the period granted from one to two years, said Phouvanh Chanthavong, director-general of the Lao employment department.</div>
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	Thailand suffers a shortfall in manual labour, especially in such sectors as agriculture, construction and fisheries, which are now shunned by Thai workers.</div>
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	There are an estimated 2-3 million overseas workers in Thailand from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, half of whom lack proper documentation.//DPA</div>

Thailand asks Laos to help legalise 56,000 overseas workers

Thai authorities have sought Laos' help in speeding up the documentation of an estimated 56,000 Lao nationals now working in Thailand illegally, media reports said Friday.