Thai workers told their transfers not illegal, as 3 more taken hostage, 2 more killed in Israel-Hamas conflict
Employers in Israel can transfer their employees to work with new employers without breaking any labour laws in their country, Thailand’s Labour Ministry said.
Phairoj Chotikasatian, the ministry’s permanent secretary, was addressing complaints on Wednesday submitted by Thai workers in Israel that they had been shifted to other employers without their consent.
He said the Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv had confirmed that this practice was not against Israel’s labour laws. Phairoj added that on Tuesday he had instructed the embassy’s labour officials to visit the 42 Thai workers who had been shifted out of the conflict zone near the Gaza Strip after Israel declared it was at war with Hamas after it launched an attack on Saturday.
Of the 42 workers, 25 wanted to return home, four wanted to change their jobs and the remainder wanted to continue working with the same employer.
The 25 workers wanting to return are expected to arrive in Thailand on a Royal Thai Air Force flight on October 18, Phairoj said.
Meanwhile, the Thai Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that two more Thai workers had lost their lives in the clash, increasing the total number of Thais killed to 20.
Four more Thais have sustained injuries, increasing the total number of injured to 13, while another three have been taken hostage by Hamas, bringing the total number of Thai hostages to 14.
So far, 5,205 Thais in Israel have registered with the ministry to return to Thailand, with the first group expected to arrive on Thursday.
Some 30,000 Thai nationals live in Israel, most working in the agricultural sector. Some 5,000 of them live near the conflict zones.
