BANGKOK, 30 June 2012 – The Labor Ministry is stepping up its efforts to tackle the problem of human trafficking.
Department of Employment Director-General Pravit Khiengpol said on Friday that Labor Minister Phadermchai Sasomsab has instructed the preparation of a set of regulations related to the repatriation of alien labor from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
Mr. Pravit said that the anticipated regulations are intended for immigrant female workers, who legally work in Thailand and are at least 3 months pregnant, to allow them to return home until the delivery of the baby and to come back to Thailand to continue working.
He stated that the new measures aim at removing Thailand from a watch list of countries with case of human trafficking.
Under this plan, the Labor Minister has ordered the setting up of a working group to study Thai and international laws, related to immigrant workers and human rights, in order to help facilitate the introduction of an appropriate policy on pregnant immigrant labor.
According to Mr. Phadermchai, a number of countries, such as Taiwan and Singapore, have already allowed pregnant female immigrant workers to return to their countries until they have given birth to their babies.
The first meeting of the working group in charge of legal affairs is expected next week and the entire process is set to be completed within 2 months before the new regulations will be presented to the committee on illegal workers administration for approval.
