BANGKOK, Oct 11 – The Thai government will soon introduce foreign labour job placement on a government-to-government basis, starting with the employment of workers from Myanmar, a senior Labour Ministry official said today.
Prawit Kiangpol, director general of the Labour Placement Department, said foreign workers, hired on government-to-government agreements, will enter Thailand by air, a means that will save cost and travel time.
The number of foreign workers recruited or placed by governments will correspond with the number of applications from the private sector, he said, adding that the measure will also solve the problem of illegal hiring of ethnic minority people along the border.
Referring to the import of a labour force for the fishing industry, Mr Prawit said the Fishery Association had applied to import 50,000 foreign workers.
The committee in charge of foreign workers has agreed in principle to an import of Bangladeshi workers but the Fishery Association was instructed to draft employment regulations for the sector–including the number of fishing boats and required workers, employment contracts and measures to prevent foreign workers from switching to new employers.
He said the Labour Placement Department must submit the draft regulations to the committee on foreign workers which, if approved, will forward them to the cabinet for final endorsement.
