Thailand’s Department of Labour Protection and Welfare (DLPW), with support from the International Labour Organization (ILO) through the EU-funded PROTECT project, is piloting a new strategic compliance planning approach to strengthen protection for domestic workers, according to a press release. The initiative shifts labour inspection from reactive enforcement toward broader preventive measures. A workshop held on 14–15 May 2026 in Bangkok brought together labour inspectors, planners and policy staff from DLPW national and Bangkok-based district offices. The approach targets the unique challenges of inspecting private households. It aims to make compliance more likely across the sector as a whole.
Roughly 125,000 registered migrant domestic workers are based in Thailand, largely women from Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar, with many more in irregular status. Workers are dispersed across thousands of households, and access to private residences may be restricted. These barriers leave them vulnerable and difficult to reach through conventional inspection methods. The sector sits at the intersection of labour migration, gender inequality and social protection. Workers face compounded vulnerabilities, including language barriers and limited awareness of their rights.
The approach takes on new urgency following the April 2024 amendment of Ministerial Regulation No. 15, which extended key protections of the Labour Protection Act to domestic workers for the first time. New entitlements include the right to an eight-hour workday, the minimum wage, and 98 days of maternity leave. More than two years later, translating legal reform into real change in private homes remains a significant challenge. In August and September 2025, a first cohort of 60 labour inspectors from twenty Northeastern provinces received targeted training on domestic worker inspection. The training was guided by a new inspection manual developed with ILO input.
The May 2026 workshop equipped participants with tools to move from individual inspection visits to systemic, province-wide approaches. Participants worked through practical scenarios, including coordinating with the Department of Employment on data collection, designing community outreach, and providing training and awareness raising to employers.
“Without enforcement the laws are only words on paper. If we understand the content of the law and it is enforced effectively, it would be most beneficial for all of us,” said Jantana Ekeurmanee, Project Manager of Foundation of Labour and Employment Promotion, an NGO supporting migrant domestic workers in Thailand.
A labour inspector from DLPW noted that the workshop emphasized networking with stakeholders to promote compliance. The strategy engages recruitment agencies, civil society organizations, community networks and other government agencies.
By shifting the focus from reactive inspection to proactive, multi-pronged approaches, labour inspectors can drive genuine change in how domestic work is valued, regulated and experienced. The PROTECT project — Ensuring Decent Work and Reducing Vulnerabilities for Women and Children in the Context of Labour Migration in South-East Asia — is funded by the European Union. It is implemented jointly by the ILO, UN Women, UNICEF and UNODC. The project operates across Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Strategic compliance combines enforcement, awareness raising and cooperation across stakeholders to address the sector’s challenges.
