Around 1 million migrant workers are expected to have registered or taken action to comply with the new migrant labour law by the Monday deadline of the 15-day relaxation period.
At 4.30pm, 680,000 migrant workers from three countries with no documents registered, Labour Ministry permanent secretary ML Puntarik Smiti said. She added employers could still register them online until midnight. Another 350,000 workers also sought new work permits to register changes in employers and types of businesses as required by the new law.
According to the data as of 4.30pm, 196,000 employers registered 694,600 workers. Of the total newly registered employees, 402,500 were from Myanmar, 203,700 from Cambodia and 88,300 from Laos.
By type of business, construction led with 157,000 workers, followed by farming and cattle raising (153,000), food and beverages retail (63,900), services (51,400) and agricultural processing (43,800).
Bangkok led with the highest employment (150,000 workers) followed by Chon Buri, Samut Prakan, Pathum Thani and Chiang Mai. In the capital, the workers worked in construction, households, food and drinks retailing, garments production and retailing.
Yasothon had the fewest foreign workers registered during the period, at 96. The next step is for authorities to verify the employment, which will take place from Tuesday to Sept 6.
Asked why registration numbers were low in provinces known for a large number of migrant workers such as Samut Sakhon and Tak, ML Puntarik said the two provinces were areas closely monitored earlier so it was possible most had already complied with the new law.
The government issued on June 23 an executive decree on migrant workers, with heavy fines on employers who hire illegal migrant workers. It triggered an exodus of workers and a sudden labour shortage in many industries as many employers suddenly stopped hiring them, prompting the government to allow a 15-day relaxation period.
Original source: Bangkok Post.
Posted on 7 August 2017.
