Undocumented migrant workers can apply for employment verification

BANGKOK, July 5 (TNA) – The Ministry of Labour will open temporary centers for foreign workers and their employers to seek employment verification, which will be used to seek work permits and nationality identification documents after Thailand postponed the enforcement of the harsher law on foreign labour management. The center will be opened for 15 days at ten locations in Bangkok and employment offices in all provinces, said Director-General for the Department of Employment, Mr Waranon Pitiwan. Myanmar authorities are ready to increase personnel at six nationality verification centres in five provinces including Samut Prakarn, Samut Sakorn, Chiang Rai, Ranong and Tak. More nationality verification centers will be set up to facilitate the processes for all migrant workers to be completed in six months. However, if the process can be finished within the time frame, more measures will put in place to allow migrant workers to work legally inThaialnd. In order to solve labour shortage, the Thai authorities also extended the time frame for migrant workers to apply for work permits until March 31, 2018 and migrant laburers in the fishing and aquatic product processing industries can apply for work permits until Nov 1, 2017. Meanwhile, Sompong Sakaew, Director of the Labour Rights Promotion Network said that the postponement of foreign labour law for another 180 days can help alleviate worries of both workers and their employers and they get chance to legalize the employment of foreign workers by themselves to prevent exploitation of migrant workers. (TNA)