Thailand to extend stay of nearly 300,000 illegal migrant workers

BANGKOK, July 27 (TNA) - The Ministry of Labour has resolved to extend stay of nearly 300,000 illegal migrant workers in Thailand for another year pending the official issuance of their worker ID documents. Pravit Khiengpol, Director-General of the ministry's Department of Employment, confirmed that his ministry's committee on the regulation of illegal migrant workers, chaired by Labour Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, recently decided to extend the stay of 292,235 Myanmar, Lao and Cambodian workers for another year, from the August 11, 2013 deadline. Pravit said that the illegal migrant workers comprise 112,250 Myanmar, 62,869 Lao and 117,089 Cambodian nationals, and that they have already registered but all their worker ID documents cannot be issued within the deadline. According to the senior official, his department will ask the neighbouring countries to deploy their staffs to speed up the issuance of the migrant workers' ID documents at 12 service centres in Thailand within a year. Earlier, the Department of Employment ordered the registration of 651,143 illegal migrant workers, 358,908 of them have already received their worker ID documents. To solve labour shortage in fishery, the committee resolved to allow local fishery operators to seek the registration of their migrant workers twice a year. Each registration period will last a month. The Thai Cabinet will be asked to endorse both resolutions next week. (TNA)