Thailand, Laos to speed up process for registration of migrant workers

BANGKOK, Feb 26 (TNA) – Labour Minister Pol General Adul Sangsingkeo leads Thai delegates to meet his counterpart in Laos to discuss cooperation in nationality verification processes for tens of thousands of Lao workers. Deputy Permanent Secretary for Labour Petcharat Sinauy said that Labour Minister, accompanied by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary and the Director-General of the Department of Employment is visiting Laos today to meet Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Khampheng Saysompheng. Both sides will evaluate the success in the nationality verification process of Lao workers. Thailand will also propose the establishment of coordination center for Lao laborers at the Ministry headquarters in Bangkok. Lao officials will be asked to station at the center. They will discuss increasing efficiency of the nationality verification center for Lao workers at IT Square in Laksi. The center will extend operation to April 30. Two additional mobile nationality verification units will be deployed to facilitate Lao workers in the North and the Northeast in order to save their travel cost to undergo the process in Bangkok. Out of 68,000 Lao workers holding Pink Cards, an identification card, allowing them to stay and work in Thailand temporarily, about half of them or 35,000 people underwent the nationality verification process. The talks between the two countries today will enhance work with increasing personnel and tools to ensure the process will be completed for the rest of Lao workers by June 30. The nationality verification process is part of campaign to legalise migrant workers in Thailand to protect them from being exploited or falling into the victims of human trafficking . (TNA)