Authority:Thailand treats migrant workers like Thais

BANGKOK, June 27 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Labour is putting efforts to address human trafficking-related issues, covering forced labour, and to also ensure that migrant workers are protected under Thai laws and are treated equally like Thai workers. Panich Chitchang, Director-General of the ministry’s Labour Protection and Welfare Department, told journalists of the stance on Friday, insisting that his department is determined to solve the problems and to also ensure that there is no forced or child labour in the country. Panich confirmed that migrant workers, no matter what nationality, are treated equally like Thai workers if they enter Thailand legally and enjoy protection under the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541, like other Thai workers. Panich’s remarks followed Washington's last Friday decision on downgrading Thailand from Tier 2 to its lowest Tier 3 human trafficking watch list under its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. The Labour Protection and Welfare Department is, meanwhile, scheduled to organise the 28th National Safety Week of Thailand at Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) on the capital's outskirts from July 3–5, 2014, aimed at creating consciousness among employers and employees on safety at workplaces. The three-day event is also expected to boost confidence in Thailand among international investors and to eventually boost the country's competitiveness, as the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) among member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is scheduled to be formed by the end of next year. As the Thai army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) is putting efforts to regulate migrant workers, Governor Suriya Prasartbundit of Chiang Mai Province in the Thai North told reporters, in the meantime, that information gathered from several government agencies showed more than 60,000 migrant workers were officially registered in 2013, 94 per cent of them were Myanmar nationals. However, updated statistics released by provincial security agencies and relevant others found that there are now more than 100,000 migrant workers in Chiang Mai, both legal and illegal ones, causing worries over their safety in local community areas and prompting Chiang Mai's provincial labour office to urgently cooperate with local security agencies in compiling information on the exact number of migrant workers in the province. During a meeting held at the Royal Thai Army Headquarters in Bangkok earlier in the day, NCPO authorities also discussed Myanmar workers in Thailand and it is expected that a group of local business operators will confer with NCPO and Thai Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha on the issue next week.(TNA)