Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin instructed the Department of Employment to set up a special task force to suppress agents deceiving job seekers going to work abroad, from concerns after finding employment advertising through social media persuading people to work abroad. Victims who fall into the trap have to pay 10,000 – 20,000 Baht per person. To date, no one has traveled to work abroad from the advertisements.
On November 17, 2020, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin reported that the government, under Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha, has focused on sending Thai workers to work abroad, as Thai workers are skilled, have patience, and are diligent. Today, Thai workers have become highly demanded in foreign countries. In addition, each year, Thai workers return over 140,000 million Baht in income to the country. Under the supervision of Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, there is an important policy on the prevention and suppression of human trafficking to elevate Thailand to the Tier 1 ranking. In the past, the Thai government has taken measures to control the spread of Covid-19 very well. It has made it acceptable to countries around the world. Thus, people are trying to take advantage of the situation and have created processes of deceiving job seekers that they can arrange for them to work abroad. They charge an administrative fee of 10,000 – 20,000 Baht per person and tend to use the method of persuasion through Facebook pages by posting pictures of work and well-known buildings and offices to build credibility.
Mr. Suchart continued that the Ministry of Labour, therefore, would like to remind job seekers that according to the Employment and Jobseeker Protection Act, B.E 2528, deceiving others regarding employment or internships, with the objective of financial or other gains, shall be liable to imprisonment for 3-10 years or a fine of 60,000 – 200,000 Baht, or both. Advertising of employment without permission from the Department of Employment is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or a fine not exceeding 60,000 Baht or both. The Ministry of Labour has prosecuted 78 agents or middlemen. There have been 204 cases reporting fraudulent calls/agents, for total damage of 16,454,698 Baht. The Department of Employment and the Human Trafficking Division has prosecuted 234 unauthorized recruitment advertisers (as of October 1, 2019 – September 30, 2020). The top five countries where jobseekers are the most victimized from such scams are Canada, Australia, South Korea, Japan, and New Zealand.
“I recommend that job seekers who are interested in going to work abroad learn more about the job title, employer, and country you are going to. You must travel to work legally. There are 127 employment agencies that are permitted to send job seekers to work abroad. For more information, call the Center for the Suppression of Victims of Jobseekers, the Central Employment Registration and Jobseeker Protection Division at 0 2245 6763. You can also call the Provincial Employment Office in every province, the Bangkok Employment Office, area 1-10, or at the Ministry of Labour’s 1506 hotline, press 2 for the Department of Employment,” concluded Mr. Suchart.
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Division of Public Relations
18 November 2020
