On January 27, 2025, Mr. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Minister of Labour, Mr. Somchai Maruksriwan, Director-General of the Department of Employment, Mr. Pichet Thongphan, the Ministry of Labour’s Inspector-General, and the Ministry of Labour’s executives visited Songkhla Province to follow up on the implementation of the policy-giving project and listen to feedback regarding regional foreign worker management at i-Tail Corporation Public Company Limited, a company that produces pet food, located on Kanchanawanit Road, Soi 2, Phawong Subdistrict, Mueang Songkhla District, Songkhla Province. The company’s executives and employees gave a welcome. Mr. Jiravat Maneechote, Deputy Governor of Songkhla Province, along with the heads of government agencies under the Ministry of Labour in Songkhla, also joined the occasion.
Mr. Phiphat thanked and commended the company’s executives for contributing to the country’s development. Today, he met with business operators and foreign workers working at i-Tail Corporation Public Company Limited. He provided explanations and information and exchanged ideas on labour issues with agencies under the Ministry of Labour in Songkhla and workplaces, with the goal of preventing human trafficking and creating awareness to comply with labour regulations and laws. Currently, the Ministry of Labour policies on the strict inspection of foreign workers, including suppressing, arresting, and prosecuting employers/establishments that hire foreign workers without work permits or allow foreign workers to work beyond their rights, including foreign workers who work illegally. The efforts are in conjunction with officials from both the administrative and security sectors and relevant agencies. There is a special task force to inspect employment, employment conditions, forced labour or services, and child labour in worst forms among foreign workers called “Trai Thep Phithak.” If any group of foreign workers is found to be working beyond what is stipulated by law or without work permits, legal action will be taken.
“As the main agency for the country’s workforce, the Ministry of Labour has continuously developed and improved the management of foreign workers, emphasizing ethical employment among foreign workers and protecting their rights according to the law. Employers/establishments that hire foreign workers are requested to operate in accordance with the law and ensure that their employees are insured under Section 33. We also invite any establishments with workers from four nationalities, Cambodian, Laotian, Burmese, and Vietnamese, whose work permits expire by February 13, 2025, to renew their work permits properly. If foreign workers are secretly hired without a work permit or work beyond their rights, they will be guilty of an offense punishable by imprisonment, fines, deportation, or a ban on hiring foreign workers,” concluded Mr. Phiphat.
i-Tail Corporation Public Company Limited is part of the Thai Union Group. The company produces pet food and has related businesses that export products globally. It currently employs over 5,261 workers, comprising 3,215 Thai workers and 2,046 foreign workers, 1,970 of which are from Myanmar and 76 are from Cambodia. The minimum wage in Songkhla Province is 352 Baht per day, which is the company’s starting rate. In addition, the company also provides other welfare and benefits to employees in accordance with the law.
