On October 27, 2021, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin chaired the meeting to listen to the situation of migrant workers and present policies to the heads of government agencies under the Ministry of Labour of Chanthaburi Province at the Ban Laem Danthavorn Meeting Room, Thep Nimit Subdistrict, Pong Nam Ron District, Chanthaburi Province. Assistant to the Labour Minister Mr. Surachai Chaitrakulthong, Secretariat to the Labour Minister Mr. Suthep Chitayawong, the Ministry of Labour’s Spokesperson (on politics), Mrs. Theanrat Nawamawat, Deputy Governor of Chanthaburi Province Alongkorn Akarat, and the Ministry of Labour’s senior executives also joined the occasion. Mr. Suchart said that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister and Minister of Defense General Prayuth Chan-ocha and the Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, who oversees the Ministry of Labour is concerned about the situation along the border where migrant workers are being smuggled into the country illegally as businesses require a lot of labour. The demand is in line with the economic recovery following the government’s policy to open the country. Therefore, he instructed the security department, police, military, and related agencies to fix that problem. Today, he visited the Ban Laem checkpoint in Thep Nimit Subdistrict, Pong Nam Ron District in Chanthaburi Province, to observe the system of importing and resolving the problem of illegal worker influxes. For businesses importing migrant workers, the preference is to consider and hire Thai workers first to solve the issue of labour shortages and to encourage Thai people to have jobs. The shortage of migrant workers is an urgent mission to prepare for the country’s opening in November 2021, as Thailand has delayed the importation of migrant workers since March 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the number of migrant workers is insufficient to meet the needs of entrepreneurs. The Department of Employment surveyed the need for migrant workers across the country. It found that employers or establishments are in demand of 424,703 migrant workers. The top 3 provinces with the highest demand are Chiang Mai, Bangkok, and Chanthaburi.
President of the Thai-Cambodia Border Trade and Tourism Association in Chanthaburi, Dr. Rattawit Tangkiatpachara, said that during September to December in Chanthaburi every year, is the season where over 300,000 tons of longans enter the market, generating income for the country valued over 9 to 10 billion Baht. The Ministry of Labour is an important economic ministry that will help entrepreneurs systematically import the right labour. Because if there is longan, there are factories but no workers and no longan collectors, which means it can’t drive the economy. In the past, the Ministry of Labour received cooperation from entrepreneurs in compliance with Section 64 of the Management of Alien Workers Act. Currently, there is a need for about 20,000 workers. Today, he thanked the government and the Labour Minister for giving importance to visiting the area by themselves to listen to entrepreneurs’ suggestions and observe the system of importing and solving migrant worker problems and illegal immigration. The efforts have a positive effect on the economy of the agricultural sector and border tourism in Chanthaburi, especially after opening the country following government policy as well.
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Division of Public Relations
27 October 2021
