The Labour Minister visited the Klong Luek Customs Office in Aranyaprathet District, Sa Kaeo, and met with businesses in the area about managing migrant workers along the border after measures to prevent and inhibit the spread of Covid-19 from a second wave are relaxed. The efforts also aim to enable private operators and the country’s economy to recover from Covid-19 quickly.
On September 10, 2020, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin visited Sa Kaeo to meet with businesses in the area on the management of migrant workers after the relaxation of enforcement measures to prevent and inhibit the spread of Covid-19. The meeting took place at the Klong Luek Customs Office meeting room in Aranyaprathet District, Sa Kaeo. Deputy Permanent Secretary of Labour Mrs. Theanrat Nawamawat and the Ministry of Labour’s executives also joined the occasion. Provincial Governor of Sa Kaeo Mr. Woraphan Suwannusgave a welcoming. The Labour Minister said that following the Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha and Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan’s orders to meet with relevant agencies to accelerate the inspection and control of illegal migration for work in Thailand and to prevent the outbreak for the second wave of Covid-19, today, the Labour Minister met with the governor, heads of government, private businesses and related agencies in the area to listen to issues and set measures to enforce the strictness of inspection along the border and set up a checkpoint to block illegal migration into Thailand.
Mr. Suchart said that the visit today had the objective of listening to the issues of private businesses affected by Covid-19, such as the opening of the salt mill market, labour shortages, and the management of foreign workers after the relaxation on enforcement of measures to prevent and inhibit the spread of Covid-19 along the border. Discussions revolved around methods of importing foreign workers, including the designation of a 14-day quarantine facility and the Covid-19 test following the procedures set by the Ministry of Public Health, that there will be a detention facility provided by the state. The Provincial Health Office will recruit interested applicants to propose an Alternative Local Quarantine (ALQ) to quarantine Cambodian migrant workers to work under the MOU system. The standard of the facility is currently under review and how operations will proceed.
The Labour Minister also spoke about labour shortages, whereby most businesses need foreign workers in the agricultural sector, especially in sugar cane fields. President of Burapha Border Farmers Association Mr. Montree Damphon, informed the need for about 10,000 workers in sugarcane harvesting. If there are not enough workers, then the sugarcane harvesting will be damaged. In addition, longan farmers, which have a gardening area of approximately 58,000 rai, also need about 1,000 workers but will ask for Cambodian workers from Chanthaburi, who have expertise in longan harvesting to collect longan in the Sa Kaeo area. As for the surveillance of illegal foreign workers, the Ministry of Labour’s Provincial Employment Office will work with relevant agencies to regularly promote and monitor foreigners’ work. If any offenses are detected, strict legal actions will be taken. In addition, Burapha forces regularly organize a series of patrols on the Thai-Cambodian border to prevent Cambodian workers from illegally entering the country. For the randomized testing of Covid-19 among foreign workers, the Sa Kaeo Provincial Employment Office works with the Sa Kaeo Provincial Public Health Office. The Provincial Employment Office is also responsible for selecting target groups that employ many foreign workers and coordinates with the Provincial Public Health Office to receive a waiver following the Cabinet resolution. That is foreign workers who have come to work as a skilled craftsman in Sa Kaeo, to test for Covid-19. This has been conducted several times, whereby over 1,000 foreign workers were tested, showing no infection.
“Sa Kaeo Province has an area bordering Cambodia. There are about 12,000 – 22,000 foreign workers employed in the area through the MOU program. The workers are language teachers and agricultural workers, which occupy the largest number of workers. In February 2020, before the Covid-19 situation, there were 21,205 workers. At present, in September 2020, there are 2,746 workers. Today’s visit will make it possible to directly acknowledge the private sector businesses’ problem regarding the need to hire foreign workers, including detention procedures and facilities, as specified by the Ministry of Public Health. It will also help resolve the issue of labour shortages to enable businesses in the private sector and the country’s economy to recover from Covid-19 quickly,” concluded Mr. Suchart.
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Division of Public Relations
10 September 2020
