On March 2, 2023, the Assistant Permanent Secretary of Labour, Mr. Decha Pruekphathanarak, presided over the opening ceremony of the Ministry of Labour’s roadshow under the public relations project to create awareness and understanding on the Ministry of Labour and the government’s policies for administration, importation, and protection of foreign workers’ rights. The roadshow aims to raise awareness of the rights of migrant workers under the concept of “foreign workers and Thai workers treated equally” to encourage employers and business operators to employ foreign workers legally. This Chiang Mai Provincial Employment Officer, Mr. Ekaluck Ounphak, reported the event’s objective. Heads of government agencies under the Ministry of Labour in Chiang Mai Province and foreign workers gave a welcome at the Work Permit and Certificate of Identity Issuance Center at No. 138, Moo 4, Tha Sala Subdistrict, Mueang District, Chiang Mai Province.
The Assistant Permanent Secretary of Labour, Mr. Decha Pruekphathanarak, reported that the government under the leadership of the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, and the Ministry of Labour by the Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin, gives importance to managing Cambodian, Laotian, Myanmar and Vietnamese workers, concerning national security and the safety of Thai people. Today, the Ministry of Labour’s Public Relations Division, from the Office of the Permanent Secretary of Labour, carried out a roadshow to create awareness and understanding of the Ministry of Labour and the government’s policies for administration, importation, and protection of foreign workers’ rights. It aims to raise awareness of the rights of migrant workers under the concept of “foreign workers and Thai workers treated equally” focusing on public relations to create awareness among employers and business operators employing foreign workers in the area. It further urged government agencies under the Ministry of Labour in the area to focus on integrating the management, importation, and protection of the rights of foreign workers to ensure equal treatment under the Thai labour laws, such as the minimum wage rate, medical treatment, and receiving welfare from the establishment fairly. The goal is to prevent the worst forms of human trafficking, which may pull Thailand’s human trafficking ranking lower.
Mr. Decha continued that public relations initiatives in organizing activities in the workplace would create knowledge and understanding of equal rights between Thai and foreign workers protected by the laws of Thailand. It also expresses the Ministry of Labour and the government’s determination to promote and prevent employers/business operators from taking advantage of foreign workers in their workplaces. This will improve Thailand’s ranking in the human trafficking situation from Tier 2 to Tier 1, following the expectations of the Ministry of Labour and the government.
On the same occasion, the Assistant Permanent Secretary of Labour chaired the meeting of heads of government agencies under the Ministry of Labour in Chiang Mai Province to monitor the management, importation, and protection of foreign workers’ rights. The occasion took place at the meeting room of the Chiang Mai Provincial Employment Office. He instructed heads of government agencies under the Ministry of Labour to strictly follow the foreign worker management policy.
Chiang Mai Province currently has 150,731 foreigners permitted to work under The Royal Decree on the Management of Foreign Workers’ Work. This population is divided into 105,942 migrant workers from Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, 39,350 persons without registration status, 4,843 general foreigners, and 596 BOI-promoted workers. 104,076 Cambodian, Laotian, Myanmar, and Vietnamese nationals are permitted to work in Chiang Mai (work permits expired on February 13, 2023), with a total of 92,356 foreign workers applying for a work permit renewal.
“Employing legal workers will help solve labour shortages, which will create labour security and promote the economy and society of the country. More importantly, it will help build a good reputation for Thailand, in line with the government’s policy on protecting the rights of all workers. It will further help combat forced labour in various forms and prevent human trafficking in labour,” concluded Mr. Decha.
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Division of Public Relations
2 March 2023
