August 6, 2026, at 11:00 hours – Mr. Julapun Amornvivat, Minister of Labour, participated in the exchange ceremony for the Memorandum of Understanding on Labour Cooperation and the Agreement on the Employment of Workers between the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, together with U Khin Maung Soe, Minister of Labour of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and the leadership of the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, served as witnesses. Pol. Lt. Col. Wannapong Kotcharak, Permanent Secretary of Labour, Mr. Sakdinart Sontisakyothin, Assistant to the Permanent Secretary of Labour, and Ms. Thidarath Yingcharoen, Advisor to the Labour Minister, also attended as honoured guests at the Santimitr Building, Government House, Bangkok.
Mr. Julapun stated that this collaboration represents another important step in Thailand–Myanmar relations, aimed at upgrading the management of migrant labour to align with current circumstances and promoting the movement of labour that is safe, orderly, lawful, and appropriately rights-protected.
The key substance of this new agreement establishes a clearer framework for cooperation, covering employment, the issuance of work permits, dispute resolution, and the repatriation of workers upon the conclusion of employment, whilst facilitating labour mobility through legal channels to reduce the problems of illegal immigration, human trafficking, forced labour, and labour exploitation.
In addition, both countries will jointly drive cooperation in labour market information exchange, workforce skills development, capacity building, and joint bilateral working group activities to improve the efficiency of migrant labour management.
Mr. Julapun emphasised that this collaboration will help make migrant labour management more efficient, transparent, and fair, generating benefits for workers and employers alike and supporting economic growth, whilst further strengthening the good relations between Thailand and Myanmar.
“In the next phase of implementation, the Ministry of Labour will push for the development of Certificate of Identity (CI) issuance centres to operate more efficiently, promote the use of electronic work permit systems, online worker registration, and access to social security rights, as well as studying the development of additional agreements to accommodate the transfer of social security and pension benefits for workers who return to their country,” Mr. Julapun said.
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Thapthai Phupat – Photo
Division of Public Relations
