Inside a rice storage in Thailand (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Bangkok (VNA)– Thailand will impose harsh penalties on illegal worker brokers, the country’sMinistry of Labour said in a statement on July 9, warning that companies usingillegal brokers will face the risk of being accused of human trafficking.
Those who bringmigrant workers to work in Thailand without permission would be sentenced for3-10 years in prison or fined from 600,000 – 1,000,000 THB (17,000 – 29,000USD), or both, the ministry noted.
It added that thereare only 81 authorised brokers in Thailand and 38 of them are based in Bangkok.
The statement was madewhen thousands of migrant workers continued to flee from Thailand amidwidespread fear about the tougher new foreign worker management law.
As the new law is likely to force many businesses to terminate the employmentof current workers and trigger a labour shortage, there is a risk of humantrafficking during this period since illegal brokers might take advantage ofthe situation to supply migrant workers to employers in urgent need.
After the delay of theenforcement of the law’s few articles, the ministry has allowed Thai employersto register their Lao, Cambodian and Myanmar workers at temporary centres throughoutthe country from July 24 to August 7. It is estimated that only half of thefive million migrant workers from the three countries are working legally inThailand.
The ministry’spermanent secretary Puntrik Smiti earlier stressed the need for Thailand to puta harsher labour law in place to meet international standards and stop usingunregistered migrant workers.
The country is namedin the human-trafficking watch-list of the US Department of State.-VNA
The Thai National Council for Peace and Order requested the Ministry of Labour to review a new labour law which has been causing a flux of foreign workers returning home from Thailand.
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Inside a rice storage in Thailand (Photo: AFP/VNA)
