Fleeing workers force Thailand to reconsider new labour rules
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.
Cambodian migrant workers at a Thailand-Cambodia border check point (Photo: khmertimeskh.com)
Bangkok (VNA) - The Thai National Council for Peaceand Order (NCPO), on July 5, requested the Ministry of Labour to review a new labourlaw which has been causing a flux of foreign workers returning home fromThailand over fears of arrest and heavy fines.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, itwould take the ministry four months to examine the newly introduced ExecutiveDecree on Foreign Workers Management before submitting a revised draft to thegovernment for two-month consideration.
On July 4, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, as NCPO chief, invokedArticle 44 of the Constitution that gives power him to pushthrough policy, to order a 180-day suspension of four key articles of thedecree that impose harsher penalties against unreported and unlicensed migrantsand their employers.
In spite of the delay, as of July 5, more than 34,000Myanmar workers left the country. There are about 4 million legal and 1 millionillegal Myanmar workers reportedly staying in Thailand.
In the Thai border with Cambodia, the number of migrants returninghome has been increasing daily, with nearly 2,000 workers crossing the Poipetcheckpoint to go back to Cambodia on July 5.
Millions of migrant workers from neighbouring countries,such as Cambodia and Myanmar, play an important role in Thailand’s key economicsectors, including the billion-USD fishing and aquatic processing industry.-VNA
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Cambodian migrant workers at a Thailand-Cambodia border check point (Photo: khmertimeskh.com) 
