THAILAND

Labour activists have criticised a plan by the Labour Ministry to allow thousands of foreign workers from Vietnam, Bangladesh and Nepal into the country to cope with a labour shortage.

Adisorn Kerdmongkhol, a member of the Migrant Working Group, said the country has enough registered and unregistered alien workers already.

About 1.8 million people from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia are in the country illegally and are in the process of applying for registration with the Labour Ministry, the activist said.

Another 100,000 are here legally and are registered, so combined they are easily enough to deal with a labour shortage, he added.

In particular he disagreed with the ministry's plan to allow in more migrant workers for the fishing industry.

If existing labour management problems in the industry are not improved, these new workers will soon quit, said Mr Adisorn. He said operators of fishing and fishing-related businesses must demonstrate that working conditions in the industry are good and that workers will receive welfare benefits.

Many shun jobs in the industry as they fear being cheated of their wages or mistreated by business operators.

The Labour Employment Department has recently considered signing memorandums of understanding with Vietnam, Bangladesh and Nepal to bring in workers to solve a labour shortage in occupations shunned by Thai workers.

Krittaya Artchavanijkul, of Mahidol University's Population and Social Research Institute, said there is already a sufficient number of migrant workers from Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. However, an efficient alien labour management plan is lacking, she said.

She called for a long-term foreign labour management plan to efficiently manage workers. The government should promote the hiring of registered workers. Those working legally should be entitled to full labour rights and protection under the law, she added.