IN THE FACE of opposition, the government has made some concessions in an attempt to ease the impact of the controversial foreign labour law.

As well as postponing enforcement of the new law for 120 days, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday that migrant workers with some official documents would be allowed to change jobs and employers during the period, which is retroactive to June 23.

The PM also urged authorities to be sensible in taking action.

Prayut will today exercise his powers under Article 44 of the interim charter to delay the introduction of the new law for 120 days. He said the postponement was necessary to ease foreign pressure on human trafficking and other issues. The private sector has also complained about the severe penalties prescribed in the new law.

Labour Minister Sirichai Distakul said the delay will suspend enforcement of Sections 101, 102 and 122 of the new foreign labour law which calls for heavy fines and imprisonment, including a fine of Bt400,000 to Bt800,000 per worker if employers are found to have violated the law.

Prayut said Thailand has been monitored by the international community regarding its commitment to tackle human trafficking and other cross-border issues, so the government has to enact strong |legislation on migrant workers.

He said Malaysia was also cracking down on illegal foreign workers as Asean member countries have agreed that migrant labourers must be registered before entering another country to work.

He said Thailand will no longer allow registration of illegal migrant workers inside the country, so they have to return home to get proper documentation before entering Thailand to work, even though 2 to 3 million migrant workers were previously allowed to be registered domestically.

Those who do not have legal documents have to leave to get their official document and may re-enter Thailand to work, while those with some documents, but have changed jobs or employers in Thailand, will have to report the changes to Thai labour offices within the 120-day period, before the new law is enforced strictly.

Prayut said the Labour Ministry would ensure that difficulties are minimised during the 120-day period, while acknowledging that Thai industries and many households rely heavily on manpower from neighbouring countries.

He advised authorities to take into account the size of the business before imposing a fine.

“Should a street stall selling noodles be fined Bt400,000?” he asked in a speech at the annual National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) conference.

According to Labour Minister General Sirichai Distakul, about 29,000 migrant workers – especially those from Myanmar and Cambodia – have already returned to their home country due to lack of proper documentation. However, up to 60,000 more workers will re-enter Thailand to work legally under memorandums of understanding signed with neighbouring countries.

In Kanchanaburi province, a total of 2,894 migrant workers have left Thailand since June 23, due to the heavy penalties prescribed by the new foreign labour law, which include a fine of up to Bt800,000 per worker if employers are found to have violated the law.

‘Many have lost their jobs’

Samphun Kaitsommart, the chairman of a footwear company in the province, said his factory is not affected because it is located near the Thai-Myanmar border, so about 3,000 Myanmar workers could return home every day after work.

Another 3,914 migrant workers from Cambodia, who left Thailand via the Sa Kaew checkpoint, said they had lost jobs in Thailand after the new law was enacted and had no money to pay for passports to return to Thailand to work.

Cambodian workers have to travel to Phnom Penh to apply for passports which cost US$110 (Bt3,500) to $210 each depending on the number of processing days. In addition, passports to work in Thailand under the two countries’ bilateral agreement are more expensive and have to be processed via recruitment agencies.

In Surin province, about 300 Cambodian workers also left Thailand due to fears of being arrested under the new law, while their former employers were also worried they would face heavy fines if they violated the law.

Meanwhile, the secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Board, Porametee Vimolsiri, played down any adverse impact on the economy caused by the new law.

“It would be a temporary issue as the government reorganises foreign labour,” he said on the sidelines of the NESDB annual conference. Thailand still needs to import foreign labour or the workforce would start to shrink, said Porametee.

As Thailand is becoming an ageing society, the government has a plan for human development, which is essential to drive the country towards an advanced economy in the next 20 years. To become a high-income country, Thailand’s economy must expand at 5 per cent annually.

Myanmar officials in Myawaddy have urged their counterparts across the border in Tak to investigate whether Myanmar workers returning home were being forced to pay bribes on leaving Thailand, according to a source in the Tak provincial administration.

The source said on Monday that the governor of Myawaddy had written to Charoenrit Sanguansat, his counterpart in Tak, claiming that Thai officials had demanded bribes from returning migrant workers on the Tak-Mae Sot Road on July 2.