Workers from Myanmar, Sri Lanka to replace Cambodians – Labour Minister

Thailand plans to recruit 42,000 migrant workers from Myanmar and 10,000 others from Sri Lanka over 2 months to replace Cambodian migrants who left when border tensions erupted between Thailand and Cambodia.

Thailand’s Labour Minister Pongkawin Juangroongruangkit said today that he expects the first group of workers from Myanmar to arrive in Thailand next Tuesday, to be joined later by more, until the numbers reach 42,000, adding that they will be distributed across all industries which are short of labour.

Pongkawin said that, for those coming from Sri Lanka, the Labour Ministry has been coordinating with the Foreign Ministry on the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sri Lanka, for the recruitment of an initial 10,000 Sri Lankans, with an option for another 30,000 to work in Thailand to replace the Cambodians.

He expects the first group of Sri Lankans to arrive within 2 months.

The labour minister also said that the ministry also plans to bring workers from the Philippines, Indonesia and Nepal to work in the country.

To ease the current shortage of labour, the Interior Ministry has issued an announcement allowing documented Cambodian workers who are stranded in Thailand, due to the closure of border checkpoints with Cambodia and whose work permits have expired, to continue working in Thailand for up to six months on humanitarian grounds.