Even though there are approximately 2.7 million foreign workers from nearby nations registered in Thailand, several regions still fall well short of the necessary numbers. There are more than 250,000 registered foreign workers in the province of Chonburi, according to Jessataporn Bunnag, director of the Pattaya-based Foreign Workers Employment Agency.
But businesses and contractors need a lot more. According to the memorandum of understanding between Thailand and the governments of Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, the agency is in charge of registering foreign employees from these three countries. “Chonburi province is highly diverse,” said Mr. Bunnag. “There are openings in tourist-focused Pattaya for hotel and restaurant staff as well as workers on construction projects. However, there is a dire need for manufacturing workers in the food processing industry as well as fisherman in the port districts of Chonburi city.
Not to mention the Eastern Economic Corridor’s various needs for high-tech infrastructure. The sharp decline in Thailand’s birth rate over the previous 30 years, he continued, could make the issue even worse in the future. He recommended that the Thai government consider raising the minimum salary (which is now approximately 360 baht in Chonburi Province) and hiring workers from Vietnam by forging new agreements with their counterparts there.The Thai Chamber of Commerce has expressed similar worries, citing labor shortages as a major obstacle to the country’s economic revival.
The largest issues are the thousands of employees from neighboring nations who enter Thailand illegally and do not register. Despite the fact that registered employees are entitled to fundamental rights and free access to Thai public hospitals, unauthorized immigrants must deal with exploitation and the danger of deportation. According to Mr. Bunnag, the registration process is quite cumbersome and can take many months to complete.
Therefore, it is appealing for undocumented workers to circumvent the law and sell their services. However, they did not arrive through a legitimate border crossing, and if they did, they did not have a Thai stamp in their passport. The problem is that.
The Move Forward Party, which won the most seats in the last Thai general election but is having trouble forming a coalition government due to constitutional issues, has vehemently acknowledged the value of migrant labor and pledged to restructure the bureaucracy. Progress must be postponed until the incoming administration, according to the general Prayut Chan-o-cha-led caretaker administration.
