Thailand's crackdown: 177,000 Myanmar workers arrested in 85-day sweep
It has been reported that during the first 85 days of Thailand's 120-day operation to apprehend illegal workers, 177,804 Myanmar workers were arrested.
From June 5 to August 28, authorities, including the Ministry of Labour, conducted inspections at 16,776 workplaces, factories, and work sites across Thailand. During these inspections, 232,906 illegal workers were apprehended, according to a statement from the Thai Ministry of Labour.
The breakdown of the arrested illegal workers by nationality is as follows: 177,804 Myanmar nationals, 34,620 Cambodians, 13,482 Laotians, 145 Vietnamese, and 6,855 other nationals.
In addition to these, the relevant authorities also took action against 591 workplaces where 933 Myanmar nationals, 224 Cambodians, 203 Laotians, 26 Vietnamese, and 107 other nationals were found working illegally. A total of 1,553 illegal migrant workers were prosecuted.
Foreign workers who are found working without a work permit or in a job they are not authorized to do will face fines ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 Baht. They will also be deported to their home country and banned from working in Thailand for two years.
Employers who are caught hiring workers without proper work permits will be fined between 10,000 and 100,000 Baht per worker. Repeat offenders may face imprisonment of up to one year and fines ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 Baht. They may also be banned from hiring migrant workers for three years, according to the announcement by the Thai Department of Labour.
Eleven Media
Asia News Network
