Thailand delays labour law after thousands of migrant workers flee

PanARMENIAN.Net – Thailand’s military government said it will delay enforcing new labour regulations after thousands of migrant workers fled home to neighbouring countries this week fearing arrest and heavy fines under the new decree, AFP reports.

The scramble is the latest chaos triggered by Thailand’s efforts to regulate the millions of foreign workers who prop up its economy with jobs in factories, fishing boats and other low-paid work.

The junta has trumpeted a flurry of campaigns aimed at registering migrant workers and cracking down on illegal smuggling routes, but the efforts are often ad-hoc and short-lived.

As a result, much of the migrant work force remains undocumented and vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers and unscrupulous employers.

On Friday, June 30, the junta said it would suspend parts of a new foreign labour law, which came into effect on June 23, for 120 days after the regulations sparked a panic among migrant workers and their employers.

Full story: panarmenian.net

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