ANN/THE STAR – The Thai Labour Department has announced that over 26,000 undocumented foreign workers from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam have been arrested within a week.
As part of the Thai government’s 120-day crackdown on illegal workers, Thai authorities inspected 1,774 factories, workplaces, and job sites across Thailand from June 5 to June 12. These inspections led to the arrests of a large number of undocumented foreign workers.
During the inspections conducted by the team responsible for the illegal worker crackdown, a total of 26,189 undocumented foreign workers were arrested.
Among them were 20,111 from Myanmar, 3,971 from Cambodia, 1,659 from Laos, and 444 from other countries. These workers were detained for lacking proper documentation or having incomplete paperwork.
Of those arrested, 240 foreign workers have been prosecuted, including 190 from Myanmar, 38 from Laos, eight from Cambodia, and four from other countries.
Other detained workers are subject to various penalties, including fines and deportation.
According to Thai labour law, any migrant worker found working without proper authorisation or in an unauthorised job position may be fined between THB5,000 and THB50,000 (USD135 to USD1,350), banned from working in Thailand for two years, and deported back to their home country.
Chairman of the Joint Action Committee for Burmese Affairs (JACBA) U Moe Gyo said, “Those without proper documentation are being arrested by Thai authorities. Regardless of the situation, anyone working without complete documents must pay a fine ranging from THB5,000 to THB50,000.
“Depending on the arresting officer, the fine could be THB500, but if they can’t pay the fine, they face imprisonment and deportation. Upon deportation, they are banned from re-entering for two years, and if they re-enter, they face a two-year prison sentence. Although the legal process is lengthy, I urge everyone to enter as legitimate workers without entering illegally.”
