The Ministry of Labour trains government officials on law enforcement in the fisheries and onshore sectors. It aims to enhance working together as a multidisciplinary team, increase law enforcement capacity and protect workers’ rights. Furthermore, it aims to eliminate all forms of forced labour and human trafficking.
On June 15, 2022, at 09.00 hours, the Labour Minister assigned Permanent Secretary of Labour, Mr. Boonchob Suttamanaswong, to preside over the opening ceremony of the training project to prevent and solve issues of forced labour and human trafficking in labour with a result-oriented process. Deputy Permanent Secretary of Labour Ms. Bubpha Rueangsud joined the training’s opening ceremony at the Grand Ballroom, Century Park Hotel, Bangkok. The Permanent Secretary of Labour said that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister and Minister of Defense General Prayuth Chan-ocha, Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, who oversees the Ministry of Labour, and Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin gives importance and is committed to solving and eliminating human trafficking and forced labour. It has been announced that the prevention and suppression of human trafficking is a national agenda that all sectors must actively work on under the 5P policy framework for 2021 – 2022. The Ministry of Labour has operated following the said policy continually in terms. It has created a mechanism to drive operations to prevent human trafficking in labour by appointing several subcommittees and working groups to jointly drive the policy into concrete practice. In prevention, foreign workers’ management encourages business establishments to implement GLP in law enforcement. On prosecution, there has been an amendment of the Ministerial Regulations on Labour Protection in Sea Fisheries B.E. 2522, which aims to strictly enforce the law. Protection and assistance have been carried out to protect foreign workers returning to Thailand to receive legal benefits. There has also been the provision of benefits for the compensation, and social security funds and partnerships have been integrated with government and private organizations both domestically and internationally. One mechanism that will drive the policy to achieve results is government officials and law enforcement. Therefore, the development of competence for knowledgeable officers, an understanding of the enforcement of labour protection and other relevant laws, as well as upgrading the integration of working together in the form of a multidisciplinary team is the key to preventing and solving the human trafficking in labour to eliminate the problem issue in all dimensions.
The Department of Labour Protection and Welfare’s (DLPW) Deputy Director-General Ms. Kanchana Poonkaew, said that the DLPW is the main unit responsible for the integration of prevention and resolution of human trafficking in labour. It has therefore set up a “Project to Prevent and Solve the Problems of Human Trafficking, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking in Persons for Productivity” under budget support from the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Fund from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. Its purpose is to enable law enforcement officials to develop the capacity for effective multidisciplinary teamwork, including supervision to ensure effective enforcement of the laws by government agencies. It aims to ensure the ability to prosecute and punish offenders and coordinate the referral of victims to the relevant agencies. This training is scheduled to be held in 2 classes with 100 students each. Today, June 15, 2022, is training for the first batch, which is the fishery sector. The trainees consisted of government personnel under the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, the Department of Employment, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and the Royal Thai Police operating in 22 coastal provinces, the Department of Provincial Administration, the Department of Fisheries and the Marine National Interest Center. The second class will be the onshore model, which will be held from June 21 to 24, 2022. The DLPW sincerely hopes that this training will promote collaboration between relevant agencies to maximize the benefits of protecting and helping workers receive legal benefits and have a good quality of life.
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Division of Public Relations
