The Ministry of Labour’s Inspector-General and spokesperson Mr. Ananchai Uthaipatanacheep spoke about the Ministry of Labour’s announcement on the Foreign Worker Management Royal Decree B.E. 2560 which aims for employers to disclose employment of illegal migrant workers in order to process the workers to legal status. To help with this, 100 reporting centers have been established nationwide, 11 of which are in Bangkok. The centers are equipped to facilitate the 2-3 million expected illegal migrant workers, starting 24 July 2017. Now three days into operations (24-26 July, information as of 26 July 2017 at 16.30) a total of 34,456 employers have submitted applications totaling 109,298 workers. In addition to this, 4,166 employers submitted online applications equating to 6,884 workers. The ten provinces with the highest number of workers included Bangkok, Samut Prakarn, Rayong, Chiang Mai, Pathum Thani, Nonthabui, Nakhon Pathom, Chon Buri, Surat Thani and Ratchaburi. Mr. Ananchai revealed that Labour Minister General Sirichai Distakul had emphasized to all affiliated officials and officers to work together on facilitating convenience to service users, which is equipped with the necessary equipment and capable staff.
Mr. Ananchai added that the Ministry of Labour had assigned over 4,000 officers at the centers, including necessary equipment such as officer computers, photocopiers, mist fans, sound equipment, a first-aid corner and much more. The center will be open from 08.30 – 16.30 all days, with the first queue ticket given at 07.30. Documents required include an application for employment approval, 3 pictures of 2-inch size, not wearing a hat or glasses, a copy of the employer’s national ID card or juristic person registration. The submitted documents will then be validated and once complete, a cue card will be given to the employer and worker to come back on another day for the next process; the process on the first day only takes 15 minutes. For those unable to visit the centers, forms can be downloaded at all times from the website at the following link: https://wpfast.doe.go.th/fast11/user/. The process is free of charge; if any officers ask for unsolicited gifts in exchange from service users, harsh penalties will apply. Leads can also be reported to the military’s center for corruption reporting, the ministry of labour’s center for reporting or the Department of Employments 1694 hotline. Mr. Ananchai confirmed that after the grace period, there would be no other opportunity to register undocumented workers, and therefore urged employers to proceed the documents quickly. An approximate 1 million workers are forecasted to be registered within 7 August, then from 8 August to 6 September (30 processing day) will be the validation process to confirm employer and workers’ employment status.
“The opening of the centers found many employers to still remain unclear about the process. I would therefore like to clarify that the reporting is only for current workers without the necessary documents. For migrant workers with permits intending to change employer or to apply for permits, the workers can contact all provincial Employment Offices, the Bangkok Employment Office Area 1-10 without having to visit the centers,” concluded Mr. Ananchai.
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Spokesperson and Publication Sub-Division/
Bureau of Public Relations/
26 July 2017
