On September 26, 2024, at 15.30 hours, the Permanent Secretary of Labour, Mr. Pairoj Chotikasathien, chaired the opening ceremony of the workshop project to extract lessons learned from the management of foreign workers in coastal provinces and border provinces with territories adjacent to neighbouring countries. The workshop was attended by executives and heads of government agencies under the Ministry of Labour in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Trang, Satun, Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat. The Director of the Inspection and Evaluation Office, Office of the Permanent Secretary of Labour, Mr. Achawin Pujjakarn, reported on the objectives of the meeting at the Laguna Grand Hotel & Spa, Songkhla, Songkhla Province.
Mr. Pairoj said that the Ministry of Labour, in addition to its mission to promote Thai workers to have high potential, jobs, and good social security, also has a mission to manage foreign workers to receive equal rights, welfare, and social security protection as Thai workers, in line with the law and human rights principles, which is related to the roles and duties of all agencies under the Ministry of Labour, whether it is the Office of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labor, Department of Employment, Department of Labor Protection and Welfare, Department of Skill Development, and Social Security Office. Many of its missions require integrated work together. Therefore, in the 2024 fiscal year, the Inspector-General of the Ministry of Labour and Inspectors of all departments and the Social Security Office have been assigned to jointly inspect and monitor to drive operations to manage foreign workers.
Mr. Pairoj continued that in the 2025 fiscal year, they still need to monitor the operations on the issue of foreign workers. The Labour Minister has given importance and assigned a policy on Thais having jobs by strictly enforcing the law on foreign workers to maintain occupations reserved for Thais by implementing the measure of “Find, Arrest, Fine, Push” to be used as a guideline for operations in terms of inspection, the arrest and prosecution of employers/establishments and foreigners who violate the law, suppression of illegal entry through natural channels and illegal work, including public relations to create awareness for employers/establishments and foreigners.
“I would like to thank the Ministry of Labour’s Inspector-Generals and Inspector-Generals of all departments, and the Social Security Office, who have jointly monitored the operations, listened to problems and obstacles, and provided suggestions for the operations, using the findings to develop policy proposals for the overall management of foreign workers in the Ministry of Labour. I would also like to thank all heads of departments under the Ministry of Labour who have helped drive the mission of organizing the management system of foreign workers to be effective,” concluded Mr. Pairoj.
The purpose of the meeting was to jointly summarize lessons learned or findings from monitoring and driving forward the acceleration of the management of foreign labour in coastal provinces and provinces bordering neighbouring countries. The Inspector-Generals of the Ministry of Labour and from all departments summarized the issues, obstacles, and suggestions from the operations of agencies under the Ministry of Labour in coastal provinces and border provinces bordering neighbouring countries, which will lead to the preparation of proposals for guidelines to increase the efficiency of the overall management of foreign labour of the Ministry of Labour, to be presented to senior executives to be used as guidelines for determining clear and tangible policies for the overall management of foreign labour.
