On May 2, 2022, Permanent Secretary of Labour Mr. Boonchob Suttamanaswong spoke about the case of the media presenting news of a Thai woman claiming to be deceived into working in Dubai. According to Mrs. Plida Ruamkham, Ambassador Counselor (on Labour) of the Royal Thai Embassy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the woman was not deceived, as stated in the news. She had intended to travel to work as a masseuse, however, did not know how to massage and therefore had no customers and wanted to return home. Her daughter claimed to the media that she had been deceived into prostitution and detained. The police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have already removed her from the store. This massage shop is a legitimate store. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has coordinated with her daughter to purchase a plane ticket for her mother. She now has a ticket to travel back to Thailand and will travel back on May 3, arriving in Thailand on May 4.
Mr. Boonchob added that the Labour Department’s report stated that on May 1, the Labour Department was informed by the Consulate-General in Dubai that the Dubai police had notified the Dubai Consulate-General to meet Mrs. Amporn Nansombat at CID Dubai. The police provided their support with the investigation and the release. Mrs. Amporn Nansombat is currently in the care of the Consulate-General in Dubai, waiting to return to Thailand. Mrs. Amporn testified to the Consular Officer, saying that she traveled to Dubai with her granddaughter on April 18, 2022. There was a man named Aon who managed the process in Thailand. She paid Aon 5,000 Baht. But when they arrived in Dubai, she went to different shops with her grandchild. Moreover, she was not able to massage or speak English. She is also older. When she arrived, she had no job, no customers, and still would not work. The employer in Dubai is Chinese. They agreed on a taxi fare with the employer for 7,500 Dirham. Upon arrival, she could not speak the language, had no job, and had no customers, so she had to return to Thailand. If returning, she must pay the employer the taxi fare. Therefore, she contacted her daughter to coordinate and inform the Thai Consulate to help her with her return to Thailand. She cannot use a phone and does not have a contact number for the Thai Consulate. She was not forced into prostitution or physically abused in any way.
The Labour Department reported that entering the UAE on a tourist visa or a visitor visa and then illegally working could result in imprisonment for up to three months, fined up to 10,000 Dirham, and deportation. If they have been scammed, victims can seek immediate help from the police by dialing the emergency number 999 on their phone. The police will know their location and be able to arrest and assist immediately.
“The Ministry of Labour would like to remind Thai people who want to work abroad to please study information from the Department of Employment agencies and the legal way to go. If you want to improve your Thai massage or English language skills, there is training at all skill development institutes/offices across the country. We do not want such cases to happen again as they may affect the reputation of Thai workers among employers in foreign countries. We also hope that it does not affect the preservation of the existing labour market and the new labor market in Dubai,” concluded Mr. Boonchob.
Currently, there are five ways to legally travel to work abroad. This includes the Department of Employment, a recruitment company, employers in Thailand deploying their employees to work abroad, employers in Thailand sending their employees to do internships abroad, and job seekers informing their travels to work abroad by themselves. Therefore, he said he would like to inform job seekers who wish to travel abroad to ensure they work legally and apply as a fund member to help job seekers work abroad. Membership will enable them to receive protection benefits in the event of danger, death, disability, or experiencing trouble in a foreign country. Information about traveling to work abroad is available at www.doe.go.th/overseas. Workers can also register online to work abroad at toea.doe.go.th. If there are any issues with applying for a job or traveling to work abroad, complaints can be filed at the Job Seekers Crime Suppression Coordinating Center, the Central Employment Registration and Job Seeker Protection Division, the Department of Employment, or Provincial Employment Offices in every province and the Bangkok Employment Office Areas 1-10. Or for more information, contact the Ministry of Labour’s 1506 hotline, press 2 for the Department of Employment, or call the Department of Employment’s 1694 hotline.
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Division of Public Relations
2 May 2022
