The Labour Minister has taken measures to protect Thai workers in South Korea and has emphasized the best care from the Thai government, whereby new workers must be efficient, skilled and have language capabilities; awareness for fraud will also be excelled.
On October 3, 2018, Labour Minister H.E. Police General Adul Sangsingkeo spoke about the dispatch of Thai workers to the Republic of Korea under the Employment Permit System (EPS) at the Nikom Chandravithun conference room on the 5th floor of the Ministry of Labour. He said that there are around 400,000 Thai workers abroad who send approximately 126,000 million Baht back to the country, whereby the majority of Thai workers prefer to work in South Korea as the government has a large demand for Thai workers who are skilled, diligent and disciplined. Furthermore, the workers are highly compensated earning around 40,000-60,000 Baht per month. There are currently 188,202 Thai nationals working in South Korea, 66,010 of whom are legal workers through the EPS program, whereas 25,158 are illegal workers who have overstayed, and another 122,000 which entered on a tourist visa and are illegally working. Thailand currently receives a quota for sending 5,000 workers to South Korea annually.
Pol.Gen. Adul explained that the Ministry of Labour has set out 3 measures in dispatching workers to South Korea. This includes the measure that both legal and illegal workers will receive the best care from the Thai government, whereby the Counselor Minister on Labour in Seoul has been delegated to register all workers to form a worker database and establish processes to facilitate Thai workers who intend to return home. South Korea has given illegal workers the opportunity to return to Thailand voluntarily from October 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019, whereby names will not be sent to the government. From November 1, 2018, South Korean units will proceed to arrest illegal workers who will be returned to Thailand immediately and forbidden from entering South Korea for 10 years.
The Labour Minister has assigned the Department of Employment to set up a center to support returning Thai workers, to provide advice, guidelines and source supporting positions. For those intending to work in South Korea, the Labour Minister will consult with South Korean parties to increase the quota for Thai workers, especially females. However, before workers travel abroad, all workers must be skilled, trained to have the language capabilities required by employers and the law, and be covered by the social security system. Furthermore, protection measures from fraud will be implemented, where the Labour Minister will consult with the Ministry of Foreign affairs to promote awareness for legal work abroad, including a database on recruitment agencies, legal measures and stricter inspections at immigration check points.
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Division of Public Relations /
News by Chaninthorn Phettab/
Photos by Sompob Silbut/
3 October 2016
