Thailand is planning to hire 400,000 migrant workers on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in order to meet its workforce demand as it faces worker shortages after a halt to new employments in the Covid-19 crisis and some returnees’ inability to renter the country.
A meeting attended by the Thai prime minister and deputy minister approved the employment plan to fulfill the needs of workers at factories across the country, said Moe Gyo working on affairs of Myanmar migrant workers.
“The meeting approved the plan. We don’t know exactly when they will call migrant workers. Manual workers will be hired for construction, agriculture and livestock breeding. Nearly 300,000 Myanmar workers and over 100,000 Cambodian and Lao workers will reportedly be employed,” said Moe Gyo, Chairman of Joint Action Committee for Burmese Affairs (JACBA) based in Mae Sot.
Thai labour ministry adopted the plan to employ foreign workers again after Thailand halted import of migrant workers under MoU system since the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the ministry’s survey, Thailand needs 256,029 Myanmar workers, 130,138 Cambodian workers and 38,536 Laotian workers.
Worker demand is high in the sectors of construction, agriculture, textile and garment in five provinces.
Overseas employment agencies in Myanmar say that they will be able to re-operate and that illegal migrant workers for their part will have a chance to work officially in Thailand.
