June 18, 2024
BANGKOK – The Thai Labor Department announced that over 26,000 undocumented foreign workers from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam were arrested within a week.
As part of the Thai government’s 120-day crackdown on illegal workers, Thai authorities inspected 1,774 factories, workplaces, and job sites across Thailand from June 5 to June 12. These inspections led to the arrests of a large number of undocumented foreign workers.
During the inspections conducted by the team responsible for the illegal worker crackdown, a total of 26,189 undocumented foreign workers were arrested. This included 20,111 from Myanmar, 3,971 from Cambodia, 1,659 from Laos, and 444 from other countries. These workers were detained for lacking proper documentation or having incomplete paperwork.
Among those arrested, 240 foreign workers have been prosecuted, including 190 from Myanmar, 38 from Laos, 8 from Cambodia, and 4 from other countries.
Other detained workers are subject to various penalties, including fines and deportation.
According to Thai labor law, any migrant worker found working without proper authorization or in an unauthorized job position may be fined between 5,000 and 50,000 Baht, banned from working in Thailand for two years, and deported back to their home country.
U Moe Gyo, Chairman of the Joint Action Committee for Burmese Affairs (JACBA), said, “Those without proper documentation are being arrested by Thai authorities. Regardless of the situation, anyone working without complete documents must pay a fine ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 Baht. Depending on the arresting officer, the fine could be 500 Baht, but if they can’t pay the fine, they face imprisonment and deportation. Upon deportation, they are banned from re-entering for two years, and if they re-enter, they face a two-year prison sentence. Although the MoU process is lengthy, I urge everyone to enter as MoU workers without entering illegally.”