New worker registration rule slammed

A labour rights group has criticised the government's new policy of not registering the children of foreign workers, warning employers would suffer in the end.

Sompong Srakaew, of Samut Sakhon-based Labour Rights Promotion Network, slammed the government over its "flip-flop" policy.

In previous years, the government had allowed employment registration forms of migrant workers to include registration of their children as well, so they could stay with their parents.

But this year, it decided not to include the children. "By excluding the youngsters, the government wants to make it look as though Thailand was free of child labour. But who will believe it?" Mr Sompong said.

He warned that the policy was bound to backfire. The migrant workers will take their children and go into hiding if they have to. If that happens, it would be the employers who would then be hit by a shortage of workers.

Mr Sompong said after ratifying the anti-child labour convention with the International Labour Organisation, the government began to change the approach of its migrant worker policy.

Their children are likely to be sent back to their home countries, said Mr Sompong.

In 2004, the government registered 93,082 children as accompanying their parents to Thailand. Most of them were under 11 years of age.

Meanwhile, Labour Minister Paitoon Kaewthong said the cabinet had agreed to extend the registration period for migrant workers in the fishing industry, one of the largest sectors of employment for alien hands, from the end of July until Sept 30.

At the conclusion of the latest registration period, 924,095 migrant workers turned up to register with the Department of Provincial Administration. More than half of them were Burmese.