Migrant deal stalls as talks break down

The signing of a labour employment agreement between Thailand and Myanmar has been postponed indefinitely after the two countries failed to agree on extending the nationality verification process for migrant workers.

Labour Minister Padermchai Sasomsap and his Myanmar counterpart Myint Thein were scheduled to sign an agreement on alien labour employment Saturday, with the verification process for foreign workers in Thailand having ended on Dec 14.

But the signing of the agreement was postponed as working panels from the two countries could not reach a conclusion on the extension of the verification programme, a source said.

Myanmar wants Thailand to extend the scheme beyond the expiry date. Myanmar labour authorities claimed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised an extension for another three months when she met Myanmar President Thein Sein recently.

But Somkiat Chayasriwong, permanent secretary for labour, said that claim was based on a misunderstanding. Instead, the Thai government will allow foreign workers who failed to complete the process to continue to work with their employers for three more months, but the employers must report the workers to labour authorities within one month.

Cabinet approval for this relief measure will be sought in early January.

During the meeting yesterday, the Thai working panel insisted the Labour Ministry had to strictly abide by the cabinet resolution to end the scheme.

Those who failed to undergo the process by Dec 14 will be considered illegal and must be arrested and deported home.

The panel argued that extending the scheme would go against the cabinet resolution. "We will try to hold further talks to reach an understanding on the issue," said the source, who is a high-level official on the panel.

The government has opened a new legal channel for importing labour under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which Thailand has signed with neighbouring countries.

Employers wanting to continue to hire migrant workers who failed to undergo verification have to submit their quotas for migrant labour and a list of the names of their workers by January.

Migrant workers imported to the country under the MoU are considered legal workers and are entitled to social benefits like Thai workers, said the source.

More than 300,000 migrant workers are expected to be deported now that the Dec 14 deadline has passed. Of those facing deportation, 150,000 are Cambodians, 99,000 are Lao and 60,000 are from Myanmar.

Employment Department chief Prawit Khiangpol and Myo Aung, director of Myanmar's Department of Labour, met in Bangkok on Friday to discuss the problem of illegal Myanmar migrant workers, a source said.

During the talks, the two sides agreed that Myanmar nationals working as seasonal labourers in the agricultural sector in border provinces would be issued temporary passports.

They also agreed that children of migrant workers in Thailand would be registered to allow them to gain access to education and healthcare services.

Myanmar will issue passports for those children, the source said.

Meanwhile, the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok will today talk to the media about the results of the Thai-Myanmar labour meeting, U Kyaw Kyaw Lwin, the embassy's labour attache, said.