Only 140,000 applicants
The Labour Ministry's scheme to get foreign employees to seek or extend their work permits within this month has flopped with only 140,000 applications - compared with last year's 700,000 - being submitted.
Deputy Director-General of the Department of Employment Pichai Ekpithakdamrong said that, from June 1 until yesterday, the ministry had issued 33,066 new work permits and renewed 114,048, for workers from Burma, Laos and Cambodia. The province of Bangkok accounted for the maximum number of registrations, at 32,363, followed by Chiang Mai (29,579), Surat Thani (12,729 cases), Phuket (8,375) and Pathum Thani (7,157), he said. "The registrations dip each year but it's particularly low this time around, showing a big drop from the previous year's 700,000 to slightly more than 100,000, half of these being new workers," Pichai said. Although thousands more were expected to enrol today, the last day for this year's registrations, the number was below expectations, he added. The government would now accelerate its crackdown on illegal workers, punishing errant employers for two reasons. Hiring illegal workers can result in a jail term for up to three years and a Bt60,000 fine; sheltering illegal workers might lead to imprisonment for up to five years and a Bt50,000 fine, Pichai said. Workers who fail to renew their permits would be charged with being employed illegally, which might imply a three-month jail term or a fine of up to Bt5,000. Staying illegally in the Kingdom is punishable by a two-year stretch in a jail or a Bt20,000 fine.
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