Ranong residents protested outside the provincial land transport office yesterday over the issue of drivers' licences to legal Burmese workers, saying it encouraged further smuggling of Burmese workers and their unauthorised operation of motorcycle taxis.
Thai taxi motorcyclists in the protest said Burmese passengers used their compatriots' services extensively - provided upon request through telephone calls - which affected their business.
Protest leader Snoh na Ranong accused the office of issuing licences to Burmese workers illegally using quotas reserved for Thai motorists. He called on an independent investigation comprising Ranong residents.
The crowd dispersed after provincial authorities promised to look into their complaints and set up a meeting on July 30 to discuss the problems.
Official Chutinant Srianant said her office was only following a new policy by the Land Transport Department which agreed to issue licences for any foreigner or illegal immigrant workers who are qualified and apply for the permits.
She said the new policy applied to the Burmese workers under the original regulations, in effect since 1994, which favoured Vietnamese refugees, certain groups of ex-communist guerillas, family members and descendants of Kuomintang military officials.