Seabooks to be extended for migrant workers

BANGKOK, Sept 19 (TNA) – The Department of Fisheries is extending the work permits of migrant workers on fishing boats but boat owners must apply for the extension within this month. Adisorn Promthep, director-general of the department, ordered fishing boat operators and migrant workers on fishing boats in Thailand to apply for Seabooks within Sept 30. Section 83 of the fishing act requires owners of commercial fishing boats to have green or yellow Seabooks for their migrant workers. Temporary yellow Seabooks were set to expire on Sept 30. Mr Adisorn said that the Department of Fisheries would receive extension applications until Sept 30 to ensure smooth fishing business. Earlier the department required such applications to be filed 30 days before Seabook expiry. The applications can be filed at the One Stop Service centers of the Department of Employment. Migrant fishing workers will be allowed to remain on their jobs until Sept 30, 2019, and their Seabooks can be renewed for another year. At the One Stop Service centers, migrant workers will undergo physical checkups, have health insurance, and receive visa stamps and new green Seabooks. The fishing workers who do not undergo the process within Sept 30 will become illegal workers and cannot stay in Thailand, Mr Adisorn said. They could be fined 5,000-50,000 baht and their employers would be fined 10,000-100,000 baht per illegal migrant worker and banned from employing migrant workers for three years. (TNA)