Thailand to carry out zoning of migrant workers

SAMUT SAKHON, THAILAND, February 2 (TNA) -The Thai government, through the Ministry of Labour, is regulating and conducting zoning of migrant workers in the country. Thai Labour Minister General Sirichai Diskul visited seaside Samut Sakhon Province on Thursday and called a meeting with local government leaders and representatives of the local private sector at the Provincial Hall to discuss and follow up the overall zoning of migrant workers in the province. The zoning operation is in line with the Thai government's policy on ensuring order of each province where there are at least 50,000 migrant workers to cover security, economic and social dimensions through conducting zoning for their workplaces and residential areas. Under the Thai government's policy, 12 provinces are to regulate and carry out the zoning for their migrant workers, including Samut Sakhon, Ranong, Pathum Thani, Chon Buri, Samut Prakarn, Surat Thani, Chiang Mai, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Rayong, Phuket, Songkhla and Tak. The labour minister also listen to problems raised by concerned parties in Samut Sakhon, namely a shortage of workers in the local fishery sector and a call for opening of a new round of the registration of migrant workers to raise labour supply. Presently, there are about 6.2 million migrant workers in Thailand from neighbouring Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, comprising 1.29 million legal and 1.325 million illegal ones, the latter have been permitted to stay in the country pending a nationality verification process. In Samut Sakhon alone, there are a total of 300,000 migrant workers, 250,000 of whom are from Myanmar, 10,000 from Laos and 19,000 from Cambodia. (TNA)