Govt urged to review verification process for migrant workers

BANGKOK, December 16 (TNA) - Members of the migrant workers on Sunday launched a walkathon in central Bangkok to urge the government to review and extend its nationality verification process which expired on Friday (Dec. 14). The members, led by Bundit Panwiset of the Friend of Women Foundation, had gathered around the Democracy Monument. The gathering was to commemorate the International Migrants Day which falls on this Tuesday. They urged the Thai government’s Social Security Office to allow foreign workers, who have gone through the nationality verification scheme, to receive welfare while being unemployed and to receive a retirement fund as well. They also asked for an extension of the nationality verification process, and an amendment to the law to give protection to both Thai and foreign workers who are employed as house maids or in fishery industry, since the nature of these jobs require long hours and they are heavy. It is projected that approximately 300,000 migrant workers are waiting for legal registrations, so that they could stay and work in the kingdom without being arrested and deported back to their countries. The objective of the walkathon was also aimed at making Thais realise how much migrant workers have contributed to Thailand, while stressing the nation could face a problem of labour shortage following the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) at the end of 2015. (TNA)