VietNamNet Bridge – Thailand's labour ministry will create more favourable conditions to allow free Vietnamese workers to integrate more easily into the Thai work environment.

Thailand's labour ministry said it would create more favourable conditions to allow free Vietnamese workers to integrate more easily into the Thai work environment. — Photo www.dantri.com.vn

Thailand's Minister of Labour Sirichai Distakul said this during a working session with delegates of the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand on Monday.

The Thai ministry accepted the request of the Vietnamese government for the setting up of a specific group in charge of all issues related to free Vietnamese workers in Thailand.

Distakul said labour was a practical co-operation sector that could benefit both parties. Therefore, the two countries should work for a long-term, stable co-operation in this sector.

The minister said he would give his response soon on the request made by Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Nguyen Tat Thanh for creating favourable conditions for the issue of licences to all Vietnamese workers in Thailand. Thanh said he hoped the licence validity would be extended in all cities of Thailand.

Officials of Thailand's labour ministry said free Vietnamese workers who had got work permits would not be punished even if they have lived in Thailand beyond the permitted period. According to the current law, those who outstay will be fined 20,000 Thai bahts (US$554), and those who work without work permits face imprisonment.

Labourers with work permits will enjoy the same rights as Thai workers, such as getting a health insurance card and taking vacations to visit families in Viet Nam.

Thailand has been opening its labour market to Vietnamese workers in recent years, as it sees higher demand for guest workers. In a recent statement broadcast on the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) early this year, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ochao said Thailand would fall short by 60,000 to 70,000 workers when it joins the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in early 2016 and that Thailand was considering importing Vietnamese labourers to meet this demand. With this in mind, Thailand is accelerating the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on labour co-operation with Viet Nam, and is adjusting the MoUs signed with Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to match the current political, economic and social developments.

As the two countries will celebrate 40 years of bilateral ties next year, Minister Distakul said she would visit Viet Nam during the first quarter of 2016, at the invitation of Viet Nam's Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Thi Hai Chuyen.

VNS