BANGKOK, April 26 (TNA) – Labour Minister Adul Sangsingkeo convened several parties to discuss solutions and serious measures to address the problem of Thai workers illegally seeking jobs in South Korea.
Meeting him at the Labour Ministry were representatives of about 20 organizations including the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Royal Thai Police Office, Airports of Thailand Plc, the South Korean embassy in Thailand, the Human Resource Development Service of Korea, the Thai Travel Agents Association and Thai airlines.
Pol Gen Adul said the meeting responded to reports that South Korean immigration police denied entry of many Thai visitors at Incheon Airport during the Songkran festival.
According to him, the Labour Ministry is seriously solving the problem and solutions included attempts to block potentially illegal workers from leaving the country and blacklist the tour operators who brought illegal workers to South Korea.
From last September to this month, labour officials took legal action on 24 job brokers and rejected the departure of 2,698 Thai workers, 64% of whom were women, at airports, Pol Gen Adul said.
When such illegal workers returned Thailand, the ministry offered them jobs and improved their skills that would meet employers’ demand, the minister said.
Pol Gen Adul said 191,491 Thai people were working in South Korea and 141,658 of them stayed there illegally.
South Korea was an attractive destination for Thai workers because they could earn 55,844 baht a month and South Korean employers preferred Thai workers for their skills, disciplines and patience, the labour minister said. (TNA)
