| osted : Tue, 13 Jul 2010 |
| By : dpa |
| Category : Asia (World) |
Vientiane, Laos - Lao labour officials plan to travel to Thailand next week to identify tens of thousands of labourers working there legally and illegally, news reports said Tuesday.
The team is to stay for an unspecified time to identify an estimated 62,000 Lao nationals who have registered in the country for legal status under the two governments' Nationality Verification Programme, the Vientiane Times reported.
The officials were originally scheduled to come to Thailand in February but postponed their trip, citing planned anti-government protests in Bangkok that began March 12, lasted two months and prompted clashes that left 90 dead.
An estimated 200,000 Lao nationals work in Thailand, and nearly a third have applied for legal status under the Nationality Verification Programme. The programme was designed to provide migrant labourers from Thailand's neighbours Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar with work papers to legalize their status in the kingdom, thus giving them access to social services, such as free health care and education for their children, while reducing exploitation and human trafficking.
Despite efforts by the Lao government to encourage Lao laborers to enter Thailand through legal channels, many still cross the border to work illegally, said Bounma Sitthisom, deputy director general of the Lao Labour and Social Welfare Ministry's Skills Development and Employment Department.
The Lao labour team is tasked with verifying the nationalities of Lao labourers who have applied for work permits and identifying those who are still working in Thailand illegally.
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