By Pwint Thitsar
U Moe Aung Khaing, the labor attaché, inspects a center issuing CI booklets in Ranong. Photo: Pwint Thitsar
Thailand’s Ministry of Labor has opened 99 centers nationwide for Myanmar migrant workers to upgrade their legal status, said the Embassy of Myanmar in Bangkok.
The ministry began work on 24 July to formalize the legality of migrant workers after new labor regulations took effect on 23 June. The ministry reports that between 24 and 30 July, 35,386 workers from Laos, 72,535 workers from Cambodia and 145,988 workers from Myanmar came to legalize their documents.
The number one industry migrant workers work in is agriculture and livestock followed by the construction industry and then by the foodservice industry. Labor attaché U Moe Aung Khaing said they are ready to issue Certificate of Identity (CI) to Myanmar workers after they have received approval from Thailand’s Ministry of Labor. “We have set up six centers to issue these certificate booklets,” said U Moe Aung Khaing. “There are plans to open up three more centers in areas with a large concentration of Myanmar workers.”
Myanmar workers who have received the CI booklet will receive a Thai visa that is valid till 31 March 2018 and U Moe Aung Khaing said visa extensions will be possible.
An agreement has also been reached with the Thai government to issue CI booklets to Myanmar workers with expired red passports, purple passports and pink ID cards.
The Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok said an estimate of 260,000 Myanmar workers came to apply for CI booklets between 3 March and 29 July.