WITH hundreds of thousands of Cambodian migrant workers having returned home following the five-day clashes along the Thai-Cambodian border and ongoing tensions between the two countries, the Thai government is now bringing in Sri Lankan workers to replace them, Amarin TV said this evening (Aug. 19).
Labour Minister Pongkawin Juangroongruangkit said the cabinet has approved a memorandum of understanding to recruit Sri Lankan workers to work here.
Sri Lanka can immediately send 10,000 workers with over 30,0000 having registered to come to Thailand and take up various jobs.
Workers in the Philippines, Indonesia and Nepal are also being recruited to come here and fill jobs.
Before the conflict began, over 520,000 Cambodians worked in Thailand, accounting for 12% of the country’s foreign workforce, according to official data, a Reuters report published by Yahoo!News said.
About 400,000 Cambodians working in Thailand have left the country during the fighting, according to the Cambodian government.
On speculation that the US tariff rate for Thailand, reduced to 19 percent from 36 percent with this being in line with regional peers, would lead to factory closures and this increasing unemployment, Pongkawin said there are lots of jobs in Thailand and if people are not picky, they would get one.
“We are confident that the US tax measures will not affect the Thai labour market,” he said.
The United States was Thailand’s biggest export market last year, accounting for 18.3 percent of total shipments, with a value of $55 billion, but there are still uncertainties relating to tariffs on transshipments via Thailand from third countries, Reuters said.
CAPTION:
Cambodian workers heading home. Top photo: MNG Online, Front Page photo: Amarin TV
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