KUALA LUMPUR - Business groups in Thailand are urging the government to extend work permits for about 190,000 Cambodian migrant workers amid concerns over possible labour shortages.
Chairman of the National Labour Development Advisory Council, Tanit Sorat said the council had asked authorities to ease regulations and speed up the permit renewal process for Cambodian workers legally employed in Thailand.
“The council discussed this issue with the Federation of Thai Industries on May 20.
“The business sector is deeply concerned about the risk of a labour shortage,” said Tanit, who is also vice-chairman of the Employers' Confederation of Thai Trade and Industry.
Before last year’s border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, around 400,000 Cambodian workers were legally employed in sectors such as fisheries, agriculture and construction.
Many workers returned to Cambodia after tensions escalated on July 24 following attacks linked to the border conflict between the two countries.
Thailand currently enforces strict policies against undocumented migrants and workers whose permits have expired.
A businessman familiar with the matter said the Labour Ministry had proposed extending the permits for 190,000 Cambodian workers, although the cabinet has yet to approve the plan.
He added that the current government has not indicated when the issue will be discussed.
Tanit said companies would face difficulties replacing Cambodian workers quickly and may need to recruit labour from Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam if the workers are forced to leave.
To reduce the impact, Thailand recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Sri Lanka to recruit an initial 10,000 workers, with the possibility of increasing the number by another 30,000.
The government is also considering bringing in more migrant workers from Myanmar as well as refugees to help fill labour shortages.
Thailand currently employs nearly four million migrant workers, with Myanmar nationals making up around 80 per cent of the workforce, followed by workers from Laos and Vietnam.
Business leaders warned that industries already struggling with labour shortages could face further disruption if Cambodian work permits are not renewed quickly.
