BANGKOK - Thailand’s Cabinet on Aug. 5 approved draft agreements aimed at updating the recruitment and protection of Myanmar workers. The Cabinet backed a draft labour-cooperation memorandum and a draft employment agreement, authorising Labour Minister Julapun Amornvivat to sign both documents.
The proposed framework would allow Thai employers to recruit workers through authorised channels while setting rules covering recruitment, employment and workers’ return after their contracts.
Julapun said general employment contracts would run for two years and could be renewed for another two. Short-term agricultural employment would be limited to one year. Recruitment would include worker selection, medical examinations, criminal-record checks and employment contracts completed in Myanmar before departure.
The employment agreement would also cover pre-departure preparation, work permits, protection under Thai law, dispute resolution and workers’ return after their contracts. Julapun said workers would receive health insurance, welfare protection and fair treatment under Thai law.
The government says the arrangements are intended to reduce irregular migration, illegal employment and human trafficking while strengthening worker protections.
Julapun said the talks aimed to put Myanmar worker recruitment under “a clear, systematic and transparent legal framework that reflects current conditions,” according to a translation of his Thai-language statement. He added that a joint working group would meet at least once every three months.
The revisions update bilateral labour arrangements dating to 2016. Julapun said the Covid-19 pandemic and conditions inside Myanmar had delayed negotiations on replacement documents, leaving the two countries reliant on the earlier framework.
The agreements were signed during President Min Aung Hlaing’s official visit to Bangkok on Aug. 6, earlier than Julapun had expected. The government had previously indicated that signing could take place during ASEAN labour meetings scheduled for Aug. 23–28. Neither side has announced when the revised arrangements will take effect.