The cabinet has endorsed guidelines for the management of migrant workers, agreeing to allow those who complete the nationality verification process by this month to work for another two years after their work permits expire in March next year.
Deputy government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said workers who cannot complete the verification process this month must report to authorities during April 1-June 30 or face legal action and deportation.
Once they register with the authorities, the workers will be issued with a one-year work permit that is valid until March 31 next year. If their verification process is completed in this period, they will be allowed to stay for another two years after March next year.
Maj Gen Sansern said workers who fail to report by the deadline will be arrested and deported.
He added that children of migrant workers aged under 15 are also required to report to authorities for permits to stay in the country by June 30 or face deportation.
Maj Gen Sansern said the Interior Ministry has been ordered to act as a core agency in setting up one-stop service centres to streamline the process of migrant worker registration. The centres will open on April 1.
On the problem of labour shortages in the fishing industry, Maj Gen Sansern said the cabinet has also agreed to allow the registration of Cambodian, Lao and Myanmar workers to work in the fishing industry.
He said employers are required to submit their applications and take their workers to register at service centres in coastal provinces during April 1-June 30. Once registered the workers will be issued work permits that are valid until March 31 next year.
He said migrant workers in the fishing industry are also required to enter the nationality verification process. Once the process is complete they will be allowed to work for another two years.
To address the labour shortage in the fishing industry over the longer term, the National Legislative Assembly has proposed a seven-step plan for the Labour Ministry to consider.
The proposals include the registration of employers and their demands for labour, imports of migrant workers through legal brokers, and monitoring work conditions on fishing trawlers.
Maj Gen Sansern said Thailand will seek to revise memorandums of understandings (MoUs) on labour co-operation signed with Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia to allow migrant workers who have worked in Thailand for four years to return home for up to 30 days before they can return to Thailand and resume work.
Under the current MoUs, the workers are required to return to their home countries after having worked in Thailand for four years and they must then wait at least three years before re-applying to work in Thailand again.