Thai authorities are helping another group of 68 Thai workers who they suspect were lured into working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and left in the lurch amid conflicts with their employers who allegedly forced them to resign.
The Thai embassy in Abu Dhabi is working with labour officials to negotiate with the companies, asking them to send the workers back to Thailand, officials said Monday.
Authorities admitted the process may face delays because the workers were staying in the Hamriyah Free Zone, a special economic zone in the city of Sharjah, where verification of documents is known to be "complex and time-consuming".
Yet officials say they will not give up, and have vowed to bring them back home, just as they have done fellow workers who shared a similar fate and have since returned.
About 130 Thai workers have been lured into working in the UAE since the saga began, said Songkan Atchariyasap, chairman of the Network Against Threats to the Nation, Religion and Monarchy.
The latest news from the embassy's Facebook page says 31 of them have come back to Thailand. The first group of 19 workers returned on Nov 4 and another group of 12 flew back on the following day, arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport.
Another batch of 31 workers are likely to return to Thailand Tuesday and will meet officers at the Immigration Bureau for questioning.
According to Mr Songkan, all of them, including the 68 workers, left the country for the UAE after paying expensive fees to overseas job brokers. They were lured into signing contracts in July to work as welders, and promised wages of 30,000-40,000 baht a month in Dubai -- much more than they'd expect to earn for similar jobs at home.
However, problems developed between the workers and the UAE companies, ranging from demands for workers with higher qualifications and employer dissatisfaction with the workers' behaviour. Some labourers kept their jobs for just a short time while others say they had no chance to work at all.
"My boss accused us of drinking alcohol and said our work did not meet his standards," Thawi Saenchan, who was among 12 workers taken to the Immigration Bureau after their arrival at the airport early Monday.
Mr Thawi decided to work in Dubai after paying 25,000 baht to a job broker on being attracted by an ad which promised work benefits, including high wages, accommodation and food.
However, he said his employer cancelled his contract after his one-month probation, citing the two accusations. Mr Thawi insisted he never took time off to drink alcohol.
His friend, Siphrai Nosi, also had his contract cancelled after he complained a job he did was not the same one mentioned when he signed a work deal via a job broker.
The employer "threatened to seize my passport if I did not sign a letter of consent" to scrap the contract, Mr Siphrai said. He said he would consult a lawyer about taking his boss to court.