The end of this year will be remembered as the season of reopening -- a sign that society is returning to normalcy after living under a quasi-straitjacket lifestyle under the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since Nov 1, the country has reopened for tourists from 60 plus nations and territories. So far, the results look encouraging.
But the real test will be next month. From Dec 1, the government will open borders letting in legal workers from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos to work in Thailand. This will be the first time in 20 months after the government put a stop to the import of labourers from neighbouring countries.
The cancellation of labour imports last year backfired into a crisis and led to a boom in labour-trafficking services along the border.
Therefore, resuming the practice of importing labourers is welcomed, if not long overdue. Nevertheless, the government must handle movements along the borders with extreme caution and make an all-out effort to make sure it will not lead to more Covid clusters; nor do we want to see people being exploited by smugglers.
From December, provinces along the total 2,400 kilometres of border will face the challenge of handling the influx of migrant labourers and also smuggled workers. So far, the government seems to be well prepared.
Covid quarantine facilities at military sites will open along borders, with 500,000 doses of Covid vaccines earmarked free for these migrant labourers. The government hopes relaxed and more convenient Covid measures will dissuade workers from working illegally. It is estimated each worker will pay 27,000 baht to enter Thailand and get legal work status in return -- the same rate each pays to smugglers.
But the government cannot work alone. It needs to discuss and work with governments of neighbouring countries to manage labour import-and-export flows. The real challenge will be civil war-torn Myanmar where all services ground to a halt after the coup in February, forcing labourers, or even villagers fleeing the civil war, to use illegal means to seek jobs in Thailand. The government needs close relations with Nay Pyi Taw to help make labour export-import legal and convenient.
Stopping labour smugglers means the masterminds must be caught -- something our law enforcers have rarely done. Since early this year, 30,000 illicit labourers have been arrested and deported. Yet only 100 local traffickers -- most of them low-ranking brokers and drivers -- have been nabbed.
Yet there are signs of hope. On Wednesday, the Labour Ministry was reported to be seeking arrest warrants for big bosses involved in trafficking by using a more powerful amendment of the Money Laundering Act which was approved by cabinet last week. Hopefully, this news is not just more hot air.
The Labour Ministry needs to work much harder in making employers and businesses accountable, cleaning up their hiring practices and taking care of their workers better.
This month, the ministry is granting amnesty to illegal workers by permitting their employers to register them. So far, 12,000 illegal workers have been legally documented. This is the right path to take.
But this amnesty alone poses a risk. It needs strong law enforcement to ensure businesses and traffickers will not exploit the more lenient policy. It could backfire. Next month will be the moment of truth for the government to prove its mettle. The government must learn from past mistakes.