Migrant labour networks have called on the government to ease rules for migrant workers so that they will not lose their legal status to work in the country.
On International Migrants Day, a representative of the Migrant Working Group (MWG) Adisorn Kerdmongkol said private organisations involved in transnational labour were concerned that almost 600,000 foreign workers in Thailand might become illegal workers due to the government's inflexible policy of managing them during the Covid-19 crisis.
During the pandemic, some foreign workers were dismissed without their work permit being renewed, Mr Adisorn said.
Mr Adisorn said almost 100,000 foreign workers were unable to re-enter the kingdom. More than 42,000 people have registered with the government but are still waiting to receive work permits. The MWG estimated the number of unemployed migrant workers in 17 provinces in Thailand from March to April this year was more than 700,000.
At an MWG seminar on migrant workers during Covid-19, held yesterday at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand, Khaing Min Lwin, a Myanmar worker, said migrant workers were hard hit by the pandemic as they had lost their jobs without receiving any compensation.