The Labour Ministry has opened an online channel for migrant workers to update their employment status after they have undergone nationality verification, the deadline of which has been extended for three more months.
The One-Stop Centre (OSC) has been launched under the labour law which offers an online service for migrant workers to "cut out red tape," according to Sombat Niwetrat, deputy chief of the Employment Department. He said migrant workers who have had their nationality verified with the ministry can use the online service to report to authorities about important changes to their employment status, such as their transfer to new employers and the termination of their work contracts.
The centre can be reached online using a 13-digit identification number issued to migrant workers who have completed nationality verification, Mr Sombat said. The service will help streamline the migrant workers' central database.
He said migrant workers and their employers should take the time to undergo nationality verification so they can obtain the ID numbers for logging in to the service. The OSC will have officials from agencies related to migrant workers, including the Social Security Office, the universal health office and the work permit unit, Mr Sombat said. The nationality verification deadline will be extended from the end of this month to the end of June as there remain many unregistered workers.
Mr Sombat warned employers not charge their workers for the verification or withhold their travel documents to prevent them from going through the process.
Employment Department chief Anurak Thossarat said about 800,000 migrant workers have not had their nationalities verified. Of them, 430,000 are Cambodians, 320,000 are Myanmar nationals, and 50,000 are Lao. He said the deadline extension, which will be its last, caters to workers from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia who are employed in the fishery business and the fishery processing factories as well as those holding the pink cards, or temporary work permits.
Mr Anurak said some migrant workers who had taken up jobs illegally in Thailand may have gone back to their countries of origin and applied to work here legally from there.
