Labour Minister Adul Sangsingkeo on Saturday pledged to tackle the problem of kickbacks which has undermined the government's migrant worker policies and efforts to eliminate exploitation and human trafficking.
Describing bribery in the employment of migrant workers as "chronic", he said labour authorities would ramp up efforts to get the matter in order.
"As a former police chief, I am aware of it and I've told authorities concerned to address this chronic problem. The public should wait and see," he said.
Pol Gen Adul was speaking after handing down policy guidelines to senior labour officials after assuming the labour minister post. The former police chief was the minister of human development and social security before the cabinet reshuffle.
The shake-up was forced by the resignation of Gen Sirichai Distakul as the labour minister. He stepped down shortly after labour vice minister Gen Charoen Nopsuwan quit following allegations of kickbacks paid to labour officials over the registration of migrant workers. Pol Gen Adul said he was considering setting up a PO box to accept complaints and would dispatch task forces to the provinces where bribery is rampant.
He also said that it was vital to speed up the national verification and registration of migrant workers so that they can secure permits to legally work in Thailand.
Migrant labourers are required to go through a verification process to secure a certificate of identity which is used for acquiring a work permit.
The labour minister said there was a need to streamline migrant workers' applications as the current system was complicated and time-consuming.
About 1.13 million migrant workers had yet to undergo the process which should be completed by March next year, he noted.
Pol Gen Adul also called on authorities concerned to collaborate more closely and integrate their workflows to ensure efficiency or face disciplinary action.
"The labour officials need to improve the way they work. The previous approach in which each unit worked independently was too inefficient," he said.
