The Move Forward Party on Wednesday denied reports alleging that it has a policy to repatriate migrant workers from neighbouring countries.
The party that won the most seats in the May 14 election was responding to claims made by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at a weekend rally and widely reported in Cambodian and Thai media.
“The party’s stance is to protect the welfare and labour rights of all workers in Thailand, regardless of their nationalities,” Move Forward said in a statement posted on its official Twitter account.
“The Move Forward Party recognises the importance of the contribution made by the migrant workforce to the economic and social development of Thailand.
“Therefore, we aim to expand and improve regular pathways to facilitate the entry and employment of migrant workers in Thailand, provide them with appropriate protection, and ensure that such pathways are free from extortion, coercion or other forms of exploitation.
“This approach also aids responsible Thai employers in finding convenient avenues to fulfil the much-needed human resources needs for their industries.”
A group that helps Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand acknowledged that rumours had circulated that they would no longer be able to work in the country.
The Charity Association of Cambodia said this might have stemmed from a misunderstanding about a recent regulatory change. Employers no longer need to register their quota of foreign workers at the Department of Labour in Bangkok. They can now do it at the department office in the province where their business is located.
Thailand hosts about 2.9 million registered migrant workers, comprising around 7.6% of the workforce. Hundreds of thousands more workers are in the country without proper documentation. Illegal migration from Myanmar in particular has risen in the past two years since the military coup and subsequent economic decline there.
The recovering Thai economy, meanwhile, continues to face a labour shortage in sectors such as tourism and construction.
One of the first tasks of the Move Forward-led coalition, if it forms the next government, will be to renew employment contracts under a programme that allow more than 200,000 migrant workers to keep their jobs in the country.
The programme was recently extended but only for as long as the current government remains in its caretaker capacity.
