Thailand has stepped up attempts to sign a direct labor employment agreement with Taiwan to better protect its workers' rights and interests, new Thai Labor Min-ister Suwat Liptapananlop said yesterday.
Thailand was originally sche-duled to sign a direct labor-hiring accord with Taipei in late August, but the signing was postponed indefinitely due to the Thai government's denial of a visa to Council of Labor Affairs Chairwoman Chen Chu (
Suwat said Thailand is unlikely to deny Chen an entry visa "forever" and added that the conclusion of a direct employment pact with Taiwan is a matter of great urgency. However, he did not elaborate on when the issue can be resolved.
Instead, Suwat explained the importance of the proposed agreement, which is mainly designed to protect Thai citizens who want to work in Taiwan from being exploited by manpower agents on both sides.
Taiwan is Thailand's largest labor export market. More than 100,000 Thai workers are now legally working in Taiwan.
At the moment, each Thai worker has to pay 200,000 baht in agents' brokerage fees.
Suwat said he hopes a direct labor-hiring agreement with Taiwan can be sealed as soon as possible.
He said the deal would exempt Thai workers from having to pay brokerage charges.
Once the agreement is signed, Suwat said he will push for having Thai chefs, caretakers and masseurs/masseuses allowed to work in Taiwan.
At present, about 8,000 Thai nationals travel to Taiwan each month to work.
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