Chiang Mai uncovers over 100 illegal foreign workers in sweep

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A sweep of illegal workers in Chiang Mai province has uncovered over 100 illegal foreign laborers.

Chiang Mai Employment Officer Yaowapha Piboolpol led a contingent of border police and provincial administrators on a probe of foreign laborers in work sites and markets throughout Chiang Mai, finding more than 10 employers violating foreign employment laws and over 95 migrant workers without the proper documentation. Authorities filed charges against all those found and have begun punitive measures against the employers.

Many of the illegal workers uncovered had expired documentation or were working beyond the conditions of their contract while some of the employers brought in were due to hiring workers not registered to their businesses.

The sweep was prompted by a Department of a Employment policy to regulate foreign workers across the nation with an emphasis on ensuring workers from other countries are not encroaching upon the employment of Thai people. In Chiang Mai, authorities took care to make sure no foreign workers were acting as tour guides, as the profession is reserved for Thai nationals.

By: National News Bureau of Thailand

Published on: 6 October 2016