Prime Minister Hun Sen minced no words on Saturday saying that Cambodia will not accept the new labour policy of Thailand supposedly brought forward by the Move Forward Party’s leader Pita Limjaroenrat.
The Move Forward Party’s leader has purportedly threatened to expel Cambodian workers. In the recent election held in Thailand, the Move Forward Party’s secured the largest number of seats.
The Premier expressed serious reservations while speaking to more than 17,000 workers who work at 19 factories — over 9,400 from 13 factories at Camton Industrial Park located in Ponhea Leu district of Kandal province, over 1,500 from four factories in Kampong Speu province and over 6,200 from two factories in Kampong Chhnang province.
Obliquely referring to the Move Forward Party’s leader, Mr Hun Sen said, “I would like to raise a point that needs to be tracked seriously regarding workers who have worked overseas … I do not interfere with your internal politics, but I hope that you would look beyond Thailand.”
He pointed out that Pita has released a labour policy that may be dangerous not only for Cambodian and Laotian workers but also enterprises in Thailand who have used the labour force from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. These labourers were legalised by the government under the leadership of Prayut Chan-o-cha.
“I think this (Thai) policy may not be acceptable to neighbouring countries,” said Prime Minister Hun Sen, adding that it would affect Cambodian migrant workers who are working in Thailand.
Dy The Hoya, Programme Officer at Centre for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL) told Khmer Times yesterday that 30-40 percent of 2 million Cambodian workers who are working in Thailand would lose their jobs as their legal employment documents have been facing discontinuing validity and some of them have no documents.
Hoya further said that between 0.6-0.8 million Cambodian workers in Thailand would lose their monthly income of total worth ranging between about $180-$240 million per month if the new labour policy really comes into effect.
“I have tracked this matter seriously and have come across many social media users in our country about the possible expelling of workers. But I have not seen any formal information released regarding this issue even from the political party that have just won the election,” said Hoya.
However, in the worst scenario, Hoya said Cambodian migrant workers would return to Cambodia to work in construction rather than other sectors. The construction sector in the country has provided more jobs to people than others in the post-pandemic, but probably it would be unable to receive all of them.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
