Thailand has agreed to allow unregistered foreign workers to stay in the country for an additional three months while they wait for identification documents from their governments that will allow them to work in Thailand legally, Thai state media outlet MCOT reported yesterday.

The decision comes after months of concern that mass deportations would send some 170,000 undocumented Cambodian labourers home, forcing them to re-enter Thailand legally, and potentially exposing them to potential exploitation at the hands of brokers.

Once they are issued identification documents, Cambodian workers in Thailand will be eligible to receive the country’s newly instated 300-baht (roughly $10) a day minimum wage.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stuart White at [email protected]