The Ministry of Interior convened an inter-ministerial meeting to discuss the issue of undocumented workers and those with expired work permits in Thailand. Thai authorities have requested that their Cambodian counterparts send a team to Thailand to collect data and provide ID cards to all Cambodian workers.

At the April 4 meeting, Chou Bun Eng – ministry secretary of state and permanent vice-chair of the National Committee for Counter Trafficking of Cambodia (NCCT) – said the Thai government had last issued work permits in February. The permits can be extended until May.

“If a work permit expires, the holder will be fined, under Thai immigration and labour laws,” she explained.

“I don’t know how many undocumented or overstaying Cambodians are present in Thailand now, because the numbers they presented to us were unclear. We held this meeting to try to bring some clarity to the issue,” she added.

She said she was unsure when the numbers would be clearer, but noted that a team had been sent to Thailand and they would conduct research over the next month.

Am Sam Ath, deputy director of rights group LICADHO, said it is important to find solutions for workers as they could easily fall victim to various forms of abuse or exploitation.

“Resolving the problem as soon as possible is important. The relevant authorities from both neighbouring countries should be working together to make sure that migrant workers can work legally and enjoy the rights and labour law protections they are entitled to,” he said.

The Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training reported in 2022 that there were 1.2 million Cambodians living and working in Thailand. The majority of them were employed in the construction, agriculture or industrial sectors.