Labor shortage spreads as more workers head home
THE Cambodian government moved to stop their workers from illegally crossing to work in Thailand by shutting down 43 temporary border passes at Sa Kaeo province as a result of Thailand’s new Royal Decree on foreign workers coming into effect on June 23 and this is now impacting Thai farm owners, Thai News Agency said.
A Thai News Agency reporter visited one of the border passes through which Cambodian workers usually cross over to work for the day here and found that it had been shut with this being a tactic by the Cambodian authorities to get Cambodians to make proper border passes because otherwise they could get arrested here.
However this led to Thai employers who drove to the border pass to pick up their Cambodian workers being impacted because there is no one to work in their farms.
Meanwhile immigration officials at Muang Sa Kaeo confirmed that Cambodia has shut down 43 temporary border passes at Battambang close to Aranyaprathet, Khok Sung and Ta Phraya districts but those at Chanthaburi, Trat, Buriram or Sisaket provinces remain open.
However the permanent border checkpoint at Ban Khlong Luek in Aranyaprathet remained open as normal and lots of Cambodian workers were crossing over to work at Rong Klue Market and don’t seem worried about the 43 border passes being closed.
Thai employers are also coping with labor shortage in Chanthaburi as around a thousand Cambodian workers are returning home to get proper papers made via Ban Laeam and Ban Phakkard permanent border checkpoints.
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Top and inset: Cambodians heading home to get proper papers made. Photo: Thai News Agency
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