980115The Nation

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Politics 

      Illegal workers face mass
      deportation

      THE estimated 700,000 foreigners working
      illegally in Thailand will be deported so their
      jobs can be filled by unemployed Thais, the
      National Security Council (NSC) chief
      announced yesterday. 

      NSC Secretary-General Gen Boonsak
      Kamhaeng-rithirong was speaking after
      attending a meeting chaired by Prime
      Minister Chuan Leekpai. 

      He said there were 260,000 to 290,000
      illegal immigrants who had registered to
      work legally, and an estimated 700,000
      others illegally employed in factories in 43
      provinces nationwide. 

      The NSC had declassified information on
      illegal entrants which it formerly zealously
      guarded, so it was now possible for the
      government to implement plans to tackle
      unemployment, a source close to the
      meeting said. 

      The NSC also promised to give more
      attention to illegal immigrants working in the
      South, a region which had in the past been
      ignored, the source said. 

      Permanent Labour Secretary Phan
      Jantharapan said yesterday that despite
      the decision by an earlier government to
      legitimise the status of about 260,000
      illegal workers, an estimated 700,000
      others were still working illegally in
      factories. 

      The illegal entrants would be deported in
      six months, while the documentation for the
      others would not be extended when it
      expires. 

      BY PIYANART SRIVALO 

      The Nation