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Politics 

      Govt's policy to expel
      illegal workers fails

      THE government's policy to expel illegal
      migrant workers backfired Monday when
      five Karens robbed residents in Samut
      Prakan's Muang district, a police source
      said. 

      The source said the Karens committed the
      crime because they had no money after
      being laid off by their employers. 

      Police said Pong Chan, 19, one of the
      workers who was arrested one hour after
      robbing Mak Promnee, an employee of
      Udomphan Steel Factory last night,
      admitted that he and four friends committed
      the crime after the nearby plastics plant laid
      them off. 

      The four took Mak's television and radio
      along with Bt27,000 in cash and are still at
      large, police said. 

      Chan said before he came to work in
      Thailand, he and his friends had to pay
      government officials in Tak's Mae Sot
      district about Bt3,000 each. 

      The expulsion policy came under harsh
      criticism by labour experts and academics
      as well as non-governmental
      representatives in a public hearing last
      week. They said the policy lacked proper
      consideration from all parties involved. 

      Meanwhile, the secretary-general of the
      Federation Industry in Samut Sakhon
      complained that the policy has resulted in a
      shortage of workers in various industries,
      especially fishing. 

      After the recent policy announcement by the
      Labour and Social Welfare Ministry,
      employment representatives from 17
      Northeastern provinces visited the province
      in the hopes of filling vacant positions. 

      ''However, they could find only 10 local
      workers to replace the positions that were
      taken by migrant workers,'' said Bamrung
      Ramsri, adding that all 10 workers were
      now returning to their provinces. 

      The main reason why local workers did not
      want to engage in the fishing industry was
      because they considered it to be dirty and
      dangerous, he said. 

      The Nation