Reuters-Thai rice mills seek delay

[tinkyi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Reuters-Thai rice mills seek delay in labour deportation 

Thai rice mills seek delay in labour deportation
05:41 a.m. Jun 11, 1999 Eastern
BANGKOK, June 11 (Reuters) - Thailand's rice milling industry appealed to
the government on Friday to extend a deadline for the deportation of foreign
workers by another four or five years, saying they were essential to the
industry.

Bamrung Kritpakorn, president of the Thai Rice Mills Association, told
Reuters the industry would suffer a labour shortage if the workers were
deported too soon.

``We will cut numbers by 20 percent every year and believe we will send all
of them back within four to five years,'' he said. ``But at this moment I
think we are not ready to operate without them.''

He said the association would launch a survey on Saturday to determine the
actual number of foreign workers in the rice mill industry. Workers would be
registered and millers asked not to take on additional foreign labour in
order to ease government concerns.

The government said earlier this month it would deport 90,911 foreign
workers, mainly from the agricultural sector, by August 4 after their
temporary work permits expire.

About 80 percent of the workers are from Myanmar and the rest from Cambodia
and Laos.

Government figures show about 3,700 work in the rice milling industry
although industry sources estimate the actual total to be up to 10,000.

Foreign workers are mostly paid less than Thais and are prepared to do
unpopular jobs, such as heavy manual labour. Some also have specialist
skills needed by Thai industries.

However, with unemployment rising sharply, the government is under strong
pressure to send the foreign workers home because many of them are filling
jobs Thais could do.

In addition to registered foreign workers due for repatriation, Thailand
also has about 600,000 illegal immigrants working in various industries.