Workers find OS jobs despite Covid
50,000 to head abroad by year-end
The Labour Ministry will send 50,000 Thai workers abroad by the end of 2020.
Employment Department chief Suchart Pornchaiwisetkul said that despite the disruption caused by
Covid-19, the ministry managed to send 907 Thais abroad last month.
He said 51,346 overseas jobs had already been lined up for the second half off the year: 19,899 in Taiwan, 6,319 in South Korea, 3,807 in Japan, 2,932 in Singapore, 2,840 in Israel, 2,444 workers in Malaysia and 13,115 in other destinations.
Mr Suchart said the ministry was focusing on job opportunities, the chance for Thais to develop skills and conditions that ensured their safety.
The Thai and Israeli governments, meanwhile, have signed a new agreement for 25,000 Thais to fill agricultural jobs in the Middle Eastern country.
This followed a previous bilateral agreement, signed in December 2010, which ensured Thais would be recruited in a legal and transparent manner. It also prevented private recruitment companies charging Thai workers hefty sums before taking them on.
The signing of the new bilateral agreement is a significant milestone in the closer Thailand-Israel relationship — tens of thousands of Thai workers have already started working in Israel, in what the Israeli embassy in Thailand describes as “protected and respected employment”.
The Israeli ambassador to Thailand, Meir Shlomo, said: “This agreement is the flagship project of bilateral relations between Israel and Thailand. I have no doubt that it will continue to contribute significantly to more prosperity in Thailand and in Israel, and to enhance job creation, especially during these times of economic difficulties.”
Thai agricultural workers are an important component of Israel’s economy, which needs a skilled agricultural workforce.
Over the years, the dedication and hard work of Thai workers have greatly contributed to the success of Israeli farming, which is recognised worldwide as a global leader in agricultural technologies, the embassy said.