Thailand
Migrant workers to be granted 2-year work permit and health insurance

Undocumented migrant workers from 3 countries will be able to register for legal employment allowing a 2-year stay. The Cabinet approved the measure in an effort to control the spread of Covid-19 after an outbreak at a Samut Sakhon seafood market affecting a large migrant community who worked around the fishing hub.
Migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar will be able to register with the Labour Ministry’s Department of Employment starting on January 15 until February 13. The workers must go through a health screening before submitting a work permit application. The workers and their children will receive health insurance for 2 years.
The workers must submit work permit applications before September 13. They must register as non-Thai nationals by November 12. Migrants or their employers must pay 7,200 baht to cover the health screening and 2-year health insurance. Undocumented migrants who do not have an employer must find a job within 90 days.
The outbreak in Samut Sakhon infecting hundreds of migrant workers shed light on labour trafficking and undocumented employment. The Royal Thai Army recently said they can’t stop border breaches and police have now shifted their focus from catching migrants entering illegally to cracking down on labour traffickers.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand| Bangkok Post
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Thailand
1.5 million Thais approaching poverty line

A new report by the World Bank has indicated that 1.5 million Thais are approaching the poverty line after Covid-19 ravaged the tourism-dependent economy. In 2020, the report says the poverty ratio in Thailand increased to 8.8%, compared with 2019’s figure of 6.2%.
The report is troubling as the Thai economy already passed rock bottom in the 2nd quarter of 2020, with the the 2nd wave of Covid hitting just before the year end. Now, as many provinces have essentially went into lockdown from domestic and foreign tourism, workers are out of jobs, whereas before, domestic tourism was serving as a way to help businesses survive.
The government stimulated the economy by spending the equivalent of 13% of the gross domestic product, but the World Bank is predicting it may take 2 more years for Thailand to return its economic situation to its pre-Covid state. But the news is not all bad as the World Bank expects the Thai GDP to grow by 4% this year, instead of declining by 6.5% last year.
Such reasoning is due to the expectations of the Covid-19 vaccine being rolled out, and global economic growth. But if the Covid-19 situation becomes more severe, the expected economic growth would decline to 2.4%. Political instability in Thailand is another risk factor as months of protests have shaken views on Thailand’s government, which has invoked the lese majeste defamation law on protesters who were criticising the Royal family. Human rights organisations have issued statements that condemned the government as it began charging minors with the law.
Today, Thailand reports 309 new cases of Covid-19, with 80 being locally transmitted. Most of the cases were due to active testing and 12 were from those already in quarantine. Thailand is expected to receive 50,000 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccinesby the first week of February. The shipment is part of the first lot of 26 million doses on the agreed purchase in October of last year.
SOURCE: TNA
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Thailand
CCSA Update: 309 new Covid-19 infections in Thailand

The CCSA’s daily briefing today started with an update about a NBT news presenter who has attended the daily briefings at the CCSA studio and testing positive for Covid-19. The CCSA spokesman then announced that all people working in the CCSA studio, including himself, are defined as a “low risk” group for infections.
The CCSA spokesman says he, together with all those involved with any risk, will take a swab test this afternoon and will report the test results to the public later on. The infected NBT newscaster has been sent to the hospital already.
Today, 309 new Covid-19 cases were announced from the last 24 hours. The majority of the infections were detected from active case testing, accounting for 217 cases. Most of them were migrant workers. 80 were local transmission, while 12 cases were detected in state quarantine.
According to the CCSA spokesman, key measures to be rolled out next week will be the acceleration on proactive testing in Samut Sakhon and the outer western areas of Bangkok where the infection rate is still high. Numbers and reports from the active findings are expected to be complete by the end of next week will serve as key factors for a review of the current restrictions in place.
SOURCE: CCSA Daily Briefing
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Thailand
Thai tourism operators want to offer vaccination-inclusive packages

Vaccination seems to be the great new hope of most of Thailand’s businesses battered by Covid-19, especially the tourism industry. Thai tour operators are now floating the idea of “vaccination tour packages” to attract inbound travellers after the first inoculations are distributed in February.
Sort of an STV with vaccination included.
The tourism plan is expected to potentially benefit those inbound tour operators, hotels and destinations that have been massively affected by Covid-19 restrictions.
The Tourism Council of Thailand president Chamnan Srisawat explains… “The one month tour packages are expected to cost 150,000 baht, including a 14 day quarantine in an alternative state quarantine or alternative local quarantine facility, and include a vaccination cost.”
The idea is, of course, still in the early stages and needs more discussions because there are still uncertainties of travel rules with vaccine certificates. The ‘idea’ also, again, targets the high end of the travel market that even the current STV has been unable to attract.
Chotechuang Soorangura, the NS Travel and Tour associate MD, speaking to the Bangkok Post, said… “Thailand is not considered a Covid vaccine hub as the country cannot produce a mass supply attracting a large volume of tourists. Most people would rather get inoculated in their own country before going abroad as they want to avoid being exposed to the virus while travelling.”
He also suggests that the country should instead promote itself as a “wellness destination and medical tourism hub” (a suggestion that has been made many, many times before).
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
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Frank Leboeuf
Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at 11:00 am
Great news!
Thai government will have more control over the foreign worker population, and workers will have access to more security as officially registered workers with a work permit and health insurance.
Way to go Thailand – this really made my day!
Issan John
Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at 2:29 pm
Agreed, Frank, great news.
The September / November 2021 dates, taken from the Nation, don’t seem to make any sense as registration is very clearly widely reported (including here and by the Nation) as January / February.
Keith
Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at 12:21 pm
Yes reward the illegal immigrants, while anyone else entering illegally or overstaying their visa are fined and deported, but then those people don’t help make the 1% who own most of Thailand any richer, the HI SO rich people run Thailand not the government, when they say jump Prayut the puppet asks “how high”
Robert Elliot
Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at 10:07 pm
Yes. There are 2 ways to look at this. Who is really benefitting the most. The wealthy Thais securing very cheap labour or the migrant labourers.
John Landy
Thursday, December 31, 2020 at 5:52 pm
In this case clearly the migrant labourers, since the wealthy securing cheap labour would have done so anyway.
Migrant labourers are gaining legal status, a work permit and health coverage.
The Thai government is gaining more control over these migrant population as well, which is what governments always strive for.
Issan John
Thursday, December 31, 2020 at 6:38 pm
Both.
Just A Thought
Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at 1:22 pm
I would expect these workers to not be particularly highly paid.
For foreigners to live here for a year they are expected to have 800,000 baht income (yes I know their are other amounts but this will do to illustrate my point). All of which will, most likely, be spent into the economy with a VAT rate of 7% thereby contributing approx. 56,000 baht directly into government confers with the rest making up a considerable contribution into the general economy. As the foreigners individually contribute a lot more than these workers (who are working to take money out of the country) maybe the government should consider some form of health insurance incentive to promote a recovery in the “tourist” sector and ultimately in the economy.
Toby Andrews
Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at 2:31 pm
B7500 cost.
Trust the Thais to dream up another money making racket.
It’s a work tax!
Ian
Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at 5:40 pm
Is this the way in become a migrant worker get a 2 year visa and free health care yippee here we come lol
Mr cynic
Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at 11:05 pm
Why can insurance cover in this sort of price range not be offered to tourists scaled down to reflect the relatively short period of time they are in the country?
500 bht max sounds a very generous premium price to me.
indis77
Thursday, December 31, 2020 at 12:44 pm
Why would Thailand need foreign workers with the economy as bad as it is? Surely there are tons of unemployed Thais to take these jobs?
Issan John
Thursday, December 31, 2020 at 6:41 pm
Despite the absurd claims of over 6 million unemployed out of a workforce of 38 million, all too obviously, ‘NO’, there aren’t!
TS
Monday, January 4, 2021 at 11:34 am
That type of work is considered beneath the average Thai. Same same as migrant farm workers in the U.S.