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980115The Nation
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