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Reuters-Thailand's illegal workers



Subject: Reuters-Thailand's illegal workers get one-year reprieve 

Thailand's illegal workers get one-year reprieve
07:54 a.m. Jul 30, 1999 Eastern
BANGKOK, July 30 (Reuters) - Thailand gave 86,500 illegal foreign workers a
one-year reprieve from deportation on Friday.

The manual labourers, most of them from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, had
originally been ordered home from their jobs in the Thai agriculture and
construction industries on August 4.

On Tuesday, the workers were given a three-month extension but this was
extended on Friday to 12 months, Labour and Social Welfare Minister, Wut
Sukosol, told reporters.

He said a government committee on employment chaired by Prime Minister Chuan
Leekpai had decided Thailand still needed the foreign workers to fill some
jobs.

``As a first stage we will allow them to work for one year until July 31
next year,'' the minister said.

Thailand has around 91,000 illegal workers registered with Thai authorities
but some have recently left the country.

Thailand also has around 600,000 unregistered illegal foreign workers whom
the authorities have vowed to deport if they are caught.