Immigration and work permit laws being tightened

Labor Department putting the squeeze on foreign workers and long staying tourists

Officials of the Labor Department met last week to address the large number of illegal workers in Thailand and to set up strict guidelines as to which types of work are forbidden to foreigners in Thailand.

The Employment Division of the Labor Department of Chonburi also discussed finding jobs for Thai people in these times of economic collapse.

At present, there are approximately 2 million unemployed Thai workers in the country.

One way officials of the Labor Department see of solving this problem is to lower the number of foreign workers in Thailand, and rules concerning work permits are being tightened.

There are approximately 1,900 legal foreign workers in the country now. The Labor Department wishes to lower the number of Legal Foreign workers by 30%.

As in all countries, the Labor Department is attempting to lower the number of foreign workers doing jobs of which Thai people are capable.

There are also new laws being drawn up for those who enter the country in the guise of ‘tourists’ and then work illegally.

The new laws will require tourists to return to their home country as soon as their tourist visa expires. To re-enter Thailand as a tourist, they will have to apply for another visa in their home country. The only exceptions will be tourists who are travelling in Asia on a valid visa. They may re-enter Thailand for a short period of time by obtaining a re-entry permit before leaving.

For example, a tourist could spend two weeks of a three month visa in Thailand, get a re-entry permit, visit another country and then re-enter Thailand. Once the visa has expired, no more re-entry permits would be issued and the tourist would have to return to their home country and apply for a Thai visa before coming back to Thailand. These laws are aimed at stopping currency drain on the country and the economy.

Ms. Jaranya Khantamart, the Head of the Chonburi Employment Department, also conducted workshops for Thai employers who employed foreign labor.

Permitted to work in the country will be investors, technological experts, those with special abilities such as mining and natural resource engineers, those who are advisors to the government on new projects, those with special linguistic abilities, and advising physicians and surgeons.

There are 39 occupations which foreigners may not hold in Thailand:

Labor, farm work, animal husbandry, forestry, fishing (except foreign experts acting as advisors on fish farms), brick makers, construction, wood carving, vehicle driving or any non motorized vehicles, (except commercial airplane pilots), operating of machinery, sales clerks in shops, market vending, supervisory work, accounting (except certain comptrolling work on a temporary basis), gem cutting or polishing, cutting or curling hair, any type of cosmetic work at beauty or barber shops, hand or machine weaving with hemp, jute, rattan, flax, straw, or any type of Bamboo fibre, making paper by hand, making of Thai clothing, Thai musical instruments, Neilloware, goldsmithing, silversmithing, rose gold smithing, stone cutting, making of Thai dolls, making of blankets or quilts, making of monk’s alms bowls, handmade silk products, making of Buddha images, making of knives and other cutlery, making of umbrellas with paper wood or any other material, cobbling, making of hats, representing any company or brokering (except for registered international businesses), engineering, surveying and road construction, architecture, research systems planning, testing programs planning, mechanical drawing, appraising, supervising construction, clothes designing, ceramic making or firing, cigarette making by hand, tourists guide or tour leading, Thai typesetting, silk spinning by hand, secretarial work and legal services.

Foreigners are absolutely forbidden to engage in these professions, although many do in the most flagrant manner at present.

Explosive surprise in trash bin

A very nervous tourist walked into the Pattaya Police Station and reported finding an armed explosive devise, thought to be mortar round, in a trash bin.

Leaving a beer bar on Pattaya 3rd Road, the unsuspecting tourist walked to the trash bin to pitch a cigarette pack and found the deadly surprise.

At the scene, police found tourists, both Thai and foreign, examining the round with great interest.

Police shooed away the nosy onlookers and took the shell out of the trash bin. The shell was 10 inches in diametre and 15 inches long. Police were not sure if the shell was still usable.

A ballistics expert will examine the shell before it is destroyed.

Raid on gambling den causes row at police station

The Tourist Police and Pattaya Police were once again at loggerheads when the Tourist Police busted a gambling den allegedly under the "jurisdiction" of the Pattaya Police.

A squad of 16 Tourist Police raided the gambling den after a foreigner complained that the gamblers in the den located near his home in North Pattaya were annoying residents in the area. The house of cards opened approximately two months previously and residents could not sleep due to noise.

Tourist Police arrested 26 people and confiscated many packs of cards, hi-lo boards and 20,380 baht in cash.

Officers escorted the gamblers off to the Pattaya Police Station, where they were greeted with stony looks of disapproval from the Pattaya Police. They were not amused that the Tourist Police had trespassed in their area
of jurisdiction.

To complicate matters further, a melee nearly occurred when angry gamblers tried to assault reporters covering the arrest. Shackled by police and unable to get to the news-hounds, the gamblers threatened reporters with retribution.

Reports that surfaced concerning the arrested gamblers and Pattaya Police being well acquainted with each other caused further tension between the Tourist Police and the Pattaya Police.

THA Eastern Chapter President paints rosy picture of tourism in Pattaya

Mr. Chachawan Suphachayanon, the President of the Thai Hotels Association Eastern Seaboard Chapter, addressed the current state of tourism in Pattaya and said that the news that tourists from Hong Kong were not coming to Pattaya anymore was not true. It was merely a temporary lull, which happens in all types of businesses.

He said the Russian Mafia murders did not really concern tourists as the police had made arrests. He stated that the Russian tourist market was one of Pattaya’s largest.

Mr. Chachawan also enlightened reporters, telling them that the Russian tours usually came only from December to March. He told them this was known as the ‘high season’.

He continued, saying that on weekends and holidays, every single hotel in Pattaya was totally full. This was a great help to Pattaya’s economy. He said there were so many tourists that some Thai nationals slept in their cars. This caused a lot of traffic and pollution. Reporters also learned that many Thai tourists brought their own food when visiting the city. This was due to the terrible state of the Thai economy and tourists wished to economise.

Mr. Chachawan concluded, saying that this year there had been more Thai tourists coming to Pattaya than any previous year.

In related news, business people and hoteliers reported that the Songkran festival proved very profitable. Many Thai and foreign tourists visited the city and spent a lot of money. The city took in over 100 million baht in revenue over a four day period.

Thai labor discussed at Dusit Resort

The Committee for Labour Policy met at the Dusit Resort Pattaya on April 21-22 to discuss ‘The Importance of Protecting Thai Workers, Thai Workers and the Progress of Society, The Waste of Labor, Labor Saving Techniques for the Average Citizen, and Labor Saving Techniques for the Hotel Worker’. Over 500 people attended.

Many examples of labour saving techniques in hospitals and shopping centres were cited as models which should be used.

The main expert at the conference was Dr. Seri Wongmontha.

The most successful at achieving the above goals were the hotels in the Dusit Resort Group, which has won 2 awards for the best food service. The Dusit Resort, Pattaya has done the best job of saving energy in Pattaya.

Pub faces closer after drug bust

A squad of 23 police officers raided a drug den in which 39 Thai and foreign nationals were having an ecstasy party. The group was apprehended at a pub in Banglamung.

The drug abusers consisted of 26 men and 13 women. All were wildly intoxicated on drugs when officers burst into the pub. When the young people saw police, they showed considerable consternation and attempted a quick getaway. All was in vain, as the police were sober and considerably more agile. The officers apprehended all 39 and brought them to the Pattaya Police Station for questioning and urine tests. Only five of those tested positive for drugs in their systems.

After taking histories of all arrested, police released them.

Returning to the scene of the drug orgy, officers examined the area with gimlet eyes. Officers found 22 bags of the drug ‘E’ and one small bag of Marijuana. ‘Works’ for using the ‘E’ were also found.

The Ministry of the Interiour has a strict policy against parties in which the participants used banned or controlled substances.

The police are requesting this pub be closed permanently.

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