On 23 September 2018, H.E. Police General Adul Sangsingkeo, Minister of Labour of the Kingdom of Thailand, together with H.E. U Thein Swe, Minister of Labour, Immigration and Population of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, attended the opening ceremony of the Ranong Post-Arrival and Reintegration Centre for Migrant Workers, designed to recruit Myanmar workers who wish to work in the marine fisheries sector. This was agreed to in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Thailand and Myanmar. The first batch of 67 Myanmar workers has already arrived in Thailand.

          The Post-Arrival and Reintegration Centre provides a one-stop service which streamlines the procedure and ensures an effective recruitment of Myanmar workers in Thailand. At the Centre, Myanmar workers will be able to apply for the following: (1) Thai visa (2) registration of workers (3) training courses on introduction to work in the marine fisheries sector and related worker's rights and welfare and (4) electronic work permit issued by the Ministry of Labour, after verification by employers, proper work contracts, so that workers can proceed to apply for seabooks from the Department of Fisheries.

          The establishment of the Post-Arrival and Reintegration Center and cooperation with neighbouring countries to recruit migrant workers properly are in line with the Royal Thai Government's policy to address labour shortage in the fisheries sector. It is hoped that there will be a recruitment of 42,000 workers through the MOU system. Currently, employers have submitted requests for 13,949 workers from Myanmar, Cambodia and Lao PDR to be recruited through the system.

Furthermore, the Royal Thai Government has also allowed migrant workers who were previously recruited according to Article 83 of the Royal Ordinance on Fisheries, B.E. 2558, and whose nationalities had been verified, to apply for an extension of their work permits for two more years (new expiry date will be 

30 September 2020) at the one-stop service centres located in 22 coastal provinces. The previously set deadline was 30 September 2018, and a total of 6,082 migrant workers later applied for the extension. However, the Minister of Labour anticipates that by November this year, Thailand will be able to fulfill its target regarding the recruitment of migrant workers in the fisheries sector.

          The Royal Thai Government has campaigned to ensure that migrant workers wishing to work in Thailand are recruited through legal channels and possess legal work permits. Any employer who hires illegal migrant workers shall be charged and subject to a fine from 10,000 to 100,000 Thai Baht for each migrant worker. If the offense is repeated, the employer will be imprisoned for no more than one year, with a fine ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 Thai Baht for each migrant worker, and will also be prohibited from employing migrant workers for 3 years. This is to ensure that the protection of migrant workers’ rights is in line with the international standard.