Thais duped with false promises of work

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Thais duped with false promises of workBy The Nation
2011-02-11

More than 500 Thais were duped by false promises of wellpaid jobs abroad in the final quarter of last year, causing more than Bt30 million in damages, the head of the Department of Employment said yesterday.

Jeerasak Sukhonthachat said there were 539 plaintiffs in such cases from October to December, 19.4 per cent down on the same period the previous year.

Most victims were approached by "agents" who charged fees in exchange for jobs abroad with inflated wages - or jobs that didn't exist at all.

Despite knowing they would have to sneak illegally into the country to get the jobs, many were willing to pay the fees because they didn't want to lose the opportunity - but most victims didn't end up travelling at all, Jeerasak said.

Of those who did travel, some were forced to work as slaves. Others were exploited by foreign employers and didn't dare file police complaints because of their alien worker status.

After returning to Thailand, many could not file complaints against the agents or get their money back because they were lured into requesting the trip abroad themselves, Jeerasak said.

Jeerasak urged Thais to seek jobs abroad legally, as 79,792 Thai workers did in 2010. They did this in five ways: by travelling and finding work themselves; by being sent to work by the DOE; by being taken abroad for work by their employers; by being sent abroad by employers to do an internship; or by being sent by employment companies.

Last year Taiwan was by far the largest market for Thai labourers, accepting 32,685 of them, followed by Japan with 4,932 and Libya with 4,905. In the Middle East, the most popular destination for Thai workers was Israel with 4,499, followed by UAE at 4,216 and Qatar at 3,371.

The DOE wants to send more workers to countries such as Bahrain and Libya where construction projects are in the pipeline, Jeerasak said.

Jeerasak said the more Thais who worked abroad, the more money they could send home, adding that from 2009 to 2010 Thai workers sent home about Bt50 billion.

Regarding riotstricken Egypt, Jeerasak said there were 630 Thai workers there: 200 men and 430 women. The DOE has already sent assistance for them, he said.