June 23, 2014 — With Thailand and Cambodia both feeling the pinch from the sudden exodus of more than 200,000 Cambodian workers out of Thailand, the two countries are now working together to try and get them back to their old jobs legally, as fast as possible.
Some 225,000 Cambodians, mostly undocumented, have fled their jobs in Thailand in the past two weeks amid widespread rumors of a crackdown on illegal labor by the Thai Army, which has been ruling the country with an ever-tighter grip since overthrowing the government in Bangkok last month.
Thai businesses have already started to complain of the costly dent that the sudden departures have had on farms, construction sites and seafood factories across the east of the country. In Cambodia, the government is scrambling to find the returnees new jobs and new skills at ill-equipped training centers.
Eager to get them back to Thailand, Prime Minister Hun Sen has signed an order slashing the price of passports for migrant workers from $124 to $4 and promising to have applications processed within 20 days.
On Friday, Labor Minister Ith Sam Heng laid out yet more steps Cambodia and Thailand will be taking together to cut down on the time and hassle of getting a work license.
Read the full story at the Cambodia Daily