May 1st, 2007, 09:42
"PHUKET - Warm welcome for tourists doesn't extend to workers - The Nation
Province imposes curfew on foreign labourers, tracks their cell phones, bans them from driving cars or motorbikes. Phuket may have acquired a global reputation for warmth and hospitality, but since late last year authorities there have imposed controls on migrant workers that are so stringent they may violate fundamental human rights.
Phuket provincial authorities now prohibit migrant workers from leaving their residence after 8pm, unless they are under the supervision of their employer.
They also keep tabs on their mobile phones and prohibit them from getting behind the wheel or driving a motorbike. Deputy governor Worapot Ratthasima said yesterday the province had issued 10 such administrative regulations since last December 19.
They are meant to control the 32,070 migrant workers from Burma, Laos and Cambodia who have registered to work on the island since last year. A labour shortage in Phuket has brought a flood of workers from neighbouring countries.
Another regulation prohibits employers from hiring migrant labourers who lack work permits. Mobile-phone use is regulated to adhere to the province's security policies.
Employers were required to submit a list of their migrant workers who have mobiles, the registration numbers of the phones and the names of those who own the phones and SIM cards to the provincial authorities, Worapot said..."
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/05 ... 033090.php (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/05/01/national/national_30033090.php)
Province imposes curfew on foreign labourers, tracks their cell phones, bans them from driving cars or motorbikes. Phuket may have acquired a global reputation for warmth and hospitality, but since late last year authorities there have imposed controls on migrant workers that are so stringent they may violate fundamental human rights.
Phuket provincial authorities now prohibit migrant workers from leaving their residence after 8pm, unless they are under the supervision of their employer.
They also keep tabs on their mobile phones and prohibit them from getting behind the wheel or driving a motorbike. Deputy governor Worapot Ratthasima said yesterday the province had issued 10 such administrative regulations since last December 19.
They are meant to control the 32,070 migrant workers from Burma, Laos and Cambodia who have registered to work on the island since last year. A labour shortage in Phuket has brought a flood of workers from neighbouring countries.
Another regulation prohibits employers from hiring migrant labourers who lack work permits. Mobile-phone use is regulated to adhere to the province's security policies.
Employers were required to submit a list of their migrant workers who have mobiles, the registration numbers of the phones and the names of those who own the phones and SIM cards to the provincial authorities, Worapot said..."
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/05 ... 033090.php (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/05/01/national/national_30033090.php)