Fourth Army to regulate migrant workers on Koh Tao

[Oziex1]

Go ahead get rid of all the foreign workers and get the lazy, self assured, above the law locals to actually make a contribution to their country.

Oh! I just woke up what a strange dream I had.

[ChrisY1]

So is this the conclusion that they draw from this debacle - that migrant workers need to be better controlled?

Controlled means managed......maybe the 1000 unregistered workers have to pay!

[loongdavid]

I realise we are in the middle of an army coup and all that but what are the Immigration Police doing whilst all this is supposedly happening?

[rickirs]

Why does PM General Prayuth bother to have a cabinet when he keeps sending in the armed forces (navy, air force, army) to take care of civil issues? Of course under martial law and Article 44 of the Interim Constitution deployment of military forces is perfectly allowed under the direction of the NCPO. But such actions just makes the "government" seem to be an extension of the Supreme Command that may become a permanent arrangement over time with some democratic institution window dressing.

[sabaitoo]

oh well time for the picture : https://twitter.com/KhaosodEnglish/status/515468631757443072/photo/1

[culicine]

So is this the conclusion that they draw from this debacle - that migrant workers need to be better controlled?

Controlled means managed......maybe the 1000 unregistered workers have to pay!

ALL foreign workers should be registered and have work permits to work here. We do, so why should Burmese/Cambodians be any different? If there was a proper register of workers, it would be easy to work out who had left the island in a hurry (assuming they were the killers). In such a scenario, hundreds of unregistered workers means it will be impossible to solve this case.

add: Story in the BP today reports 7000 registered and 4000 unregistered alien workers on the island, and 2100 Thai residents/workers.

Edited September 26, 2014 by culicine

[englishoak]

There goes the dive industry. Just how many Thai Dive Instructors are working down there?

Currently there are more than 4,000 migrant workers working in Koh Tao, 3,000 were registered, and the rest were not. So it affects 25% of foreign workers and it doesn't affect Thai workers. The diving industry is not going anywhere drama queen.

Dont be stupid, Dive masters there with a few exceptions are almost exclusively Farang,and they arnt in the main registered as working since most go straight from qualifying to trying to get work and most of it is ad hoc and off the books. hardly any at all are Thai.

Saying that tho the diving in and around Koh Tao aside from two spots, ( one hardly ever used because it costs more fuel to go there ) is absolute crap... youll see no less snorkling off pattaya beach

Like hell it wouldnt affect the Dive business there... if done properly but it wont be done properly anyway just the usual payoffs so its moot

Also using the Army to register people like a civilian immigration dept of dept or work permits... is absolutely laughable. I mean i know the army is in control of the country and martial law hasnt been lifted but what is the point of having any civillain salaries to pay if you start using the forces to do the paperwork ...... totally nuts

Until of course you realise this is just all another sideshow with no real substance wheeled out to appear to be doing something...

Edited September 26, 2014 by englishoak

[taony]

Sooo, "let's get rid of the infuential people! let's get rid of corruption! Send in the army!" ..... and start off with the thing that will have the least effect

[balo]

They should also send in the 5th army to take care of the 4th army . To avoid any confusion.

[englishoak]

oh well time for the picture : https://twitter.com/KhaosodEnglish/status/515468631757443072/photo/1

All sing together now ... All for one and one for all ....

[tbthailand]

This makes me wonder how so many new foreign owned businesses are opening up on KT and here on KP - I see hardly any Thai staff working in restaurants for example, majority Myanmar nationals...

How will this affect the diving industry? Well, there will most certainly be a shortage of qualified DMs as most are Farangs working illegally while they pursuit their hobby. That will certainly stop now - at least for a while. This is only my impression - I am not involved with the diving industry.

They should not stop with KT - KP has way more Myanmar (workers and/or other).

At the same time it would be good to improve the migrant labor work and living conditions; they do not have a dream life on these islands, and generally they are nice people.

no, they do not have a dream life on the islands. I'm not sure that I can imagine the Thai military improving their lot, however. That could happen but is seems unlikely.

they say there are 3000 registered burmese on KT now. That is a new thing as there was a rush of registrations of burmese workers after the coup and the issues with foreign workers.

for the dive industry, there will be problems anyway as the visa runs were getting difficult. The people in the industry need to find a solution. That could mean that the instructors and DMs move from long-term visa-run status to divide into short-term, really here on vacation for a few months and long-term, officially registered to work in Thailand status.

[ozzyrules]

The 4th Army is everywhere, unfortunately the area is the domain of the immigration Department, migrant is immigration, so why aren't immigration handling this problem and also policing it, the army is a jack of all trades and a master of none, go figure.

I hear the head of Immigration in Samui is the brother of one of the speedboat companies that service Koh Tao..I hope this will be patrolled and there are no more foreignors allowed to work illegally..

Great to know that social media as confusing as it is for them has managed to get them to realize that there are influential figures on the island...Far cry from there is no local mafia or the locals would have told us...

Just so you know, they are on all the islands in the area...but the locals have seen way too much blood over the years to dare talk to officials about it...Damn social media..ruining it for the gangsters...in and out of uniform.

[ozzyrules]

oh well time for the picture : https://twitter.com/KhaosodEnglish/status/515468631757443072/photo/1

Hhhhhmmm, that just disgraceful...I thought they only had photo shoots when they had the patsy??

[taony]

Gotta love that comment though. And the blacked out avatar. perfect.

[metisdead]

An off topic post has been removed, this is not about the Vietnamese boat people.

[heyexile]

They should also send in the 5th army to take care of the 4th army . To avoid any confusion.

Nice one. "Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"

(But who watches the watchmen?)

[Tokay]

Yea, yea, and the jet skis on Phuket and Pattaya are also going to be regulated. Any time now, any time...

[SteveFong]

so, is the army taking over the island, or was this just another rediculous press release for that pesky media, that continues to make life miserable for the police?

[MJP]

Why will getting rid of influential people make the island safer?

[ratcatcher]

They should also send in the 5th army to take care of the 4th army . To avoid any confusion.

Nice one. "Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"

(But who watches the watchmen?)

The 1st, 2nd and 3rd armies of course?

[ratcatcher]

Brothers in Arms.

Now, let's see, who is the most powerful man in the picture?

[Mencken]

Red herring

[heyexile]

They should also send in the 5th army to take care of the 4th army . To avoid any confusion.

Nice one. "Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"

(But who watches the watchmen?)

The 1st, 2nd and 3rd armies of course?

Nice 2. If watchmen wear a ring of invisibility, what watchman can watch them?

Can Min Ed invoke circling aliens to pierce invisibility with pyramid power?

After that it`s alien turtles all the way down, or up.

[heyexile]

Red herring

Not red army so yellow herring.

[cloghead]

There goes the dive industry. Just how many Thai Dive Instructors are working down there?

The diving industry is not going anywhere drama queen.

By November there won't be any 'dive industry' for those clowns to work for...

PS Hey nicky--are you perhaps a "dive-master"? Feeling a bit apprehensive now? Work-wise and all that...

[wilcopops]

There goes the dive industry. Just how many Thai Dive Instructors are working down there?

Currently there are more than 4,000 migrant workers working in Koh Tao, 3,000 were registered, and the rest were not. So it affects 25% of foreign workers and it doesn't affect Thai workers. The diving industry is not going anywhere drama queen.

I'm sure in the long run there will be a dive industry there, but I think that recent events will actually have quite a noticeable effect on the island's economy.

You can't just pullout 25% of the casual labor force and expect things to stay the same, for a start basic wages will go up, simply dictatated by supply and demand.

furthermore the island now has an international reputation - right or wrong - of being run by a local Mafia who were suspected of murdering two foreigners.

i can't see that this high season's travellers (i.e. starting next month) are going to ignore this and go straight on booking as usual.

If I had a business in the island I would certainly be preparing for hard times at least or even another location.

Edited September 28, 2014 by wilcopops

[cloghead]

Roger wilco--in a few months most of the dive shops, bungalows, restaurants etc will be going for a dime to the dollar

Fritz, Pierre and Guido will be desperate to sell them for the price of a flight back to Europe

Of course Sensi Paradise will be OK as old Ben has a fairly lucrative alternative enterprise back in Amsterdam

[wilcopops]

Roger wilco--in a few months most of the dive shops, bungalows, restaurants etc will be going for a dime to the dollar

Fritz, Pierre and Guido will be desperate to sell them for the price of a flight back to Europe

Of course Sensi Paradise will be OK as old Ben has a fairly lucrative alternative enterprise back in Amsterdam

Anyone who has spent time in Thailand will know that any "crash" will be somewhat surreptitious in nature and local families will suffer less than outside businesses..... empty buildings are a constant reminder of how businesses in Thailand go into a sort of bak "limbo" for years on end....until the owner can start again.....