Authorities step up child labour suppression along borders

Authorities step up child labour suppression along borders

BANGKOK, 2 October 2015 (NNT) – The Ministry of Labour is enhancing the surveillance of child labour employment along border areas, urging security agencies to be vigilant for abuses in their areas.

The Deputy Permanent-Secretary of Labour Ministry has revealed that the ministry is set to cooperate with the Ministry of Interior to monitor child labour abuses along border areas, in an attempt to suppress illegal child labour employment. Measures will be enacted to stop child labour networks, that regularly use Thailand's border as a transit.

He said that the Ministry of Labour will work with companies alleged of employing child labour, especially in the sugar cane, textiles, shrimp, and fisheries industries to eliminate child labour. Sugar cane is expected to be lifted from the United States’ black listed products next year.

The statement from the Ministry of Labour comes in wake of the United States Department of Labor's recent report on child labour, upgrading Thailand with ‘significant advancement’ in tackling child labor during the year 2014.

The Labour Ministry Deputy Permanent-Secretary has added that the Ministry will expand cooperation with Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to improve operation's efficiency, and make requests to related agencies on improving labour inspection duties and on taking action against labour abuses.

-- NNT 2015-10-02