The Thai government is planning to recruit workers from Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka to tackle labour shortages in its farm and construction sectors. If the plan goes ahead, it could open new job opportunities for Bangladeshi workers in the Southeast Asian country.
The plan to take workers from the three new countries was announced in an update on Thailand’s labour policy on 13 October.
Farming and construction play an important part in Thailand’s economy, but a long-running shortage of workers in both sectors has held back production and development work. To deal with this, the government has decided to go beyond its usual labour markets and take workers from new countries.
Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka are being considered as possible sources of workers. Through this, Thailand wants both to ease the shortage and to widen the range of countries it recruits from.
According to the report, no specific recruitment quota or number of workers has yet been set for the three countries, but early preparations for recruitment are moving ahead.
Under the plan, if all goes well, the first group of workers could travel to Thailand from Sri Lanka by January 2027. Recruitment from Bangladesh and Nepal could then be finalised.
If Thailand’s plan goes ahead, Bangladeshi workers could gain access to a new labour market outside the Middle East, especially in farming and construction.
But the timetable, numbers, pay, visa conditions and application process have not yet been settled. Until a formal announcement is made, people are advised to be wary of anyone, person or agency, who asks for money with a promise of a job.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report