Authorities have pledged to get tough with employers who fail to register migrant workers before next month’s deadline.

Labour Department permanent secretary Jirasak Sukhonthachat said a new team was being formed to track down business operators who were employing undocumented workers.

He was speaking after a meeting yesterday with the Labour Ministry’s working team responsible for dealing with migrant worker registration and human trafficking issues.

He said a new working team would be formed, comprising every district chief in the capital, all police station superintendents attached to the Metropolitan Police Bureau, anti-human trafficking police and officers from the employment and social development offices.

The team will investigate which businesses in Bangkok are yet to take their undocumented employees to register, as well as follow up human trafficking problems, he said.

Mr Jirasak said the team will begin work “soon”.

Any operators who have not yet taken their migrant employees to register will be encouraged to do so before the registration period ends on Oct 31, he said.

Those who miss the deadline risk incurring fines of between 10,000 and 100,000 baht for each undocumented employee. They would also risk facing 50,000 baht fines and up to five years in prison for sheltering illegal migrants.

A total of 1.1 million workers and family members  from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos have registered with the ministry’s one stop services between June 26 and last Wednesday.

By: Penchan Charoensuthipan, Bangkok Post