The Labour Ministry plans to import workers from Bangladesh and Indonesia as Thailand cannot get enough legal workers from nearby countries such as Burma, Laos and Cambodia.

Permanent secretary of the ministry, Somkiat Chayasriwong, said the ministry’s committee on alien workers wants to bring in Bangladeshi workers to replace illegal workers from Burma, Laos and Cambodia who fail to register.

Bangladeshi workers will be another option for Thai operators who need more labour and to help solve security problems in the country where there is a growing number of illegal alien workers.

Mr Somkiat said the legal import of workers from Burma, Laos and Cambodia is subject to complicated procedures and regulations in their countries.

Bangladesh is more ready to supply labour as the country exports as many as 10 million workers.

The panel plans to import labourers, construction workers and maids from the country.

Thailand informed Burma that it wanted 100,000 workers but the country could supply only 1,803 workers. He said the supply was meagre compared with the demand.

Mr Somkiat said the alien labour committee would propose the import of workers from Indonesia later.

Regarding about 200,000 alien workers who failed to register for their work permits, the Labour Ministry had already asked relevant authorities to arrest them, he said.

Meanwhile, Adisorn Kerdmongkol, of the Action Network for Migrants, said alien workers were normally placed in fishery and related jobs and the labour import from Bangladesh would not serve local demands because people from that country “did not like jobs” in the fishery business. He suggested workers from Indonesia and southern China suit fishery and related jobs.

Setting aside the origins of workers, Mr Adisorn said Thailand needed a clear strategy to solve the problem of illegal immigrant workers.

Regarding the 200,000 alien workers who failed to register within the deadline at the end of February, he said that was a normal problem and that there were in fact about 1 million illegal immigrant workers in the country.

He said when people shifted to a new employer their old employer would often seize the worker’s ID card. The registration of alien workers that happens only once every two years is a complicated procedure and the process can drive some alien workers out of the legal system.

The labour activist also proposed that the Labour Ministry clearly study the businesses that needed to hire alien workers and determine the exact number of workers they required.