PUBLISHED: 21 October 2023 at 4:00 p.m.
According to Pairote Chotikasathien, the permanent secretary of the Labour Ministry, Israel is ready to welcome back Thai personnel if and when the Israel-Hamas battle de-escalates.
He claimed that Kittana Srisuriya, a minister counselor at the Thai embassy in Tel Aviv, had met with Inbal Mashash, director of the Foreign Workers Administration, and Eyal Sisu, Director-General of Population and Immigration Authority( Piba ), to discuss how to assist two groups of Thai workers who had been impacted by the war.
The second group consists of Thai employees who recently finished their contracts, which lasted five years and three months, and had to transfer to Thailand due to the war, as well as three to four years ago.
According to Mr. Pairote, they will be permitted to resume their employment in Israel under the terms that the Piba will eventually discuss with the Thai Labour Ministry.
The other group consists of Thai employees who are still in Israel without permits and haven’t finished their contracts however. According to him, Piba will expand their visas through November of next year.
Thai staff in Israel are also included in this group; they must finish their contracts by April of the following month. According to Mr. Pairote, Piba will expand their visa for an additional year.
He claimed that Israel has placed a high value on the return of foreign workers, especially Vietnamese workers who are crucial to Israel’s agricultural business and economy.
To ensure that Thai employees may return to work in Israel when the situation that improves, the Labour Ministry is collaborating closely with Israeli government, he said.
However, yesterday’s business flight carried the body of the first eight Siamese workers who died in Israel on October 7 in the Hamas attack. After that, they were taken to their particular home counties.
The systems were transported by El Al Flight LY083 from Israel, which touched down at Suvarnabhumi aircraft at 9.33 am.
Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Buri Ram, Chaiyaphum, Si Sa Ket, and Sukhothai each received one body, while Udon Thani received two.
According to Mr. Pairote, the Labour Ministry will immediately give each family 40, 000 baht for funeral costs.