Expecting a massive number of Cambodian migrant workers to return to
Thailand, the Public Health Ministry has dispatched teams to the border
provinces of Sa Kaew, Trat, Surin and Si Sa Ket to provide health check-ups and
sell them health insurance.
The fee for the health check has been cut from 600
baht to 500 baht and insurance will now cost 1,600 baht instead of 2,200 baht
for adults and 365 baht for children.
This is partially in response to a 2012 report about
2,000 migrant workers being at the contagious stage of tuberculosis.
In a video conference, the ministry's permanent
secretary Dr Narong Sahametapat also told provincial health chiefs about the
ruling National Council for Peace and Order's decision to have the Interior
Ministry issue a 60-day identification card to migrant workers.
Workers who enter Thailand via the four provinces will
be accommodated at temporary shelters while they wait to be picked up by their
employers, so Narong said health officials could provide check-ups and sell the
workers insurance at that point.
This move follows the Samut Sakhon model, which
allowed undocumented workers from Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar to register,
undergo a health check and buy health insurance, he said, adding that if this
model works, it will be expanded to other provinces.
Of the 2.1 million registered migrant workers in
Thailand, 1.8 million have undergone the nationality identification procedure
and 300,000 workers were brought in via government-to-government agreements.
Another 2 million or so are believed to be working illegally, ministry adviser
Dr Supakit Sirilak said.
Of the legal workers, 400,000 are under the Social
Security Office (SSO) system, while another 400,000 have bought the ministry's
health insurance, he said. This means up to 3 million workers are still without
any healthcare provisions, which could lead to problems in the long run.
State hospitals end up having to shoulder 300 baht
million per year to cover medical expenses of migrant workers, hence it was
necessary to add these workers to the system, he said.
Law 'unsuitable'
The SSO law, which covers people working in registered
businesses, is not suitable for migrant workers who have entered the Kingdom
legally to work as household help |or in the fishery or agricultural |sectors,
Supakit said, adding that these workers should be put under the ministry's
insurance system instead.
The authorities' expectation of the influx of
Cambodian workers is partially based on a report last week that Phnom Penh
would slash passport fees for migrant workers and those studying overseas on
scholarships to just US$4 from $135.
However, since this lower fee is only applicable to
those who can provide evidence of employment in Thailand backed by a document
from the Cambodian Labour Ministry, the influx may not be too massive, a Thai
critic said.
US$1 = 32.40 baht
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