VIENTIANE: As of September 10, around 220,000 of the nearly one million Cambodian migrant workers who returned from Thailand have received job opportunities through the mechanisms of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, with support from the private sector and union leaders, said a September 12 ministry statement.
Labour minister Heng Sour said that about 120,000 of them received jobs via the ministry’s mechanisms and vocational training, while the remaining 100,000 others found jobs through direct arrangements with factories or trade union leaders.
“This reflects the active participation of the private sector as well as trade unions, who have contributed to job creation and shared employment information with our brothers and sisters returning from Thailand,” he said.
Ministry spokesperson Sun Mesa explained that most of the 220,000 workers are formally employed in factories and large enterprises.
He noted that tens of thousands of other returnees have taken up informal positions at small businesses, construction sites, farms and restaurants.
“Currently, there are nearly 90,000 additional job opportunities available in 25 provinces across the country for citizens, including returning migrant workers. These are all jobs within the formal system,” he said.
Nearly one million Cambodians who worked in Thailand have returned to Cambodia since June 8, as border tensions drove uncertainty and discrimination.
Sam Soeun, president of the National Labor Union of Cambodia, noted that the government, through the labour ministry, has paid close attention to the plight of migrant workers returning from Thailand — from the moment they crossed the border to the implementation of measures and mechanisms that secured hundreds of thousands of jobs for them at home.
“Each of these necessary measures is highly effective in providing job opportunities — not only for our returning workers but also for our other fellow citizens seeking local employment,” he said.
He noted that his union team had directly facilitated jobs for about 5,000 returning workers and pledged to continue working closely with the ministry to secure more employment opportunities for other returnees from Thailand. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
