Officials are set to hold talks on Thursday to detail the criteria required for registering foreign workers, both legal and illegal, a senior government official said.
The intention is to register all foreign workers in Laos including those currently working illegally, Director General of the Labour Management Department, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Mr Khamkhane Phinsavanh told the Vientiane Times yesterday.
The relevant government agencies are preparing for the meeting hoping to finalise the issue, which has been under discussion for some time. A recent nationwide survey suggested there are more than 54,000 foreign workers in Laos but most believe the true figure is much higher.
Officials in charge plan to launch a two-month registration programme in district offices starting in June.
Later, the workers will be required to obtain further registration in Vientiane or provincial offices. “A worker is required to register at both places (district and provincial offices),” Mr Khamkhane said. “More details will be tabled at the Thursday meeting.”
Registration at the district office will allow illegal workers two months to prepare the documents required to apply for a work permit for submission to the Vientiane or provincial offices, to establish their legal status.
To apply for a work permit, a person needs a passport, visa and guarantees of their employment status from their employers.
To obtain a passport, Mr Khamkhane added, a worker might need to travel back to their home country to conduct the paperwork. He gave assurances that Lao officials would issue appropriate documents to facilitate the trip.
A person who has a work permit can work in Laos for two years with another extension of two years, bringing the total to four years.
Mr Khamkhane admitted that measures to handle illegal workers who fail to obtain all the relevant documents required for a work permit application had not been determined, saying the matter would be discussed at the Thursday meeting.
Laos needs to hire skilled foreign workers to meet domestic demand in order to ensure steady economic growth, according to the International Labour Organisation, which estimated that up to 200,000 skilled workers could be required annually until 2015.
To meet this demand, the government is planning the construction of Laos' biggest private vocational training complex. A 200 hectare site has already been approved for the US$50 million facility.
Project director Mr Chansavath Khounviset said dates for the start of construction and completion have not been fixed as capital to finance the project is still being sought.
