Lao authorities say they will not be able to complete nationality verification of all Lao workers registered in Thailand within the three-year timeframe originally agreed upon with Thai officials, because of lack of cooperation on the part of the workers themselves.
Of the more than 90,000 workers legally registered and working in Thailand now, only some 68,000 have had their nationality verified by Lao officials for the past three years. The rest might be considered illegal and not Lao nationals because Lao authorities say they might stop the verification process, and will require workers to register with the government before going to work in Thailand.
The two neighbors have an agreement whereby Laos can supply Thailand with labor as requested by Thai companies. But for the past two years, Laos has been able to supply some 5,000 workers only out of the 50,000 requested. And of that number some 1,000 have been returned by Thai employers because of substandard skills.
For more details in Lao, listen to our Laos Today report.