Bangkok: “Pipat” confirms that workers in the Middle East are safe, no one has asked to return to Thailand yet. The Ministry of Labor has set up a war room to monitor the situation and prepare to help Thai workers in Israel and Iran. It confirmed that Thais in both countries are still safe. Everyone can be contacted. No one has asked to return to Thailand yet.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Minister of Labor, revealed the situation of Thai workers in Israel. Today, he has monitored the situation by having a video conference with the Minister Counselor for Labor in Tel Aviv. He also emphasized the safety of Thai workers in Israel. There are 33,000 legal Thai workers and 6,500 workers who traveled on their own. As for workers in Iran, there are 39 Thai workers who work in spas and Thai massages, and approximately 200 Thais who are temporarily and permanently residing.
From the meeting with both countries, it was found that all Thais are safe and can communicate with each other. The Israeli government has communicated to employers, especially those working in the agricultural sector, to take care of Thai workers and not bring them to risk areas. Another group is workers in the construction and industrial sectors. The concern is that most construction workers are in the city, while most agricultural workers are outside the city. The embassy has also been coordinated to prepare rice and dry food in case of an emergency, including preparation and reminding everyone to contact embassy officials by phone.
As for planning the evacuation of Thai workers in Israel, there is a special unit in Israel, which is most convenient, which is evacuation by land across the border to Jordan, which will not take long. You have to prepare for travel by car, there are orders to prepare vehicles already, and there is a backup plan to evacuate by boat, but this route may take longer than by land.
The Minister of Labor added that he had ordered the establishment of a war room to monitor the situation. The Permanent Secretary of Labor had assigned the Deputy Permanent Secretary of Labor to be the head of the center with staff on duty 24 hours a day. From the report, so far no one has expressed their intention to return to Thailand. As for the new workers to be sent this month, an initial order has been given to suspend sending more workers at this time. There are approximately 2,000 people.
But I would like to leave a message for Thai workers in Israel, emphasizing that if there is a warning, they should enter the disaster area as soon as possible. As for me, I have traveled to Israel and have seen that within a distance not far from the work area, every 100-200 meters, not far from the work area, there will be a safe room with a bomb shelter for workers to go and take shelter from the situation.