New Thai regulations imposing stiff punishments on undocumented migrants, their brokers and their employers set to come into force on January 1 will likely be delayed by three to six months, according to Cambodian Minister of Labour Ith Sam Heng.

Speaking to the press yesterday, Sam Heng said that he had met last week with the Thai Ministry of Labour, which had agreed that the postponement was necessary to accommodate the legalisation process.

In June a Thai Royal Decree imposed fines of up to $3,000 and possible jail time on undocumented workers, and hefty fines on their brokers and employers. The decree prompted thousands of migrant workers – many of them Cambodian – to stream back into their countries of origin.

After backlash from stakeholders, the Thai government implemented a grace period ending December 31 to allow workers to get documented.

Sam Heng said the Cambodian Labour Ministry had started facilitating legalisation in Thailand in the “late third quarter” of the year, and more than 420,000 Cambodians were still waiting to be legalised.

“Myanmar and Laos are having the same problem,” he said. “[The Thai government] will discuss . . . to postpone it by three to six months until we legalise all of our workers.”

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