Thai Minister of Labour Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has reached an agreement to send 3,000 Thai skilled shipbuilding workers to South Korea during his trip to Seoul on Wednesday.
Phiphat clinched the deal to send Thai welders and mechanical technicians at a meeting with representatives of five Korean shipbuilders, including HD Hyundai Heavy Industry, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, Hyundai Samho, Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean.
The three Hyundai Group companies had agreed to collaborate, the minister said after the meeting at Lotte Hotel Seoul.
He said there are around 20,000 legally registered Thai workers in South Korea, where wages are at least five times higher than in Thailand. The ministry plans to increase the number of Thai workers sent to South Korea by 3,000-4,000 this year, he added.
The ministry aims to send 100,000 Thai workers abroad this year, also increasing numbers to meet demand in Australia and Eastern European countries like Poland, Phiphat said.