VIENTIANE, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Lao Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and other government bodies held a discussion on the draft of a labor regulation addressing the issue of foreign workers in Laos on Monday.
The meeting, held in capital Vientiane, was attended by Lao Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Khampheng Saysompheng, Lao Deputy Minister of Public Security Sinthavong Xayakone and senior officials and personnel from various provinces.
At present, over 42,000 foreign workers have registered in Laos, mainly from Vietnam, China and Thailand, and about 23,000 have given proof of their nationality, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Tuesday.
The meeting heard that authorities will continue to register foreign workers, issuing them with temporary work permits as had been done in 2018.
Lao Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Bounkhong Lasoukanh reviewed the implementation of Lao Prime Ministerial Order 62 on worker registration, including proof of nationality.
Last year, the Lao government opened centers in provincial labor and social welfare offices, issuing temporary work permits to undocumented foreign workers.
Bounkhong said the authorities will continue to register foreigners and issue them with temporary work permits in a bid to regulate the increasing number of undocumented migrant workers in Laos.
"Meanwhile, new measures are being implemented to collect information and identify the number of foreigners working illegally so the authorities can then assign resources to best regulate the situation and avoid the problems experienced in the past," he added.
He noted that although the migration of workers is unavoidable in today's world, every country tries to control immigration in line with their respective laws.
Laos began registering migrant workers in 2012.
