CityNews – Following a petition filed in July this year by contractors and migrant workers to the governor of Chiang Mai concerning the crack down by officials on migrant workers for working on non specified tasks, officials have cited labour laws in their defense. It is a technical issue which, according to the law, migrant workers are not allowed to work on craftmanship jobs including plastering, tiling, painting and concrete mixing.
The petition was filed after officers issued arrest warrants for migrant workers and fined contractors across Chiang Mai. The petitioners pleaded with officials to reconsider the crackdown and to come to the table to find common ground. Officials say that they are merely doing their job, while those testing are questioning their legitimacy in issuing fines and arrest warrants.