1.2m Burmese workers expected to register by 2012

So far, some 82,700 Burmese workers have passed the national identification process, and it is expected that all 1.2 million alien workers from Burma should pass the process by the end of 2012, the Employment Department's chief said yesterday.

The number isn't great enough for the Burmese and Thai authorities to speed up to meet their goal, Jeerasak Sukhonthachat said. From June, some 1,800 workers are expected to undergo the process on a daily basis at the three ThaiBurma border checkpoints providing such services. If about 50,000 workers are processed every month, some 1.2 million workers should have passed the process and obtained a Burmese passport by the end of 2012, he said.

The department will also try to inform workers who have already obtained temporary passports to swap their pink identification cards for green ones. The pink card requires an alien worker to only be employed in a specific area, while a green card would allow them to travel freely around the country.