Building a Legal Safety Net for Thai Workers in Taiwan: Louis Group Meets the Thailand Trade and Economic Office (Labour Division)
- On 31 July 2026, a Louis Group legal team visited the Thailand Trade and Economic Office (Labour Division) in Taipei and was received by Director Tosapol Sumanont
- The discussion focused on the most common legal difficulties facing Thai workers in Taiwan: unpaid wages, occupational injury compensation, labour contracts, employer transfers, and defence rights in criminal matters
- Future cooperation will cover legal consultation channels, Thai-language legal guides, and worker education — so Thai workers know their rights and where to turn
On 31 July 2026, Raymond Yu, CEO of Louis Group, together with Yi-Shan Chen, Director of the Taichung office of Louis & Charles Attorneys at Law , and Thai lawyer Tirakan Lin, paid a visit to the Thailand Trade and Economic Office (Labour Division) in Taipei. They were received by Director Tosapol Sumanont, joined by Deputy Director Noppanat Kongjitngam, Suviboon Pacapongpan, Kitisak Buasin, and other officials. The two sides held nearly two hours of in-depth, concrete discussion on protecting the rights of Thai workers in Taiwan.
Tens of Thousands of Thai Workers in Taiwan — the Law Should Not Be Out of Their Reach
Thailand is one of the major home countries of migrant workers in Taiwan. Tens of thousands of Thai nationals work across Taiwan’s manufacturing, construction, and other industries, and are an indispensable part of their operation. Yet the language barrier often leaves them with nowhere to turn at the very moment they need the law most — when wages go unpaid, when unlawful deductions are made, when an occupational injury occurs, when contract terms differ from what was promised, when they wish to change employers lawfully but do not know the procedure, or when they run into criminal proceedings and do not even know whom to ask.
At the meeting, the Labour Division shared its front-line experience assisting Thai workers, while the three Louis Group lawyers responded from a practitioner’s perspective to the most common legal difficulties: claims for unpaid wages and severance, applications for occupational injury compensation and employer liability, key points in reviewing labour contracts, lawful avenues for changing employers, and defence rights in criminal cases. Both sides strongly agreed on one core idea: protecting migrant workers cannot wait until something goes wrong — legal education beforehand matters as much as timely assistance afterwards.
Louis Group’s Unique Position: A Two-Way Legal Bridge Between Taiwan and Thailand
What allows Louis Group to make a real difference on this issue is the group’s long-standing presence on both sides.
The group maintains offices in Taipei, Hsinchu, and Taichung, and operates Louis & Partners Thailand in Bangkok — meaning we understand not only Taiwan’s labour law regime but also the family and cultural context behind Thai workers. Lawyer Tirakan Lin, who attended the meeting, embodies this bridge: qualified as a lawyer in Thailand and a legal trainee in Taiwan, she can listen to Thai workers in their mother tongue and then advocate for them with Taiwanese legal expertise, with nothing lost in translation.
Louis Group’s commitment to migrant workers goes back years. In 2019, the group was invited to join the Taiwan–Thailand pro bono legal consultation platform, providing free legal advice to Thai nationals in Taiwan. The group also publishes Thai-language legal articles on its website, explaining work visas, wage rights, and the 1955 labour hotline in a language Thai workers can actually read.
A Shared Goal: Making the Path to Help Shorter and More Direct
The two sides exchanged concrete ideas for future cooperation, including channels for legal consultation by the group’s lawyers, Thai-language legal guides on common dispute types, and contributing legal expertise to worker education — so that Thai workers know their rights, and whom to turn to, from the day they arrive in Taiwan.
CEO Raymond Yu remarked at the meeting: “Taiwan’s industries benefit from the hard work of our Thai friends, and they deserve the same legal protection as Taiwanese workers. Louis Group has Taiwanese lawyers, Thai lawyers, and a Thai-speaking team — we stand in a position where we can genuinely help, and that leaves us no reason to stand by. Protecting Thai workers in Taiwan is our commitment to both societies.”
The meeting concluded in a warm atmosphere. Louis Group thanks Director Tosapol Sumanont and the Labour Division team for their hospitality and trust, and will keep in close contact with the Division — so that every Thai worker building a life in Taiwan can feel that the law is never far away.