Around 70,000 children of illegal immigrants are in Thailand, and a large percentage of them are being exploited for cheap labour, a seminar at the Labour Ministry warned yesterday.

Children of illegal immigrants are usually uneducated and have little legal protection, unlike Thai children. The authorities have no details about their age or even the nationality of their parents.

Phadungsak Thephasdin na Ayutthaya, director-general of the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, called on officials to recognise children of illegal immigrants and provide them with vital basic necessities.

He said Thailand was obliged to comply with an International Labour Organisation agreement requiring states to provide minimal welfare and basic necessities for children living here regardless of their legal status and nationality. This include stopping these children being exploited for cheap labour, he said.

Responding to a report that Thai children picked to be racehorse jockeys had been denied access to healthy food in order to limit the growth of their bodies, Phadungsak said he would look into the matter to determine if the practice was illegal.

Suphang Janthawanich, head of the Asia Study Centre at Chulalongkorn University, called for the setting up of a new body to conduct regular checks on factories using child labourers to prevent exploitation and violation of the children's rights. She suggested that inspectors be recruited from agencies overseeing labour welfare and human resources.

Suphang also urged low-cost education for the children of illegal immigrants, the oldest of whom are estimated to be 17.

"It is now too late to start giving them education, and the Thai authorities have never had clear guidelines on this issue," she said.