YANGON, June 30 (Xinhua) -- About 2,516 illegal Myanmar migrant workers including 970 women have returned home from Thailand after a new labor law was imposed by the Thai government on Thursday, official media reported Friday.

The new labor law of the Thai government has strict penalties on those who fail to produce official work permit documents.

According to the new labor laws, such illegal workers will be fined or imprisoned for six months and employers who hire them will be fined.

At present, government officials from Myanmar and Thailand have been making arrangements to help Myanmar workers return home safely without being arrested, according to the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population.

There are about 4 million legal and 1 million illegal Myanmar workers reportedly staying in Thailand.