On August 7, 2019, the Ministry of Labour’s Inspector-General Mr. Apinya Sujarittanan and conducted an official inspection and met with heads of departments under the Ministry of Labour in Udon Thani, for the third round, in monitoring the overall performance of the units, following the government’s official inspection plan. The examination found that the agencies under the Ministry of Labour in Udon Thani province mostly followed the Ministry of Labour’s urgent policies, on the promotion of Thai workers to travel to work abroad through the correct process, in order to be protected by law, and the promotion of skill development to support the labour markets’ demand. From reports, in the 2019 fiscal year (Octocopter 2018 – June 2019), Udon Thani is the province that has the most people looking for work abroad, mostly traveling to Taiwan, followed by Israel, Korea, Japan, Finland, and other countries. The Udon Thani Provincial Administration recruits job seekers looking to work abroad legally. There are a total of 6,415 applicants, which are forwarded to the Department of Employment for deployment through the government system. Job seekers do not have to pay for the employment service, and when recruited, earn an income, and receive welfare per the law. The estimated revenue based on the wage rate of each country for the 2019 fiscal year (October 2018 – June 2019) amounted to 2,685 million Baht. The Ministry of Labour’s Inspector-General emphasized that Thai workers traveling to work abroad apply as a fund member to help people find jobs to work overseas and apply as an insurer under Section 40 under the Social Security Act, BE 2535 (1992), to receive benefits when returning to Thailand.
In terms of knowledge and competency certification, the Inspector-General advised that, in addition to the building electrician’s branch, the Department of Skill Development has also joined with the private sector to train and upskill workers in other branches too, such as air conditioning installation and welding, as well as pushing the trainees in the 2 courses to attend the national labour standards assessment in the near future. These branches will be next in consideration to have a license to guarantee the safety of life and property of people and users. He asked that the Skills Development Office 18 in Udon Thani prepare support for assessments to operators with air conditioning repair technicians or professional welders who apply for the skill standards assessment. Those interested can apply for the test at the Skill Development Offices and Institutions nationwide. After that, the committee followed up the results according to the official inspection plan of the Office of the Permanent Secretary for 2019.
In the afternoon, the inspectors visited Nong Khai province together with the Nong Khai Provincial Labour Director (Mrs. Wannakan Khaolap) and Director of the Nong Khai Skill Development Office (Ms. Prapassorn Prachanitasen). Trainers in the field of building electricians welcomed the visiting committee, in project 1, district 1, electrician of the year 2019. The initiative is an integration with the Provincial Electricity Authority, Nong Khai, batch 1 between August 5 to 6, 2019. There was a total of 15 trainees in the branch of building electricians within level 1, preparing for the national skill standards to certify the knowledge and competencies at the Nong Khai Skill Development Office. The committee then visited the Thep Arunothai Company Limited, which operates distilling, rectifying and blending of spirits, ethyl alcohol production (ThaiBev). Senior Factory Manager Mr. Thanu Phromrungsee welcomed the committee. The company has 244 employees and 3 disabled employees. It has received awards of good governance and multiple awards for environmental protection, labour welfare, occupational safety, health and working environment, GLP and TLS awards and has also participated in the “To Be Number One” program.
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Division of Public Relations/
7 August 2019
