President of the Automobile Labour Congress of Thailand Mr. Manit Promkarikul spoke about the “Section 33, we love each other” project and thanked the government and Prime Minister and Minister of Defense General Prayut Chan-ocha for thinking about the hardships of employees under Section 33 that have reduced working hours or temporarily stopped work, causing them to earn less income. This 4,000 Baht aid grant, although it is less than the “We Win” project, the Ministry of Labour by the Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin, has efforts to coordinate the demands from labour leaders. The Labour Minister clarified all points to the labour leaders’ satisfaction from having attended the last meeting. However, some groups are not leaders in the labour sector that have called for an assembly concerning labour. Mr. Manit said that he thinks that the labour sector has been cared for according to the requests, and therefore, there should not be any groups gathering again. As leaders of the labour sector, we fight for the labour sector to use their benefits. It should not appear to interfere with the political sector as it will confuse. Mr. Manit said that he believes that the government has complied with all the requirements and encouraged the government to continue tackling issues arising from Covid-19.
Another leader of the labour sector is Mr. Charlie Loisung, Vice Chairman of the Thai Workers Reconciliation Committee, a leader who has fought for workers’ demands for a long time. He said that the members of the committee and insured persons under Section 33 are happy. He thanked the government for receiving the letter and requests from the group. The Ministry of Labour has also coordinated with relevant agencies to successfully fulfill the requests. This includes the request for removing the annual income threshold of 300,000 Baht because it will provide incomplete assistance to employees under Section 33. The government, led by the Prime Minister, gives importance to all workers under Section 33. Today, the Ministry of Labour organized a meeting to clarify all issues to the labour leaders from 39 organizations for their understanding. From the news that there are claims from certain labor groups to gather, calling themselves the people who don’t have the means for food, Mr. Charlie said that he believes the workers’ requests have been fulfilled and should encourage the government in fixing the economy and fighting Covid-19. Workers under Section 33 have received full assistance. In the past, there has never been a government that has helped workers like this. When people were unemployed, they would mostly take funds from the social security fund for unemployed workers. If the government was not thinking of the workforce, the labour sector at that time should have spoken out. Today, the government has taken care of all the requests; therefore, he urged the groups thinking of gathering and claiming that they do not have the means for food, to not become a political tool. He urged workers to love and take care of each other, which is better than to create conflict.
++++++++++++++++++++
Division of Public Relations
8 February 2021
