Labour leaders reported that the workers thanked the government and the Ministry of Labour, including Krung Thai Bank, for facilitating registration for receiving remedies under the “Section 33 We Love Each Other” project. The process is convenient, quick, and the system has not failed and can resolve the workforce’s issues that are the heart of the country’s economic drive.
On February 26, 2021, Advisory Board Member to the Ministry of Labour Mr. Manas Kosol spoke about the “Section 33 We Love Each Other” project. He commended how this project has been so well prepared by the government under the leadership of Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha, and the Ministry of Labour under the supervision of Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin, the Social Security Office’s executives and Kung Thai Bank. The registrations started just a few days and have soared to nearly 8 million registrations already, from the 9.2 million eligible insured persons under Section 33. This reflects that the system is fluid. This scheme is considered beneficial for many insured persons who have never received such aid before, such as government workers and employees and university employees. Although 4,000 Baht does not seem like a lot, it can help alleviate the suffering among this group of workers, as they can use the 1,000 Baht their receive each week, or the full 4,000 Baht, to spend on the necessities of life. This money can be spent through the ‘Pao Tang’ application to buy products and services through small merchants, such as the ‘Thong Fah’ shop participating in the “Half Each” and “We Win” projects. It also helps small vendors such as hawker stalls to promote turnover in the economy. As for groups that do not have smartphones to register, the Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin has plans to support them by Social Security Officers to coordinate with Krung Thai Bank to attend the registration table in factories or workplaces to facilitate insured persons of the said group.
Mr. Pakphum Suksai, Vice President of Social Security Workers and Chairman of the Thonburi Automobile Assembly Workers’ Union, also spoke about the “Section 33 We Love Each Other” project. He thanked the government and the Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, for identifying and resolving the problems for workers, especially insured persons under Section 33, and for seeing the importance of workers in the system that is the heart of the country’s economic drive. During the Covid-19 pandemic, many factories were affected and needed to use Section 75 to sustain the business to move forward. Many factory workers have salaries but still suffered as much as independent workers who have previously receive remedies. The government and the Labour Minister have seen the workforce’s importance in the system and launched the effort to provide 4,000 Baht per person in remedies. This money will circulate in the family and in various industry groups to help the economy recover accordingly.
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Division of Public Relations
26 February 2020
