Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin assigned his Advisor to Phetchaburi to monitor the situation, visit, encourage and help employees in an incident where a vessel capsized in the Gulf of Thailand, off the coast of Cha-am district, Phetchaburi. He instructed the Ministry of Labour’s agencies to accelerate investigations to follow up on the situation and work with local agencies to assist workers in wages, expenses incurred during the employee’s absence from work, and legal benefits. Five people were saved, two died, and two are still being searched for.
On February 21, 2021, at 09.00 hours, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin assigned Advisor to the Labour Minister Mrs. Thiwalrat Angkinan to Phetchaburi to monitor the situation, to visit, encourage and help employees in an incident where a vessel capsized in the Gulf of Thailand, 30 km off the coast, at Nerunchara Temple, Cha-am District, Phetchaburi. The Labour Minister’s Advisor said that the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister and Minister of Defense General Prayuth Chan-ocha, and the Ministry of Labour under the supervision of General Prawit Wongsuwan, is concerned about the vessel capsize incident. Therefore, the Labour Minister’s Advisor was assigned to the area to monitor the situation, visit, encourage, and assist employees involved in the accident. The Labour Minister is concerned for all employees and urged officials of the Phetchaburi Labour Protection and Welfare Office to investigate the capsize’s cause. He also urged officials to monitor the situation closely, working with local agencies to assist workers in wages, expenses incurred during the employee’s absence from work, and urged the Phetchaburi Provincial Employment Office to inspect the status of all 7 Myanmar workers whether they are legitimate workers or not. He further instructed the Phetchaburi Provincial Social Security Office to examine the employee’s insured persons status to provide legal compensation and benefits.
Mrs. Thiwalrat Angkinan continued that the Phetchaburi Provincial Labour Protection and Welfare Office investigation found that the incident occurred today (February 20, 2021) at around 11.45 hours. The boat capsized in the Gulf of Thailand, about 17 nautical miles from Cha-Am, Phetchaburi, or 30 kilometers. The vessel is a 28-ton fishing boat, known as Chokchai Somboon 1. The vessel owner is Ms. Waralee Sunthornthongchai, residing at number 70/10, Jesada Withithi Road, Mahachai, Mueang Samut Sakhon, Samut Sakhon. There were nine crew members, including 2 Thais and 7 Burmese workers. Five of the employees have been rescued, two have died, and two are in search of. The rescue team has set up a rescue department in the Nerunchara Temple area, Cha-am, Phetchaburi. From the inspection carried out by the Phetchaburi Provincial Labour Protection and Welfare Office, it was found that the vessel had departed from the Samut Sakhon area. The vessel is under 30 gross tons, which does not have to pass the Port-in Port-Out (PIPO) Command Center. The vessel had an accident in the Pranburi area of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, which is on the border with Cha-am, Phetchaburi. Currently, the tracking details are pending from the Maritime Enforcement Command Center, or the Thai-MECC, so that the Phetchaburi Office of Labour Protection and Welfare can assist the employees in wages and expenses incurred during the employee’s absence from work.
In addition, the Phetchaburi Provincial Employment Office examined the status of all 7 Myanmar migrant workers. It found that they were migrant workers legally working. The Phetchaburi SSO will coordinate with the Samut Sakhon SSO to verify the insured person’s status, as the employer has registered the employee to the Workmen’s Compensation Fund with the Samut Sakhon SSO. For employees who are lost or deceased, the family will receive a funeral fee of 40,000 Baht and compensation of 70 percent of the wages for ten years. The Samut Sakhon SSO will coordinate to notify the missing and deceased employees’ relatives to aid in compensation benefits following the law.
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Division of Public Relations
21 February 2020
