On December 23, 2022, the Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, chaired the fifth session of the Social Security Academic Conference for 5 Regions 2022 in Chonburi, entitled Modernizing SSO 2022: Driving Towards A Modern Social Security System. He gave a special lecture, “Policy for development and upgrading the workforce’s lives.” The Social Security Office’s Secretary-General, Mr. Boonsong Thapchaiyut, the Ministry of Labour’s executives, the Chonburi Provincial Governor, Mr. Tawatchai Srithong, and heads of government agencies under the Ministry of Labour in Chonburi Province, gave a welcome at the Nong Nooch Convention Center, Chonburi Province.
The Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, said to the press that the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha and Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, gives importance to restoring the economy until it has improved accordingly, together with the government’s measures to promote employment. As a result, the current economic and employment situation has improved. As the Labour Minister, he has given importance to focus on the care of workers in the social security system to ensure everyone has equal protection and social security, ready to raise the living standards of the workforce. During the past two years amid the COVID-19 situation, the Ministry of Labour’s Social Security Office has played an important role in helping employers and insured persons in the social security system by reducing contributions, allowing the payment of contributions via electronic channels, improving unemployment benefits, as well as other benefits and medical services in case of illness with COVID-19. In addition, the Social Security Office has been an important mechanism to the government in helping employers and insured persons through various projects, such as the “Section 33 we love each other” project, remedies for insured persons under Sections 39 and 40 for self-employed artists and entertainers, as well as opening a COVID-19 vaccination point for insured person Section 33, proactive COVID-19 screening proactive in the workplace, including economic operations in conjunction with public health, such as the Factory Sandbox project and the provision of Hospitels by collaborating with hotel operators and social security network hospitals to provide a place to support COVID-19 patients. The COVID-19 situation has now eased, and the government has the policy to reopen the country, causing many Thai and foreign tourists to visit the area. Tourism businesses and services, shops, restaurants, and accommodations in Chonburi, provinces in the east, and economic areas have recovered, resulting in a better economic trend. Today, he had the opportunity to chair the social security conference for the five regions, to communicate agencies’ missions to employers and employees. It aims to enhance knowledge and understanding of the importance of social security to stakeholders, to listen and exchange ideas for effective social security development from all parties involved, leading to the expansion of the sustainable benefits, and to create a good quality of life for insured persons for maximum benefit.
The Social Security Office’s Secretary-General, Mr. Boonsong Thapchaiyut, said that the Social Security Academic Conference for 5 Regions had been organized four times before, which was very beneficial to employers, employees, and insured persons, including the Social Security Office. Today’s event was the fifth session, with close to 500 attendees, comprising the Ministry of Labour’s executives and officials, the Social Security Office’s staff, the Social Security Board, employer representatives, employee representatives, and insured persons in Chonburi and surrounding provinces. On the morning of the event, there was a special lecture on “Policies for the development and improvement of the workforce’s lives” by the Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin. In the afternoon, there was a lecture on the Ministry of Labour’s role in elevating the quality of life of workers towards stability by the Ministry of Labour’s executives, followed by Modernizing SSO 2022, stepping into a modern social security system by the Social Security Office’s executives, and employer and employee representatives. There were academic exhibitions, such as the past COVID-19 assistance operations, along with guidelines for future actions and information about the challenges of the COVID-19 situation, to lead to the development of sustainable benefits to building confidence and trust among insured persons and employers.
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Division of Public Relations
23 December 2022
