Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin reported that the Ministry of Labour would give five New Years’ gifts for 2021 to the workforce, under the “love from the heart; happiness to Thai worker” theme. The gifts consist of reducing contributions for employers and insured persons, increasing childcare and childbirth allowances, reducing interest loans for homeworkers, free occupational safety training for 10,000 people, and free online training.
On December 23, 2020, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin reported that the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister and Defense Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha, and the Ministry of Labour under the supervision of Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, has a strong determination to give gifts to all workers for a better quality of life, as the workforce is a major cog in driving the country’s economy. For 2021, the Ministry of Labour has prepared five New Year’s gifts under the concept of “love from the heart; happiness to Thai workers” to the Thai workers.
The first gift is reducing contributions by reducing the rate of contributions for employers and insured persons from 5% to 3% of wages for three months. The effort will help 486,192 employers and 12.7 million insured persons, which will help alleviate the cost from employers and insured persons in reduced contribution payments totaling over 15,660 million Baht.
The second gift is an increase in the childcare allowance by increasing the benefits for childbirth, antenatal care, and childcare allowance from 600 to 800 Baht per month per child (not exceeding three children). This will benefit up to 1.362 million people with a budget of 13,739 million Baht per year. In childbirth and antenatal care, childbirth allowance was originally 13,000 Baht, increased to 15,000 Baht, and antenatal care from 3 times at 1,000 Baht, to 5 times at 1,500 Baht.
The third gift is reduced loan interests, reducing the borrowing rate to 0% per annum to homework workers. The first to twelfth installment is 0% per annum, and the thirteenth installment onwards is 3% per annum under a 7,000,000 Baht loan framework. The loan is a maximum of 50,000 Baht for each person, not exceeding 300,000 Baht per group. Those interested can submit for a loan from October 1, 2020, to August 31, 2021. Those interested can submit a loan at the Bangkok Employment Office Area 1-10 and Provincial Employment Offices in all provinces.
The fourth gift is free safety training for 10,000 people, recruiting interested candidates to receive training in occupational safety, health, and the environment to promote safety management in the workplace effectively. The training can contribute to the decreased work-related illness or eliminate them. Over 180 safety training units participated in the campaign, with 10,000 beneficiaries. The training is free of charge, ongoing from January to February 2021.
The fifth gift is free online trainings, providing skill development through online channels (Zoom Meeting application). Interested people can apply for training on the website http://www.dsd.go.th/DSD/Intro/ List Training Report. Results of training and certificates can be printed via the online system for free during January 2021.
Mr. Suchart continued that the Ministry of Labour remains committed to driving various labour missions by promoting employment and skills development following the labour market’s needs. It also aims to drive labour protection among all groups, in all dimensions, to ensure the security of life for the workers. This is an important force in promoting competitiveness and developing the national economic system to a better quality of life. More importantly, the Ministry of Labour wishes for all workers to be in good health, to aim for something that satisfies their desires in all respects. The public can inquire for more information at agencies under the Ministry of Labour in the central and regional areas nationwide or call the Ministry of Labour’s 1506 hotline.
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Division of Public Relations
23 December 2020
