The Labour Minister visited Chonburi to lead a multidisciplinary team to inspect employees in the marine fishing industry and meet with employees, employers, and related sectors to drive policies to prevent and solve human trafficking.
On November 6, 2020, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin, together with Assistant to the Labour Minister Mr. Surachai Chaitrakulthong, Permanent Secretary of Labour Mr. Suthi Sukosol, and the Ministry of Labour’s executives also joined the event. Mr. Thawatchai Srithong, Deputy Governor of Chonburi Province, welcomed the visiting committee. President of the Samae San Fisheries Association in Chonburi submitted a complaint letter. On this occasion, the Labour Minister observed the Port in and Port out Control Center (PIPO) in Chonburi, located in Bang Saray, Sattahip, Chonburi. He said that 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, focuses on driving policies to prevent and resolve the problem of human trafficking. Today, the Labour Minister traveled to meet with employees, employers, and the relevant sectors to drive the policies. He listened to a briefing from Mr. Patawee Sukakasi, representative of the PIPO Center, about its operations. He listened to obstacles in marine fisheries in the area from Mr. Boonyang Nakrong, chairman of the Bang Saray Fishery Farmers Group. He also inspected the boat in front of the port, together with the team, met and spoke with sea fishers, and gave souvenirs to about 50 workers.
The PIPO Center has four sets of multidisciplinary teams. From 2018 to now, they have issued orders and prosecuted for a total of 35 fines. They have not found any issues with forced labour or human trafficking. There are 4,327 fishing workers in Chonburi province, with 595 fishing vessels under the centers’ control. The problems found are the entry and exit of the fishing vessels without a fixed time limit and are out of most office hours. The multidisciplinary teams are from many departments, but each department’s mission, duties, and laws are unknown.
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Division of Public Relations
6 November 2020
