On November 6, 2022, the Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, joined in honour and gave a keynote speech at the 44/2022 Annual General Meeting of the DENSO Labour Union of Thailand. The President of the DENSO Thailand Labour Union, Mr. Kittisak Athisakulsub, and the Ministry of Labour’s senior executives, heads of government agencies under the Ministry of Labour in Chonburi Province, and labour leaders have a welcome. The occasion took place at the Community Hall of Ban Suan Municipality, Mueang Chonburi District, Chonburi Province.
Mr. Suchart said that the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha, gives importance to improving workers’ quality of life, as they play an important role in driving and developing the country. During the COVID-19 situation, everyone was a part of moving and joining forces to move forward and overcome the situation. The government’s Ministry of Labour took various measures to support employers and employees in many areas. For example, in 2021, it launched proactive COVID-19 testing in factories to create employee immunity so that the private sector could continue operating. The efforts tested 409,972 people. There were unvaccinated workers; therefore, there was vaccination support for over 11 million workers, whereby 3,962,206 vaccine doses were provided. Factories had to shut down due to COVID-19 outbreaks in the factory. Therefore, the Ministry of Labour organized the Factory Sandbox project based on economic and public health principles. It was aimed at key manufacturing and export sectors, including the automotive, food, electronic components, and medical equipment industries, in 12 provinces, covering 730 factories and 407,770 workers. There was also RT-PCR testing, which detected 11,298 infected people, all of whom entered the treatment process and were vaccinated. The project’s achievements kept factories from shutting down, and the manufacturing sector saw the highest exports in 30 years. It provided Hospitels from the social security network, supporting 61,046 patients. Efforts also included reductions in contributions to employers and insured persons on over six occasions, resulting in 146,448 million Baht in revolving cash in the economy. There was also a program to support employers and insured persons under Section 33 in 29 provinces, reaching 192,951 employers and 3.75 million insured persons under Section 33. Remedial programs for insured persons under Section 39 amounted to 1.37 million people, and Section 40 reached 40, 7.21 million, totaling 71,214.63 million Baht. There was a project to heal insured persons in entertainment businesses under Sections 33, 39, and 40, totaling 147,720 cases and 738.60 million Baht. Assistance was provided to SMEs to maintain employment, with subsidies to 235,933 establishments, promoting 66,201 new jobs and employment of over 3.2 million people, with over 27 million Baht in subsidies. There was also a minimum wage adjustment in line with the current situation where the prices of consumer goods are rising. The initiative aims to allow workers to live properly. The changes were announced on October 1, 2022. Furthermore, there was a focus on managing foreign workers to help labour shortages, allowing over 174,179 people to work.
Mr. Suchart also spoke about the Ministry of Labour’s future missions, saying that he has laid the foundation for a stable future for the workforce. He has accelerated the push for amendments to the Social Security Law with three requests: for selection, request for a refund, and request for a loan, which is currently in the process of legal review by the Office of the Council of State and is under consideration in the second agenda. There are pushes for a bill to promote the development of quality of life and protection of informal workers, B.E.. which is under consideration by the Council of State (9th committee), which will provide a fund for informal workers to use as a source of loan for working capital, establish a bank for insured persons, offer medical institutions, and affordable housing for insured persons. The effort aims to create a good and stable quality of life for insured persons.
“I would like to thank DENSO Thailand Co., Ltd. for supporting participants in the 46th World Skills Competition, including a budget, location, personnel, trainers, and various technologies in training the contestants. As a result, Thailand won a silver medal in the CNC (lathe machine) field and an excellent craftsman medal in the CNC (milling machine) field. This has built a good reputation for Thailand. I also thank the DENSO Thailand Workers’ Union, which has gathered to establish and jointly manage the organization for over 44 years. This demonstrates the strength and unity of the members and supports a good relationship with employers, including the coordination of benefits to be recognized as an important business partner based on good labour relations. I hope everyone works together to move the country forward,” concluded Mr. Suchart.
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Division of Public Relations
6 November 2022
