Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin showed concern for employees of Kumphawapi Sugar in Kumphawapi District, Udon Thani Province. The company produces and distributes sugar. Employees were terminated due to the loss of business for many years. He instructed agencies under the Ministry of Labour to investigate, prepare to support following the mission, provide legal advice on unemployment benefits, job vacancies, and professional skills training to ensure the employees receive their entitled benefits urgently.
On June 9, 2021, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin reported the progress on helping employees of Kumphawapi Sugar in Udon Thani in announcing the business closure due to lack of financial liquidity. He said that Prime Minister and Minister of Defense General Prayuth Chano-cha and the Ministry of Labour, under the supervision of Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, are concerned for employees affected by such cases. Therefore, the Labour Minister instructed agencies under the Ministry of Labour to work proactively, follow up on the cause of the announcement of business cessation and dismissal of employees, and urgently provide assistance and remedies for entitled benefits.
The Department of Labour Protection and Welfare’s Director-General, Mr. Apinya Sucharitanan, received an inspection report from the Udon Thani Provincial Labour Protection and Welfare Office. Kumphawapi Sugar is located at 73 Moo 11, Phon Thong Road, Kumphawapi Subdistrict, Kumphawapi District, Udon Thani Province. The company is in the business of producing and distributing sugar, with 280 employees. It has consulted the Udon Thani Provincial Labour Protection and Welfare Office about the company’s closure on June 7. Later on June 8, Udon Thani Labour Protection and Welfare Officer Mr. Chaiwat Sornmanee and officers who examined the facts found that the company held a meeting to clarify the termination of the employment and the business closure for all employees under the MIRAI project, which is to separate on good terms for a bright future. The company provided the clarification in 6 areas, following the measures to prevent Covid-19. The reason for business closure was due to the loss of the business for many years. Therefore, it was necessary to close the business and notify the end of the employment contract on July 3, with the following conditions: 1) For employees who voluntarily resign between June 8 to 12, 2021, the employer will pay compensation according to the law, with a special allowance and conditional resignation allowance within June 24 to 30, 2021. 2) For employees who do not voluntarily resign, employers will terminate their employment with statutory compensation. They will not receive special assistance from the company. The compensation will be paid to the employees on July 3, 2021.
Mr. Apinya said that the Labour Protection and Welfare Office has coordinated with the departments under the Ministry of Labour to visit the area to help according to the mission, provide legal counseling on benefits such as unemployment insurance, finding jobs vacancies, professional skills training, and applying for unemployment benefits from the Social Security Fund for example.
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Division of Public Relations
9 May 2021
