The Ministry of Labour’s Spokesperson Mr. Prateep Songlamyong spoke about the post on social media about the “construction camp lockdown causes woman’s outcry on father quarantined at the workers’ camp with no visits from guards and only 50 food boxes for 400 people at the site” (source: Amarin T.V. https://www.amarintv.com/news/detail/86501). In this regard, the Ministry of Labour would like to clarify in the relevant part that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense General Prayuth Chan-ocha had a meeting with the Public Health Advisory Group from the Center of the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on June 25. The meeting resolved to close construction worker camps to restrict the travel and movement of workers in the dark red provinces such as Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Samut Sakhon, Samut Prakan, Nakhon Pathom, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat for one month. The measure aims to control the spread of COVID-19 in worker camp clusters. Furthermore, the Ministry of Labour was assigned to take care of the expenses and compensate employees for business operators.
Mr. Prateep said that the Ministry of Labour’s support measures to remedy workers in camp include: 1) Compensation for insured persons. They will receive 50 percent of wages, in which insured persons must have paid social security contributions for at least six months in 15 months. If workers are not insured persons, the employer will be asked to pay. 2) Request for cooperation from employers and companies to provide three meals for all workers. In addition, the Ministry of Labour will support consumer products. 3) Provide proactive COVID-19 screening in workers’ camps. 4) Provide COVID-19 vaccinations and 5) Evaluate the situation every 15 days.
“The Ministry of Labour has tried to provide food assistance by asking for donations of consumer goods from large operators such as Thai Union Group, Charoen Pokphand Foods or CPF, and subsidiaries of Sang Thong-Akara, helping workers following measures to close worker camps. Initially, 90,000 cans of canned fish and 250,000 eggs were donated and brought to the Thai Contractors Association Under H.M. The King’s Patronage to be passed on to workers at various campsites,” concluded the Ministry of Labour’s Inspector-General.
