On September 14, 2021, at 11.00 hours, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin assigned Assistant to the Labour Minister, Mr. Surachai Chaitrakulthong, to welcome Mr. Taketani Atsushi, President of Japan External Trade Organization, Bangkok (JETRO Bangkok), and representatives from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok. The visit was on the occasion of a courtesy call to the Labour Minister to report the business confidence survey results among Japanese companies in Thailand during the first half of 2021. Advisors to the Labour Minister Air Chief Marshal Fuengsak Ruangkol and Dr. Thongyu Kongkhan and the Ministry of Labour’s executives joined the welcoming at the Chatumongkol Room, 6th floor, Ministry of Labour.
Mr. Surachai said that today’s discussions with JETRO Bangkok related to the Ministry of Labour’s missions, including problems in corporate management of Japanese companies in Thailand, such as intense competition with other companies, rising raw material prices, and personnel costs, and a shortage of engineers. As for the requests made to the Thai government, it was found that most companies placed importance on actions following the impact of COVID-19, the promotion of economic stimulus measures, and issues related to labour, including improving the ease of obtaining work permits and visas.
There was also a forecast of the COVID-19 impact on future business activities. Most companies will continue to operate or expand and encourage employees to get vaccinated. However, there are still concerns about responsibility if the company requires employees to be vaccinated or encourages employees to vaccinate and side effects occur. JETRO Bangkok has asked the Thai government to provide information on vaccines quickly so that companies can stay up to date with events such as efficacy, safety, side effects, health risks, vaccination plans, and progress in vaccination.
“Thank you to the chairman of JETRO Bangkok and the team for discussing and sharing information today. This will be useful for carrying out missions related to the Ministry of Labour and will lead to further building business confidence of Japanese businesses in Thailand,” concluded Mr. Surachai.
———————————-
Division of Public Relations
14 September 2021
