Labour Minister H.E. Police General Adul Sangsingkeo revealed investigation results of fraud cases of money for the disabled under Sections 33 and 35, which found that some businesses did not fully comply with the law, totaling 7 of 9 accounts. The businesses did not fully comply with submitted contracts applying for benefits, however no corruption of officials was found. The Ministry of Labour sent the issue to the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security which has the authority of duty within the Persons with Disabilities Empowerment Act and has emphasized for any abnormalities to be reported immediately, to protect the rights of the disabled.
Labour Minister H.E. Police General Adul Sangsingkeo spoke about the progress of the investigation committee, where the President of the Disability Rights Network filed letters to several state agencies for the investigation of violations and unfair treatment of persons with disabilities under Sections 33 and 35 of the Persons with Disabilities Empowerment Act B.E. 2550 and amendments (issue 2) B.E. 2556. Today marked 15 days of the investigation since the petitioner requested the investigation of 9 accounts. From a general audit, information from the petitioner and 150 disabled persons and investigation at the location of business, it was found that some information matched complaints, as the business did not fully comply with submitted contracts applying for benefits under 7 accounts, however there were no signs of corruption among officials. There were 2 accounts under Section 33 concerning employment not for the full duration of contract terms and 5 accounts under Section 35 concerning incomplete performance of contract such as training not completed on time or less disable persons attending training than informed. The Ministry of Labour’s Department of Employment sent a letter and relevant evidential documents to the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security’s Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEP), which has the authority of duty within the Persons with Disabilities Empowerment Act B.E. 2550, for further process. At present, the issue is under investigation.
There are 1.9 million disabled persons in Thailand, 64,570 are employed by organizations under Section 33 whereby 36,315 disabled persons are directly employed by the organizations. The Ministry of Labour assists the registration of disabled persons intending to work, and coordinates with employers for recruitment (in 2018 1,565 workers were placed). Under Section 34, around 1,200 businesses contribute to the fund as compensation for employment of 14,623 disabled workers, equating to approximately 1,500 million Baht/year (2017); this is equal to 109,500 Baht/person/year. Section 35 is where businesses provide the benefit for disabled persons to participate in professional promotion programs for 7 occupations; a total of 12,499 people with disabilities are entitled to the benefit. The Ministry of Labour collaborates in approving projects that organizations offer to the disabled, which are: 1) The Department of Skill Development approves the appropriateness of the training curriculum 2) The Department of Employment validates the disabled person 3) The Department of Employment checks that the disabled person acknowledges their rights and value received from professional training 4) The Department of Employment validates that the training or program that the disabled person will join, matches the details provided by the organization.
The Labour Minister said that the Ministry of Labour thanked the President of the Disability Rights Network and disabled persons who provided information on this occasion, for the benefit of the disabled population. He asked that foundations, associations and groups caring for the disabled community work together to protect the rights and benefits of the disabled and emphasized that any information relevant to misconduct or wrongdoing should be immediately reported to officers so that investigations can be conducted to protect the disabled, prosecute those in wrongdoing and eliminate corruption.
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Division of Public Relations
News by Department of Employment
Photos by Somphop Silbut
5 October 2018
