On November 24, 2022, at 13.00 hours, the Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, assigned Assistant to the Labour Minister, Mr. Surachai Chaitrakulthong, to deliver a special speech on “Thai Workers in Condominium-Related Businesses” at the opening ceremony of the seminar on “Dissecting the Condominium Business Strategy for 2023”. The event was organized to drive the country’s real estate business for continuous and sustainable growth. The occasion occurred at the Arnoma Grand Hotel, Ratchadamri Road, Bangkok.
Mr. Surachai said that the “Dissecting the Condominium Business Strategy for 2023” seminar was important not only in the real estate business for condominiums but also important to the country’s overall economic system. This is especially for real estate operators of all sizes, gaining insights on the real estate market conditions and future trends. Participants today will receive knowledge and guidance for adjusting their business’s strategic plans to be more effective in aligning with target groups. It also helps to stimulate employment in real estate and related sectors after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Surachai continued that during the COVID-19 situation, the Ministry of Labour had policies and measures to support the workforce and businesses in many areas. In 2021, it launched stationary and proactive COVID testing stations in factories to create immunity among the workforce so that the private sector could continue to operate; 409,972 people tested for COVID-19. At that time, workers were not vaccinated. Therefore, it has requested immunization support for over 11 million workers, whereby 3,962,206 doses have been used to vaccinate the workforce. Factories shut down due to COVID-19 outbreaks inside the factory. The Ministry of Labour organized the Factory Sandbox project, based on economic and public health principles, aimed at key export manufacturing sectors such as the automotive, food, electronic parts, and medical equipment industries in 12 provinces. A total of 730 factories, with 407,770 workers, participated in RT-PCR testing, which detected 11,298 infected people, all of whom have entered the treatment process and received vaccinations. The project’s achievements kept factories from shutting down, and the manufacturing sector hit its highest export volume in 30 years. There were efforts to support SMEs to maintain employment. The government subsidized 235,933 businesses, promoting new employment of 66,201 employers, employing over 3.2 million employees. It offered a subsidy of over 27 million Baht to support insured persons. The Ministry of Labour reduced contributions under Sections 33, 39, and 40, amounting to 146,448 million Baht. It increased unemployment benefits to 73,899.09 million Baht, including cases of force majeure from 2.58 million, to 19,930.93 million Baht. It supported 81,136 workers’ camps, amounting to 412.65 million Baht. For employment terminations, resignations, or contracts ending, it supported 2.55 million people with a total of 53,555.51 million Baht. There was compensation for employers and insured persons under Section 39, totaling 1.37 million people, and Section 40, with 7.21 million people, amounting to 71,214.63 million Baht. There was also compensation for insured persons in the entertainment business and self-employed people, who received compensation of 5,000 Baht per person, amounting to 147,720 people, for a total of 738.60 million Baht. There was the registration of foreign workers according to the Cabinet’s resolutions, a total of 4 times, with a total of 2,414,933 people. It also adjusted the minimum wage to the current situation where consumer goods prices are high, allowing workers to live properly, which was announced on October 1, 2022.
In the 2023 fiscal year, the Ministry of Labour’s Department of Skills Development has training plans to upskill and reskill workers in the construction profession and create an online store for selling products online. This will benefit businesses in the real estate sector. Employees can be sent to train and develop various skills. In addition, operators can also recruit skilled employees in the construction profession and online sales professionals who have passed training and received a certificate from the Ministry of Labour to work with their organizations.
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Division of Public Relations
