On March 8, 2022, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin assigned Assistant Minister from the Prime Minister’s Office performing duties for the Ministry of Labour Police Major General Nantachat Supamongkol to visit the area to help Thai workers in sea fishing boats at Ratsada Pier in Phuket. Police Major General Nantachat said that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister and Minister of Defense General Prayuth Chan-ocha, and the Ministry of Labour under the supervision of Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, prioritize improvements on the prevention and solution of trafficking in persons to Tier 2 to comply with international standards and the International Labour Organization while advancing policies on the prevention and elimination of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. This investigation is a collaboration between the Ministry of Labour, the Marine Police, and NGOs, including Stella Maris, the IJM Foundation, and the SR Law Office. The occasion allowed relevant units to have the same understanding and bring together challenges or obstacles from the inspections to be revised to make the implementation of labour protection in the fisheries sector more effective.
Police Major General Nantachat said that Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin assigned him and his committee to visit Phuket to help 18 Thai crew members on the Chumi vessel. They had asked for help from the Ministry of Labour. Initially, it was found that they traveled from Indonesia, about 39 nautical miles from Cape Promthep, or about 70 kilometers. From speaking with the crew, they said they had boarded the boat to work with their employer in February 2021, and their contract expired in November 2021. Three months later, the employer refused to return it to shore, claiming that the port did not allow them to dock because of the Covid-19 situation. As a result, workers are forced to continue working illegally, and they are not protected as employees. If there were to be a problem of illness or death, they would have considered it a free death because there is no contract for protection. Most importantly, everyone on the ship, all 18 lives, were never vaccinated against COVID-19. Sixteen people had expired employment contracts, and five wished to return to their domicile. After this, the Ministry of Labour’s Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and the police will work with the crew members wishing to return to shore to inspect documents. There will be an extension of the prosecution in each relevant article of the law, and there will be multidisciplinary participants to join the investigation.
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Division of Public Relations
9 March 2022
