Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin assigned his Secretariat Mr. Suthep Chitvong, to chair the meeting of the steering committee of the employment promotion program for new graduates by the public and private sectors (Co-Payment). The meeting clarified improvements on participants’ qualifications for joining the project for the new graduates and employers/establishments to ensure equal benefits and fill up positions as soon as possible.
On January 13, 2021, at 13.30 hours, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin assigned his Secretariat Mr. Suthep Chitvong, to chair the meeting of the steering committee of the employment promotion program for new graduates by the public and private sectors (Co-Payment) no 2/2021, at the Tien Achakul meeting room, 10th floor, Department of Skill Development. Advisor to the Labour Minister Mrs. Thiwalrat Angkinan, the Labour Minister’s advisory committee along with the Ministry of Labour’s executives, joined the meeting to monitor the progress on recruitment for the public and private sectors (SJC / employment in Thailand / abroad) and results of the implementation of the employment promotion program for new graduates by the public and private sectors (Co-Payment).
Mr. Suthep 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 focuses on the problem of unemployment among fresh graduates entering the workforce, especially amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The Cabinet has approved the amendment of qualifications and conditions for joining the employment promotion program for new graduates by the public and private sectors (Co-payment) to allow fresh graduates to find work, and for employers/establishments to generate liquidity in business operations, ensuring all parties receive the best and equal benefits, filling vacant positions as soon as possible. The updates are as follows:
1. New graduate qualifications: Thai nationality and not over 25 years old. If the graduate exceeds 25 years of age, they must have graduated from 2019 onwards. The new graduates must have never worked or been in the social security system. If such conditions are met, they can join the project.
2.Conditions for employers to pay wages: To follow the employment agreement between the employer and the employee, but not be lower than the province’s minimum wage rate according to the Wage Committee’s announcement. According to the actual wages, the government will subsidize wages of up to 50 percent per person per month. The government will pay a subsidy according to the educational background, including bachelor’s degree graduates not exceeding 7,500 Baht, a diploma graduate, not exceeding 5,750 Baht, a vocational certificate graduate, not exceeding 4,700 Baht, and high school graduates not exceeding 4,345 Baht.
3. Adjust the conditions for paying subsidies to employees by paying state subsidies three times a month to be consistent with the wage payment cycle of the employer/establishment as follows:
1. The employer pays wages by the end of the month. The government pays the subsidy by the 5th of the following month.
2. The employer pays wages after the end of the month (by the 1-5 day of the following month). The government pays the subsidy by the 10th of the following month.
3. The employer pays wages according to item 1) and item 2), but if the documentation information is incomplete in the system, the state pays the subsidy by the 15th of the following month.
After the 15th day, if the government has not paid the full subsidy, the additional payment can be made until the number of eligible employees has been reached. The adjustment of the subsidy payment to be effective retrospectively from the date of the project commencement.
4. Adjust the duration of the project: To extend the period of participation in the project from October 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021, whereby the government subsidizes wages to employees no exceeding 12 months per person throughout the employment period of 1 year (from October 1, 2020 – November 30, 2021). In the case of employment after January 1, 2021, subsidies will be applied for the period of employment, but no later than November 30, 2021.
For new graduates and employers who have already joined the program and have an employment contract until September 30, 2021, if the wage subsidies under the project are not yet 12 months, you can report the need to extend the employment period until the end of the project for a maximum of 12 months each.
Mr. Suthep reported the progress of Job Expo Thailand 2020 after the event was held at the end of September last year. As of the first quarter of 2021, the Ministry of Labour has support employment for over 643,103 people, equivalent to 64.31 percent of the target of 1 million jobs. The placements are separated into 1) Private employment (through www.thaimeengarntum.com/Job Expo) totaling 97,177 people. 2) Private employment through the Co-Payment project at the Grade 6 level totaling 897 people, 508 people at the vocational certificate level, 544 people at the diploma level and 5,522 at the bachelor’s degree level. 3) Overseas employment totaling 45,340 people and 4) Employment in the public sector/state enterprises totaling 493,015 people. The employment has generated income and contributed 27,812,889,590 Baht (twenty-seven billion, eight hundred twelve million, eight hundred eighty-nine thousand, five hundred and ninety Baht) to the economy. It has also been able to assist employers/business establishments to operate businesses continuously. The government has subsidized wages in the amount of 155,151,045 Baht (one hundred fifty-five million, one hundred and fifty thousand one thousand forty-five Baht). Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin has followed the progress of job placements from the Job Expo Thailand 2020 continuously and has proposed to the Cabinet to unlock the qualifications participants in the Co-Payment program for graduating students, ensuring employers/business establishments receive equal benefits and that vacancies get filled up as fast as possible
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Division of Public Relations
13 January 2020
