The Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, joined to give a speech on the “Better Life for Riders: Raising The Quality of Life for Informal Workers” at the GrabNEXT event on “Raising the Level of Thailand for a Better Life.” Mr. Worachat Lakkanarot, Executive Director of Grab Thailand, welcomed and explained the event’s objectives. He spoke about Grab Thailand’s role in promoting and improving the quality of life for people in society under the new normal, digital equality, and environmental sustainability. The event took place at The Athenee Hotel Bangkok, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Wireless Road, Pathumwan District, Bangkok.
Mr. Suchart said that during the COVID-19 situation, the platforms that reached consumers during this period were food delivery businesses. This is because some workers preferred not to go out during the COVID-19 situation, and in some periods, there were lockdown measures to comply with government public health measures. As a result, more people became interested in being delivery drivers. Some of them do it as their main occupation, while some do it as an additional occupation as another source of income. The Ministry of Labour has not been complacent. The government, under the leadership of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense General Prayuth Chan-ocha, and the Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, who oversees the Ministry of Labour, is focused on improving the quality of life for both formal and informal workers. There are over 19.6 million people in the informal working sector, with various forms of professions, such as goods and services delivery workers, hawkers, and taxi drivers. The informal sector has a large population and access to various benefits, but not as much as it should. The Ministry of Labour has pushed the Draft Act Promoting the Quality of Life and Protection of Informal Workers, B.E. …. to enable informal workers to access basic occupational rights. It aims to provide safety at work, social security, and the right to group to form an organization to be promoted, protected and developed towards a good quality of life.
Mr. Suchart also spoke about the importance of this Act and that it will provide workers with fair agreements, such as not stipulating conditions that cause them to rush to work with risks or having to work too hard to the point of losing their health. It focuses on fair rewards and the payment of compensation according to the rate and period specified. It also covers a welfare fund establishment for informal workers, providing reasonable access to financing, the right to appeal, investigations, suspensions, and the right to collective bargaining for platform workers by registering and notifying the regulations of the responsible agencies. Workers in the informal sector can have access to protection and social security rights to take care of them in the event of danger or illness, disability, death, old age, and child support, depending on the scheme that the worker chooses under Section 40. Currently, there are over 10.79 million informal workers under Section 40. There are three schemes to choose from under Section 40. For the first scheme, workers can pay 70 Baht/month to receive compensation in three cases. In the case of injury or illness, for lack of income, in case of becoming an inpatient, they will receive 300 Baht per day. In the case of a disability, they will receive compensation for lack of income at 500 to 1,000 Baht, and in case of death, they will receive funeral expenses of 25,000 Baht. The second scheme costs 100 Baht/month to receive compensation in four cases. They would receive the same as the first scheme, with an addition of an old-age pension. The third scheme costs 300 Baht/month to receive compensation in five cases. They would receive the same as the second scheme, with the addition of child support from birth to 6 years of age, at a rate of 200 Baht per child, and no more than two children at a time.
“Thank you, Grab Thailand, and other platforms that help the nation and its people. These workers must be protected and have social security like other workers. Today’s event will be part of Grab Thailand’s social responsibility toward the workforce. It creates opportunities for access to job creation and careers for many people in Thailand’s labour market. It also plays an important role in supporting the country’s digital economy and labour development policies,” said Mr. Suchart.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Division of Public Relations
6 July 2022
