On March 24, 2022, at the Government Houses, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin joined the press conference on measures to help people amid the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, Mr. Supattanapong Punmeechaow, presided over the press conference. Mr. Suchart said that following the conflict, Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha has concerns for the people and all workers. Therefore, each agency has to be tasked to formulate measures to help the people as soon as possible. Under the supervision of Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, measures have been set to help reduce the impact on the people amid the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and reduce the people’s expenses by reducing contributions for both employers and employers insured persons for three months. 11.2 million insured persons under Section 33 will reduce their contributions from 5 percent to 1 percent. For example, if calculated on a base salary of 15,000 Baht, from the original contribution of 750 Baht, it would be reduced to 150 Baht. This will reduce the burden of living expenses by about 600 Baht per person per month. 1.9 million insured persons under Section 39 will reduce their contributions from 9 percent to 1.9 percent, which means that from the original contributions of 432 Baht, it will be reduced to 91 Baht, reducing living expenses by about 341 Baht per person per month. 10.6 million insured persons under Section 40 will be able to reduce their contributions by 40 percent. That is, for Option 1, reducing contributions from 70 Baht to 42 Baht. For Option 2, the contributions will reduce from 100 Baht to 60 Baht, and Option 3, contributions will reduce from 300 Baht to 180 Baht. Overall, it would reduce living expenses by around 84-360 Baht per person per month. In addition, 500,000 employers will reduce their contributions from 5 percent to 1 percent, which reduces production costs. For example, if the employer pays wages on a base salary of 15,000 Baht per employee, and if the employer has 1,000 employees, it can reduce costs by about 600,000 Baht monthly. For the three months, this would save 1,800,000 Baht. Such measures will benefit about 24.2 million people, valued at 34,540 million Baht, resulting in 103,620 million Baht in working capital.
Mr. Suchart also spoke about the progress on the minimum wages. He said that the Ministry of Labour had been hastened to follow up on this matter. The minimum wage rate of Thailand is still higher when compared to other major investment competitors in Southeast Asia. When increasing the minimum wage each time, there is a Wage Committee, a tripartite committee consisting of 3 parties: employers, employees, and the government. This follows the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2551, following the cost-of-living index, inflation standard of living, Gross Domestic Product, and economic and social conditions, In line with international standards. The approach is also following the ILO principles. From April to June 2022, the Office of the Wages Committee and the Provincial Labour Offices will conduct surveys and access necessary expenses. The data will support the review of the minimum wage rate by the Provincial and Bangkok Minimum Wage Subcommittees. Then, in July 2022, the Provincial and Bangkok Minimum Wage Subcommittees will hold a meeting to consider the minimum wage rate in the provinces and submit the meeting results to the Wage Committee before allowing the Wage Committee to consider the rate of wages. The meeting to consider wage rates will take place from August to September 2022. In the event that the minimum wage rate is adjusted, the Ministry of Labour will sign and propose to the Cabinet for consideration before publishing it in the Government Gazette.
The Labour Minister also spoke about the different measures to support the people during the COVID-19 situation for both employers and employees. For example, in the “Section 33, We Love Each Other” project, the program remedy affected employers and insured persons in the 29 provinces and reduced contributions on five occasions. Additionally, the government launched initiatives to promote and maintain employment levels in SMEs, causing the employment market to turn positive in 2021. Employment increased by 170,000 positions. The government also launched measures in health economics, namely the Factory Sandbox project, so that the businesses could continue to operate under public health measures. In 2021, the value of the export sector was the highest in 11 years or about 8.7 trillion Baht. With concern from the Prime Minister, the government approved the allocation of vaccines for the Section 33 insured persons vaccination program, focusing particularly on the workforce. The Ministry of Labour was instructed to take care of sick workers with COVID-19. This led to the establishment of Hospitels to support the treatment of workers.
“The Ministry of Labour has set up short-term and medium-term measures to help the workforce and the people, to reduce the impact of the Ukraine-Russia. This is a concern from the government and the Ministry of Labour, ensuring everyone can go through the crisis together. We will overcome the situation together,” concluded Mr. Suchart.
Division of Public Relations
24 March 2022
