The Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, Assistant to the Labour Minister, Mr. Surachai Chaitrakulthong, the Ministry of Labour’s Spokesperson (on Politics), Mrs. Thienrat Navamawat, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of Labour, Mr. Wannarat Srisuksai, the Department of Employment’s Director-General, Mr. Pairoj Chotiksetian, and committee, paid a visit to Thai wild fruit pickers and offered dry foods to encourage the Thai workers working in Finland’s wild fruit picking. The visit took place in Tervola, Finland. For the Thai wild fruit pickers, it is the off-season for farming and harvesting agricultural products in Thailand. These workers earn an average of around one hundred thousand Baht. The visit was a combined effort from 3 agencies, namely the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Public Health, and the Royal Thai Embassy in Helsinki, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the name of “Team Thailand.” The Labour Minister led the team, including personnel in each department, to educate Thai workers about health care. Wild fruit pickers sometimes contract diseases from mosquitoes, ticks, and insect bites in the wild. Therefore, the workers need to take care of their health and have health insurance, welfare, and various benefits, to receive legal protection and a better quality of life.
Mr. Suchart said that the Deputy Prime Minister and Acting Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan are concerned for all Thai workers working abroad. Each person is a pillar for their family, intending to earn an income to support their family in Thailand. Each year, workers abroad generate a large income to develop the country. Today, the Labour Minister and his team were assigned to visit Thai workers working as wild fruit pickers in Finland. They met to discuss and ask questions about their wellbeing, as the Thai workers have had to leave home to work abroad. Therefore, they must be taken care of to ensure access to health insurance so that they will be properly taken care of if they are ill.
Mr. Suchart continued that the Ministry of Labour thanked the Thai Ambassador to Helsinki, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Public Health for their cooperation in paying a visit to the Thai fruit pickers to spread awareness about looking after themselves in their working environment. In 2021 and 2022, the Ministry of Labour dispatched 7,902 Thai workers to work in Finland, most of them being in the agricultural group as wild fruit pickers, farm workers, and gardeners, followed by Thai cooks and chefs. Each year, these workers generate an income of at least 700 million Baht for the country.
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Division of Public Relations
8 September 2022
