On October 23, 2022, the Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, presided over a keynote address on “The Ministry of Labour’s important role and policy in creating stability and sustainability for the workforce.” The address took place in the seminar for Executive Directors and Members of the Automobile Labour Congress of Thailand. Chairman of the Automobile Labour Congress of Thailand, Mr. Manit Promkarikul, gave a welcome. The Ministry of Labour’s senior executives also participated in the event at the Nong Nooch Trading Conference Room 1, Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden, Pattaya, Chonburi.
Mr. Suchart said that the COVID-19 situation affected the business sector and society, creating an inevitable movement in the labour sector until today. The country declared COVID-19 at the surveillance level, in which operations were underway to take care of the labour sector during that period. The support provided was considered to be at a very good level. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense General Prayuth Chan-ocha and Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan recognize the importance of business and labour sectors. Human resource is important in driving the country’s economic and social development. Therefore, the Ministry of Labour provided support through various measures until it could lead the country to overcome the many crises it faced, improving the situation. For example, workers could continue to work, and businesses did not need to shut down. The country had products for export which could help support and drive the country’s economy forward. At the same time, the labour situation improved. The number of unemployed people in August 2022 decreased considerably compared to the previous year. The most important factor that made the operations successful was that the workers were treated like family members. In addition, the tripartite of the Ministry of Labour, including the government sector, employer representatives, and employee representatives, supported the Ministry of Labour’s operations to success.
Mr. Suchart also spoke about the Ministry of Labour’s accomplishments in the past two years. He gave examples of important measures to help employers, employees, and insured persons affected by COVID-19. The Factory Sandbox project supported the continued production of goods and maintained the country’s exports, while some countries could not. This resulted in the highest growth in exports in eleven years. They offered support by reducing employer and insured person contributions increasing unemployment benefits, and launching the employment promotion loan scheme, the remedial program under Loan Act to heal and rehabilitate the economy and society affected by COVID-19. They also promoted employment by encouraging Thai workers to work abroad, implemented foreign labor management, supported businesses that borrowed money from the Skill Development Fund during the COVID-19 situation, assisted in the upgrading of skilled craftsmen to have a career, used Section 75 to maintain employment, launched the Good Labour Project following the sufficiency economy philosophy, paid employee benefits, accelerated the draft for the Act on promoting the quality of life and protection of informal workers, and announced a nationwide minimum wage increase following the Cabinet’s resolution on September 19, 2022, effective on October 1, 2022.
The Labour Minister spoke about the Ministry of Labour’s projects for the future. He said that today’s world is digital. The structure of business and work has changed. Employment promotion and skill development must be systematically adapted to keep up with new work trends and occupations. He said that he is also committed to caring for workers and entrepreneurs with the following policies: 1) Promote employment by driving the expansion of the labour market in foreign countries. Stimulating, promoting, and maintaining employment, including online recruitment services. Supporting entrepreneurs to access funding sources and promoting using the social security system as an incentive to work. Currently, the Social Security Office is establishing a medical institution for insured persons and providing housing to insured persons under Section 33, including nursing homes. 2) Upgrading and developing labour skills, giving importance to human capital development to support the new economy. Accelerating measures to improve labour productivity and the development of high-performance workers, including upgrading and developing skills for economic workers at the community level. 3) Accelerating the care of informal workers, elderly workers, and workers with disabilities to improve their quality of life. 4) Accelerating resolutions to issues revolving around foreign workers and preventing human trafficking in labour.
“I would like to thank the workers’ leadership, including the labour unions, the Confederation of Thai Labour, institutions, and organizations related to the workforce, who continue to provide information to me and the Ministry of Labour, as well as offering various opinions and recommendations, giving importance to the ministry’s role and important policies. The inputs are useful in creating stability and sustainability for workers, promoting the resolution of labour problems on the spot, offering a proactive approach to provide workers with jobs, and allowing businesses to survive. The efforts benefit the people and the nation,” concluded Mr. Suchart.
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Division of Public Relations
23 October 2022
