On January 24, 2022, at 15.00 hours, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin welcomed Mr. Sawit Kaewwan, representative of the Thai Labor Solidarity Committee (TLSC) and the State Enterprises Workers’ Relations Confederation (SERC) delegation, to meet and discuss the progress on the request for a minimum wage increase and guidelines for helping unfairly terminated pregnant women employees. The meeting took place at the Chatumongkol Room, 6th floor, Ministry of Labour. The Permanent Secretary of Labour, Mr. Boonchob Suttamanaswong, and the Ministry of Labour’s senior executives joined the occasion.
Mr. Suchart said that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense General Prayuth Chan-ocha are concerned about all worker groups from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government by the Ministry of Labour and related agencies has continuously provided support and remedies through various measures to enable the labour sector and operators to survive and the business sector to move forward. The measures have included prevention and control of the pandemic, proactive COVID-19 screening under the “Workforce Fighting Together” project, the Factory Sandbox project, vaccinations for Section 33 insured persons, medical services to treat COVID-19 for insured persons, and Hospitel bed provisioning. It has also provided remedies for people affected by COVID-19 following the “Section 33 We Love Each Other” project, the project to remedy insured persons under Sections 33, 39, and 40, remedies for insured persons in entertainment businesses and self-employed persons working in entertainment facilities affected by government measures, projects to promote and maintain employment levels in SMEs, systematically managing foreign workers by importing workers through MOUs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Suchart continued that from today’s discussions, the Thai Labor Solidarity Committee (TLSC) and the State Enterprises Workers’ Relations Confederation (SERC) submitted a proposal to the government to announce the wage adjustment. He has assigned the Office of the Permanent Secretary of Labour to consider studying in detail the preparation of the minimum wage rate structure that is appropriate or the possibility for adjustment. As for the issue of guidelines for helping pregnant women unfairly terminated as an urgent agenda, he assigned the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare to investigate the facts to assist in the process of the law.
Mr. Sawit Kaewwan, a representative of the Thai Labor Solidarity Committee (TLSC), said that today, they visited to follow up on the request for a minimum wage increase and guidelines for helping unfairly terminated pregnant women. They gave their encouragement to the Prime Minister and commended Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin for helping workers affected by the impact of COVID-19. Today was an opportunity to meet and listen to the problems so that relevant agencies can follow up on assistance following the legal process so that workers receive the protection they deserve.
