On 8 February 2017, Labour Minister General Sirichai Distakul and committee met with the South Korean Minister of Employment and Labour in South Korea. The meeting discussed improvements to the arrangement of labour through the EPS to maintain the population of Thai workers in South Korea. Thailand’s representatives requested a quota increase for Thai workers arranged through EPS in order to motivate Thai workers to gain legal status. Both parties agreed on the collaboration for workplace safety in the industrial sector, through enhanced exchange of information and knowledge. In addition to this, South Korea said it was ready to collaborate on skills development towards a Thailand 4.0, through support in Thailand’s international training institute, which will contribute towards workforce development in ASEAN. The South Korean party also said it would provide Korean language classes to Thai workers arranged though EPS.
The Labour Minister and committee visited the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA), an affiliated unit to the Ministry of Employment and Labour. The Department of Labour Protection and Welfare had previously signed a memorandum of understanding on occupational safety and hygiene with KOSHA to enhance knowledge on safety and directions to implement safety measures, in support of ILO conventions and global strategies on safety. This is one of KOSHA’s area of expertise and will benefit the Safety Thailand project which aims to promote the safety dimension of the Thai workforce.
————————————–
Spokesperson and Publication Sub-Division/
Bureau of Public Relations /
Chaninthorn Phettab – News/
10 February 2017
