Labour minister clarifies compensation for Dark Red zone after complaints

Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin has clarified details of compensation for employers and workers in the Dark Red provinces after people complained they had been unfairly excluded from the scheme. 

The packages are being offered in compensation for tightened lockdown measures in 13 provinces – Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Songkhla, Ayutthaya, Chonburi, and Chachoengsao.

 

Employers and workers insured under Article 33 of the Social Security Act are eligible for the compensation payments.

Workers will get 2,500 baht transferred into their PromptPay account, while employers will get 3,000 baht per employee, capped at 600,000 baht (200 employees).

Meanwhile, those insured under articles 39 and 40 will get 5,000 baht in compensation.

The compensation scheme covers the following businesses:

• Construction

• Accommodation and food service

• Art and entertainment

• Logistics and storage

• Retail

• Vehicle repair

• Management

• Science and education

• Media and information

Responding to people complaining that the Social Security Office website showed they will not be compensated despite working for eligible businesses, Suchart said compensation depended on the category under which companies were registered.

He explained that some media companies were registered under “production” or “public relations” categories.

However, he said only 2-3 percent of eligible companies had this problem and he would seek a solution with the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), which is tasked with determining the categories.

“The reason the government is not compensating workers in all businesses is that some enterprises – such as auto parts and processed seafood – have not been affected much by Covid-19.”