Workers complain about flood-related layoffs

BANGKOK, March 7 (TNA) - Over 100 workers of three companies have sought assistance from the Thai Ministry of Labour, after they were laid off by their flood-affected employers without any compensation. A worker representative said that his company had not paid wages for 175 workers from last September to last month and after the workers filed their complaint with a labour welfare and protection official in the central Ayutthaya province, the management of his company simply laid off all workers without paying any compensation, claiming that a massive flooding late last year makes the company unable to afford the compensation. Thai Labour Minister Phadermchai Sasomsab said that he has assigned the issue to Suvit Sumala, director of the Labour Relations Bureau, but that the management of the companies have not yet contacted the bureau. According to the minister, labour officials are considering the workers' demands and work out agreements and he has ordered the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare to conclude within this month the list of the operators who need government assistance to avoid layoffs. The labour minister promised to seek a sufficient budget for the assistance from the Thai Cabinet, acknowledging that the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare reported that 51,056 workers have been laid off and 163,712 other workers have not returned to work at their 283 workplaces. (TNA)