60,000 Thai Workers Dealing with Aftermath of Japan’s Disaster

According to Amporn Nitisiri, Director-General of Thailand’s Department of Labour Protection and Welfare 60,704 Thais working for Japanese owned companies have had their working hours cut, with 140,000 overall at risk.

The situation in the Japanese homeland has caused 60 business operators in Thailand to reduce production output due to insufficient raw materials and led them to cut overtime working hours and to stop operations under Article 75 of regulations guiding foreign investments.

The five most-affected provinces are Chonburi, Ayutthaya, Samut Prakan, Chachoengsao and Pathum Thani, Mrs Amporn, said citing the latest information as of April 28.

Some 300 businesses with 80,130 employees are now being watched for possible impacts from the disaster in Japan, the labour official said.

However, not all the impacts are negative. Twenty-six businesses with 23,016 workers have benefited from more orders.

Meanwhile, Yongyuth Mentaphao, president of the Federation of Automotive Labour Unions said Thailand’s auto production has dropped by half in the past two months.

A number of companies have not yet reduced employee salaries but some with less production capacity cut working days to Tuesdays and Wednesdays only and reduced employee salaries to 75 per cent.

The union leader said he disagreed with adopting salary-cutting measures under the law as the problem is not caused by an economic crisis and car orders are still as as high as 30,000 units.

The federation asked the government to help in paying workers as some companies cannot shoulder the burden.

Auto parts production of some companies in Japan has resumed. Mr Yongyuth said workers should not worry as it is monitoring the situation and believes that it will ease by late October.