Thai floods affect 20,000 firms, leaving 5,300 jobless

More than 5,000 people have lost their jobs as more than 20,000 companies in 16 provinces had been hit by floods, Bangkok Post daily newspaper reported on Saturday.

Athit Ismo, the director-general of the Labour Ministry's Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, said more than 20,000 companies employing over 790,000 people in 16 provinces had been hit by floods.

Flooded firms have laid off more than 5,300 employees, including workers in Bangkok and central province of Nonthaburi, said Athit.

Floodwater has not yet reached Bangchan Industrial Estate in Bangkok's eastern Min Buri district. About 60 percent of factories in the estate are operational while the rest have halted production, he said.

Earlier all seven industrial estates were under water, costing economic damage of at least 4.9 billion U.S. dollars. Five are in Ayutthaya, the Hi-Tech, Bang Pa-in, Rojana and Factoryland parks, while the other two, Nava Nakorn and Bangkadi, are in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok.

In the meantime, 10 Japanese companies with flooded production facilities in Thailand plan to send around 2,000 Thai workers to Japan to work there temporarily, said permanent secretary for labour Somkiat Chayasriwong.

More than 720 Japanese companies in Thailand have been affected by the flood crisis. Among them, 450 companies are in industrial estates.

Some of the larger Japanese firms planned to send their workers to Japan. The move would enable their Thai workers to earn wages, and also help their Japanese employers increase productivity during the flooding crisis.

Ten Japanese firms sought permission from the Japanese government recently to send 2,000 Thai employees to work temporarily in Japan for six months, according to the Bangkok Post.

The country's worst floods, caused by heavy monsoon and overflow from several dams in upper part of the country, in nearly 60 years has claimed more than 400 lives and affected almost 10 million people since mid July.

Employer, Labour reps want greater role in relief drive

Employer and labour groups say they want an equal chance to be involved in the government's flood rehabilitation committee.

The Labour Ministry was working on flood-relief measures for the manufacturing sector without input from employers and employees, said Anantachai Khunananthakul, president of the Employers' Confederation of Thailand (Ecot).

"The ministry has listened to only the Federation of Thai Industries, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Thai Bankers' Association. We have been neglected," said Mr Anantachai.

He said both the Ecot and the Confederation of Thai Labour (CTL) agreed they should have representatives sitting on the government's panel.

The groups recently met Somkiat Chayasriwong, permanent secretary for labour, to discuss their proposals for flood rehabilitation measures.

Chalee Loysoong, chairman of the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee, said the government should pay more attention to controlling the prices of consumer products.

Workers making less than 15,000 baht a month should be given cash coupons to buy consumer products, he said.

CTL chairman Chinachot Saengsang said he was opposed to suspending monthly contributions into the Social Security Fund (SSF) as a way of easing financial burdens on companies and their employees.

Suspending payments would affect benefits which employees are entitled to receive from the SSF, such as their pensions.

Mr Somkiat said he agreed with calls to allow employers and labour representatives to sit on the panel.

He would send the proposal to Labour Minister Padermchai Sasomsap.

The ministry would also propose that the government provide financial aid to employers for three months, which should help avoid the need for layoffs.