BANGKOK, Feb 12 – More than 52,000 employees under Thailand’s social security scheme have applied for unemployment benefits due to losing their jobs in the wake of the country’s minimum wage hike, Labour Minister Phadermchai Sasomsub said.
He said the figure of 52,426 jobless former employees was compiled from Jan 1 to Feb 4. The daily minimum wage of Bt300 was implemented nationwide Jan 1.
He said the Social Security Fund had paid about Bt1.13 billion to the unemployed workers.
Among the workers affected, 3,735 were laid off, 10,989 resigned, 484 were not entitled to social security fund assistance, and 34,408 had yet to be formally notified of their employment termination by their employers.
