BANGKOK, 21 April 2015 – Labor Minister Gen Surasak Karnjanarat is taking stronger action against employers of fishery workers left in Indonesia, to prevent the employers repeating their mistake.
Peeraphat Pornsirilertkit, the Director-General of the Department of Labor Protection and Welfare revealed that the department has been ordered to sue the offending employers on criminal charges even though they have paid compensation to workers. A document detailing the minister’s official order will be sent to all provincial branches in Thailand to ensure the instructions will be attached to new contracts.
In fact, Thailand’s labor protection law authorizes officials to sue employers on both criminal and civil charges. However, in the past, the department hasn’t taken criminal action as they thought the employers were not the culprits. Thus most cases ended up with just the employers paying compensation.
