On August 23, 2022, the Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, assigned the Deputy Permanent Secretary of Labour and the Ministry of Labour’s Spokesperson Mr. Wannarat Srisuksai, to visit a factory and provide knowledge on building good labour relations within the organization, to support organizations to cope with the rapidly changing environment, following the direction of the country’s development. The visit also aimed to build morale for OLIC (Thailand) Co., Ltd employees. The company’s Managing Director, Mr. Yoshihiro Takada, gave a welcome at OLIC (Thailand) Co., Ltd., located at 166 Moo 16, Bang Pa-In Industrial Estate, Udomsorayuth Road, Bang Krasan Subdistrict, Bang Pa-in District, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province.
Mr. Wannarat said that the government under the leadership of the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense General Prayuth Chan-ocha, and Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, who oversees the Ministry of Labour, gives importance to the management of the COVID-19 situation, especially among the workforce, which can be regarded major part in driving the country’s economy. Therefore, the Ministry of Labour has worked with many agencies, especially the Ministry of Public Health, to assist in many areas such as the management of foreign workers to bring them into the system, the Factory Sandbox project, proactive screening with RT-PCR for 100 percent coverage under the “Workforce Fighting Together” project. The Ministries also collaborated in the supply of hospital beds to support the treatment of COVID-19 patients, opening a hotline to coordinate the availability of beds for COVID-19 patients and the setup of vaccination centers for insured persons under Section 33.
Mr. Wannarat continued that during the COVID-19 outbreak, the Ministry of Labour, under the leadership of Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin, was concerned about the workforce and accelerated assistance following government policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Their efforts were able to create immunity in the workforce, maintain employment, support businesses to move forward, and create economic value, especially in the export sector, which continues to grow. Therefore, the Factory Sandbox project was implemented with four main principles. First, during the COVID-19 situation, the tourism and service sectors, which are important sources of income for the country, were widely affected. The government had to maintain employment and support the export sector, which employs over 2 million workers in four industries: food, medical equipment, automobiles, and electronic components, as many countries could not export goods. Secondly, at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, there were limited vaccines. Therefore, vaccines needed to be allocated to the elderly first. At the same time, the Ministry of Labour recognized the importance of the workforce working as a key driver of the country’s economy. Therefore, the allocation of vaccines from the government and the Ministry of Public Health was requested to build immunization among the workers and prevent workers from spreading COVID-19 to the elderly and family members at home. Therefore, the Factory Sandbox project was implemented following the government’s policy with economic and public health principles, including examination, treatment, control, care, support, vaccination, and COVID-19 screening to support business operations. Thirdly, the Social Security Office has over 200 private hospitals in its nationwide network, with a team of doctors and nurses ready to support medical and public health services during the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, they relied on these hospitals for screening, care, and vaccination for insured persons in the social security system. And lastly, the Ministry of Labour worked closely with unions. As a result, implementing such projects could solve problems, realize objectives, and meet the needs of businesses and their fellow workers.
OLIC (Thailand) Co., Ltd. currently employs 607 employees. There is a drug and medical labour union to take care of the labour relations in the workplace. This company operates a business that produces modern pharmaceuticals. It sells products both domestically and internationally and is aware of the principles and guidelines of the Ministry of Labour in enhancing good labour relations within the organization. It realizes the importance of developing operational capability and promoting happiness in the workplace to build work stability, security, and good quality of life for everyone in the organization. The company’s management has intentions to support the principle.
Source: Ministry of Labour