RACE TO PARLIAMENT

Suvit promises labour bank to help workers

PENCHAN CHAROENSUTHIPAN

Puea Pandin leader Suvit Khunkitti is targeting workers' votes with a plan to set up a labour bank.

The plan is in response to demands from labour groups, including the Confederation of Thai Labour, who handed him a petition asking him to solve financial problems among workers, a low-income group.

"A labour bank can help workers financially," he said. Workers could ask for loans from the bank to spend on necessities, including job training, adult education and travel expenses to work abroad.

The bank would specialise in offering help for labour-related needs.

He said the idea needed more study, citing the experience of the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.

The confederation said the average daily wage of 191 baht, or 6,000 baht per month, makes it hard for workers to make ends meet and many have to take out loans from sources other than banks.

Deputy Puea Pandin leader Juthamas Siriwan said employers should provide accommodation for workers to help them keep down travel expenses.

Tax incentives should be put in place to encourage employers to join labour welfare programmes, said Ms Juthamas, the former governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

 

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