Labour officials want 130 million baht to top up a fund to help employees who are laid off without compensation.
The money will be part of the Labour Ministry's budget request in the 2016 fiscal year, said Waranon Pitiwan, deputy chief of the Labour Protection and Welfare Department.
At present, only 170 million baht is left in the labour aid fund after authorities granted handouts to thousands of laid-off employees, who worked mainly in the construction, security, footwear and electronics industries, he said.
These workers were treated unfairly because their employers closed operations but did not pay them compensation as required by law, he said.
The department has relieved their suffering by giving them money from the fund, regulated by a tripartite committee comprising the government, employees and employers. However, the companies do not get off scot-free.
Usually, after the payments are made, authorities need to reclaim the money from companies which failed to compensate their workers.
Some of the 130 million baht will go into the cost of chasing up employers, Mr Waranon said. About 864 employers owe up to 400 million baht to the fund.
The department has successfully ordered employers to pay debts of only about 59 million baht.