School 'temps' not treated fairly

School 'temps' not treated fairly

For about a decade, caretakers and other administrative staff serving in state-run schools and other offices of the Education Ministry have been treated as second-class employees.

Unlike school teachers, principals or ministry officials on permanent contracts and entitled to a wide range of fringe benefits, about 60,000 caretakers and administrative staff have been hired as "temps" no matter how many years they have helped clean up schools or ensure administrative functions run smoothly.

The only employment benefits they are entitled to are those attached to the social security fund, with the employer's contribution paid for by the ministry.

Earlier this month, the ministry moved to scrap even this entitlement and apply a new hiring policy that would downgrade their status to become merely "outsourced" workers.

This policy drew strong opposition from these workers, with about 500 of their representatives staging a protest last week in Bangkok, demanding not only a return of the social security benefits but also the better employment conditions afforded to government officials.

In the end, the ministry bowed under pressure and agreed to keep their contracts unchanged. Unfortunately, they will not be upgraded to the status of government officials.

The ministry's U-turn does not change the fact these workers will continue to be treated as second-class employees and will remain excluded from fringe benefits granted to civil servants such as exclusive medical packages or government pensions.

For one thing, these people have no job security under their temporary contracts. Their salaries are at the bottom end of the pay scale.

Out of around 60,000 workers, 13,204 are administrative staff whose monthly salary is 15,000 baht.

The rest are those paid merely 9,000 baht a month, about 30,000 of whom are school caretakers.

Worse still, the ministry is still determined to make its new "outsourcing" policy applicable to new hires who will replace outgoing caretakers and administrative staff. This policy amounts to exploitation.

It was, in fact, endorsed earlier by the cabinet in a response to the government's overall drive to reduce expenditure on the salaries of state officials and employees.

Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan last week cited the need to ensure "efficiency" in the ministry's spending.

According to the Finance Ministry, about 622 billion baht was spent in 2018 on the annual salaries of about 2.1 million staff working as state officials, contracted employees and temporary staff.

The temps are the most neglected workforce. Their entitled benefits are even lower than those provided to migrant workers in the formal labour market.

They do not have insurance against occupational hazards. They do not have career advancement prospects.

Put simply, they have been trapped in a dead-end for a long time.

Of course, streamlining expenditure in the public sector is not a bad thing.

But it needs a strategy that goes beyond chipping away at the take-home pay of those with slimmest paycheques.

There are other lines of expenditure that could be streamlined by all agencies, such as the costs incurred by meaningless meetings, unneeded travel and other unnecessary functions.

The 2020 budget bill has also drawn flak for its substantial increase in defence spending.

It is a shame that the government can afford to spend more on defence but does not want to pay more for these caretakers and administration workers at the Education Ministry.

These groups of workers need fairer, decent employment contracts. The ministry should upgrade the employment status of existing caretakers and administrative staff to that of permanent government employees.

This would give them better job prospects along with the same fringe benefits granted to those officials with fatter paycheques.

At the same time, the ministry's plan to offer outsourcing contracts for new hires must be scrapped altogether as it's both a form of exploitation and indecent in the extreme.

Editorial

Bangkok Post editorial column

These editorials represent Bangkok Post thoughts about current issues and situations.

Email : anchaleek@bangkokpost.co.th

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