More than 5,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) joined a government subsidy programme to help them retain employees on the first day of registration on Wednesday, said Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin.
Applicants can register until Nov 20, according to the ministry. The programme was designed to help SMEs battered by the pandemic keep their workers. It covers assistance for those employers who are members of the social security fund (SSF).
SMEs make up about 50% of full-time employees insured by the social security system.
Subscribers to the fund will qualify if they employ no more than 200 Thai nationals as of Oct 16. There are 394,621 such businesses nationwide hiring a total of four million Thais.
Under the scheme, the government will provide a 3,000-baht subsidy to assist with the monthly pay of each employee for three consecutive months from this month.
On Wednesday, the first subsidies were disbursed to 5,091 SMEs. Together they employ 123,847 workers.
Mr Suchart said yesterday the government is spending 37 billion baht to help shore up SMEs ahead of the country's reopening on Nov 1.
The Department of Employment and the Social Security Office will inform the SMEs of the available subsidies and step up the online registration process.
It was vital for enterprises to keep trading with enough employees to carry their business operations through, he said.
To qualify, employers must retain at least 95% of their workforce for the subsidy period. If they fail to do so, they will not receive the subsidy for that month.