A group representing migrant workers and stateless people yesterday petitioned the Constitutional Court to rule on the Labour and Finance ministries cash handout scheme, saying it breaches the charter.
At the centre of the petition was the Thai nationality requirement for the "Section 33 Rao Rak Kan" financial aid scheme for private employees insured under Section 33 of the Social Security Act (SSA).
The petition was backed by the Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF), which said the nationality requirement was discriminatory.
Pasuta Chuenkhachorn, a lawyer from the HRDF, said the condition meant migrant workers and stateless people had no access to the cash handout scheme, which is a violation of sections 4 and 27 of the charter.
Ms Pasuta said the group decided to seek the court's review because it disagreed with the Office of the Ombudsman's opinion about the matter.
The group had asked the office in June to look into the matter and urge the Labour Ministry and Finance Ministry to scrap the nationality requirement.
However, in September the office said the condition did not constitute discrimination and was not a breach of the constitution.
Ms Pasuta said she hoped the court would accept the petition for a review based on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), an international human rights treaty that Thailand has ratified.
Meanwhile, a migrant worker in Chiang Mai told the Bangkok Post she hoped the "Section 33 Rao Rak Kan" scheme would be reviewed, saying many migrant workers like her consider such aid a lifeline.
The worker said she has been insured under Section 33 since 2016 when she started working at a restaurant in the northern province.
She said she received about 20,000 baht in severance pay when the restaurant closed down due to the pandemic and her savings dried up.
"Our plight is no different from that of Thai workers. We faced job and income losses, but the assistance is limited to Thai citizens," she said.