The Labour Ministry is urging Social Security Fund (SSF) members to register to vote in the first-ever election of Social Security Board members, as today is the last day to do so.
Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said the registration period had been extended from Oct 31 for 10 more days to let members decide on selecting their desired candidates.
He hoped that the extension of the deadline would benefit both employers and employees by encouraging them to vote.
According to the Social Security Office (SSO) secretary-general, Boonsong Thapchaiyuth, the SSO had set the election date for Dec 24 to seek SSF members and employers to select seven representatives each to serve on the board.
Written under the 2015 Social Security Act, the board acts as a moderator between the government and SSF to manage the fund since it is one of the biggest in the country, with at least 2.3 trillion baht of funding.
By law, the board consists of related ministries -- such as labour, finance, interior, and public health -- the Budget Bureau, and employers and employees. Previously elected by labour unions but presently made up of appointees of the now-defunct National Council for Peace and Order, this election is for SSF members and employers to select seven representatives apiece to serve on the board.
Of more than 24 million fund members under the regulation laid out in Sections 33, 39, and 40 of the Social Security Act, more than 12 million were eligible in this election, as were 440,000 employers nationwide.
With this number, this election is ranked second in the list of elections with the highest number of eligible voters following general elections for members of parliament, said Mr Boonsong.
Expats and those who complete their fund submission less than three months before the election date are barred from the election, as are those who have registered as Social Security members for less than six consecutive months.
Prospective candidates can register on the SSO website until today. They can register with either the Bangkok SSO offices or the provincial SSO offices until 4.30pm, said Mr Boonsong.