From 24 July 2024 to the present, workers have continuously gathered along Sukhumvit Road in front of Thaioil’s refinery in Si Racha District, Chonburi Province, due to non-payment by contractors. Initially, the gathered workers were employees not paid by their employers: One Turn Ten Company Limited ("One Turn Ten"), EMCO LTD (Thailand) Company Limited ("EMCO"), and Thai Fong Engineering and Construction Company Limited ("Thai Fong"), who are subcontractors of Sinopec Engineering Group (Thailand) Co., Ltd. ("Sinopec").
In the second week, additional workers joined the protest, having also not been paid by their employers, including Himmawan Engineering 2009 Co., Ltd ("Himmawan"), a subcontractor of STP Corporation Company Limited ("STP"), and Siwakrit Construction & Engineering Company Limited ("Siwakrit"), KUN Supply Construction Limited Partnership ("KUN"), and C.Y. Group Limited Partnership ("CY"), subcontractors of SCI Siam Corea Industrial Company Limited ("SCI").
Sinopec, STP, and SCI are subcontractors of the Unincorporated Joint Venture of Samsung E&A (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (formerly Samsung Engineering (Thailand) Co., Ltd.) ("Samsung"), Petrofac South East Asia Pte. Ltd. ("Petrofac"), and Saipem Singapore Pte. Ltd. ("Saipem") ("UJV"). The UJV—Samsung, Petrofac, and Saipem—is the main contractor for the construction of the Clean Fuel Project (CFP) for Thai Oil Public Company Limited ("Thaioil").
Thaioil clarifies that it has duly paid the UJV—Samsung, Petrofac, and Saipem in accordance with the terms of the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract for the Clean Fuel Project (CFP). However, the UJV has not made payments to Sinopec, STP, and SCI, resulting in their inability to pay their subcontractors, including One Turn Ten, EMCO, Thai Fong, Himmawan, Siwakrit, KUN, and CY. Therefore, the legal obligations to pay the outstanding amounts and ensure the workers return to work normally lie with the relevant subcontractors and the UJV—Samsung, Petrofac, and Saipem.
Thaioil highlights that it consistently adheres to good governance principles and is committed to conducting business transparently with all stakeholders, including the UJV—Samsung, Petrofac, and Saipem. Thaioil recognises the difficulties faced by the workers and has exerted its best efforts to cooperate with relevant government agencies to ensure those responsible—namely the UJV—Samsung, Petrofac, and Saipem, Sinopec, STP, and SCI—reach an agreement and pay the workers as soon as possible.
For the past two weeks, Thaioil has facilitated discussions among representatives of the workers, the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare of the Ministry of Labour, relevant government agencies, the workers' employers, Sinopec, STP, SCI, and the UJV—Samsung, Petrofac, and Saipem, aiming to enable the workers to return to work as normal. However, Thaioil has become aware that the UJV—Samsung, Petrofac, and Saipem still do not agree to sign an agreement with Sinopec, STP, and SCI, causing ongoing delays and uncertainty regarding payments. Therefore, Thaioil hopes that the UJV—Samsung, Petrofac, and Saipem, Sinopec, STP, and SCI will take responsibility for paying and easing the workers' difficulties as soon as possible.