PUBLISHED : 18 Dec 2023 at 07:02
The Labour Ministry is planning to update its regulation to better protect the rights of domestic workers in Thailand, according to an adviser to the Labour Minister, Siraphop Duangsodsri.
Speaking at an event marking International Migrants Day on Sunday, Mr Siraphop said the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare will add at least 11 clauses to its existing regulation on domestic workers’ welfare to improve their livelihoods.
The regulation, first published in 2012, applies to individuals who employ domestic helpers, drivers, gardeners, nannies, nurses and pet minders at home.
In its current form, it contains provisions which ban employers from employing children under the age of 15 and give employees one day off per week.
Mr Siraphop said the new clauses include a minimum wage guarantee, an eight-hour working day, as well as 98-day maternity leave, 45 days of which are paid for by the employer.
The amended law will also ban employers from firing a worker for being pregnant, said Mr Siraphop.
“We want domestic workers to be treated fairly like other employees. The amendment will push employers to respect the rights of their domestic helpers,” he said.
He added that the new clauses will now be submitted to the cabinet for approval.
Phoranee Phuprasert, acting director of the Thai Health Organisation’s (ThaiHealth) Office of Specific Population Group Support, welcomed the changes, before adding there needs to be a minimum guaranteed access to basic healthcare for labourers, especially.
According to Ms Phoranee, 111,954 out of the 2,333,079 migrant workers from Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Cambodia in Thailand are working as domestic helpers.