![Hundreds of workers gather in front of Thai Oil's refinery in Chon Buri on Thursday, the second day of the protest over unpaid wages that Sinopec Engineering Group (Thailand) Co Ltd, a subcontractor of Thai Oil, has not paid them since May. (Photo: Chon Buri-Rayong Facebook page)](https://static.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20240727/c1_2836612_240727080047.jpg)
Since Wednesday, hundreds of workers have been protesting in front of Thai Oil’s factory in Chon Buri because the Labour Ministry has ordered the appropriate parties to handle the paid pay problem.
Employees of Sinopec Engineering Group ( Thailand ) Co Ltd, a subcontractor of Thai Oil, organized the protest because they have n’t received their salaries since May.
Representatives from various government departments in Chon Buri are keeping an eye on the condition, including those from the Laem Chabang Police Station, the Labour Protection and Welfare Office, and the Municipal Social Security Office.
According to Phumiphat Mueanchan, a spokeswoman for the Labour Ministry, Sinopec owes its 1, 000 people a total of 134 million baht because they received late payments for May and June.
He explained that Sinopec’s failure to pay was due to its multinational, unincorporated joint venture with Petrofac, Saipem, and Samsung ( UJV).
The UJV contracted with Sinopec to work on Thai Oil’s Clean Fuel Project ( CFP).
The Labour Protection and Welfare Office of Chon Buri has requested that Conglomerate pay its employees the soon-due earnings. On August 20, the firm announced that it would make a partial payment of 40 million ringgit.
Mr Phumiphat added that UJV has also been found to deserve payments to several other suppliers, affecting around 8, 000 people.
It was reported that over 500 people joined the opposition on Wednesday.
Sopha Kiatniracha, director-general of the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, claimed Thai Oil had engaged many contractors on the CFP job. The UJV is one of the site’s principal architects, and Sinopec is the UJV’s big supplier.
She claimed that Thai Oil has made timely payment to its key contractors, suggesting that the issue was brought on by UJV’s inability to pay its contractors on time.