(CTN News) – Since Wednesday, hundreds of workers have been demonstrating in front of Thai Oil’s refinery in Chon Buri due to unpaid wages. The Labour Ministry has instructed relevant parties to remedy the situation.
Employees of Sinopec Engineering Group (Thailand) Co Ltd, a subcontractor of Thai Oil, coordinated the demonstration because they had not received their salaries since May.
Officials from multiple agencies in Chon Buri are monitoring the situation, including the Department of Provincial Administration office in Sri Racha district, the Laem Chabang Police Station, the Labour Protection and Welfare Office, and the Provincial Social Security Office.
According to Labour Ministry spokeswoman Phumiphat Mueanchan, Sinopec owes their 1,000 employees a total of 134 million baht after failing to pay their salaries in May and June.
He claimed that Sinopec’s failure to pay was caused by a lack of payments from its global unincorporated joint venture with Petrofac, Saipem, and Samsung (UJV).
The UJV contracted Sinopec as a subcontractor for Thai Oil’s Clean Fuel Project (CFP).
Chon Buri’s Labour Protection and Welfare Office has urged Sinopec to pay its employees’ delayed salaries as soon as possible. The corporation announced that it will make a partial payment of 40 million baht on August 20.
Mr Phumiphat also stated that UJV owed payments to a number of other subcontractors, affecting approximately 8,000 employees.
According to reports, more than 500 employees participated in the demonstration on Wednesday.
Sopha Kiatniracha, director-general of the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, stated that Thai Oil recruited a number of contractors for their CFP project. The UJV is one of the project’s key contractors, with Sinopec serving as its primary subcontractor.
She stated that Thai Oil had made timely payments to its principal contractors, implying that the problem was caused by UJV’s failure to pay its subcontractors on time.
Source: Bangkok Post
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