Bangkok: The Ministry of Labour is advancing a comprehensive proposal to the Cabinet, aiming to enhance protections for workers on ships and those operating from home. This initiative also seeks to grant equal rights to spouses of state enterprise employees, with provisions being retroactive to the date when the equal marriage law was enacted.
According to Thai News Agency, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, Yotsanulok Wongsawat, announced that the Ministry of Labour intends to present four draft laws to the Cabinet today. The first is the draft Maritime Labour Act, which aims to extend protections such as social security and compensation benefits to seafarers, akin to those for land-based workers. The second is the draft Home-Based Work Protection Act, which aligns with international standards and mandates that employers who default on payments are liable for both interest and penalties.
The remaining two documents are draft announcements from the State Enterprise Labor Relations Committee. These amendments are designed to align the law with equal marriage rights by replacing the term "husband and wife" with "spouse," ensuring that all spouses of state enterprise employees, regardless of sexual orientation, receive equal compensation for medical expenses or funeral costs.
Pol. Lt. Col. Wannapong Kacharak, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, elaborated that the maritime labour law grants significant benefits to seafarers by including them in the social security system. However, these benefits are specific to transport vessels and do not apply to fishing vessels. In the context of home-based work, three primary considerations were noted: setting a minimum working age of 15, ensuring non-hazardous working conditions, and providing fair compensation from employers. Legal measures will also be established to prevent exploitation of home-based workers. Lastly, the amendment to the State Enterprise Labor Relations Committee's regulations will ensure that the definition of "spouse" aligns with the equal marriage law, retroactively applying to when the law was first implemented, ensuring state enterprise rights are respected and upheld.