Ministry plans to cover 1m more informal-sector workers for social security

[rooster59]

Ministry plans to cover 1m more informal-sector workers for social security

By The Nation

 

File photo: Labour Minister Pol General Adul Sangsingkeo

 

THE LABOUR Ministry hopes to cover an additional one million informal-sector workers as voluntarily-insured people for social security payments starting in 2019.

 

So far this year, more than 300,000 informal-sector workers – such as taxi drivers, motorcyclists and those working from home – have entered the system, taking the total number of voluntarily-insured people to 2.5 million. Thailand has 21 million informal-sector workers.

Thailand has a total of 15 million insured people under the social insurance system.

 

The target, under Article 40 of the Social Security Office (SSO) Act, was disclosed by Labour Minister Pol General Adul Sangsingkeo, at an event in Bangkok celebrating the SSO’s 28th anniversary yesterday.

 

Voluntarily-insured people, who must be aged between 15 and 60 and have independent jobs, have three payment options: 

 

Option 1: Pay Bt70 monthly contributions to get three benefits. They include Bt300 per day in hospital due to accident or sickness to compensate for a lack of income (up to 30 days per year); Bt500 to Bt1,000 per month to compensate for a lack of income due to disability (up to 15 months); Bt20,000 death/funeral-assistance compensation, plus another Bt3,000 if the person had paid contributions to the SSO fund for more than 60 months. 

 

Option 2: Pay Bt100 monthly contributions to get the three benefits plus an additional one-time old-age pension at the age of 60 when retiring from the SSO. This also has a condition that the person must have paid contributions to the SSO fund for more than 180 months.

 

Option 3: Pay Bt300 to get five benefits. They include Bt300 per day for hospitalisation due to accident or sickness to compensate for a lack of income (up to 90 days per year); Bt500 to Bt1,000 per month to compensate for a lack of income due to disability for the rest of his/her life; Bt40,000 death/funeral-assistance compensation; a one-time old-age pension payment at the age of 60 with an additional Bt10,000 if the person has paid contributions to the SSO fund for more than 180 months; and Bt200 per head per month in child support (for up to two children).

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30353994

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-09-09

[Ossy]

52 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

Thailand has 21 million informal-sector workers.

Really? . . . That's exactly 30% of the population, a population only 70% of which is of working age and half of those are women, most of whom will be housewives and active mothers, giving a working population of 30 million … that's 30M in total, across the board, young, old, male and female.

 

Let's take another look, now, at that absurd informal sector figure. The Ministry says that out of the 30 million total workforce figure, 21 million, i.e. 70%, are self-employed, like taxi-drivers, scooterists and those working from home.

 

I may be over skeptical, but I feel sure that Junta officialdom has got its Maths - just simple arithmetic - terribly wrong . . . again.

 

Here's a link to an employment demographic that is accepted as a world benchmark:-

 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/332341/employment-by-economic-sector-in-thailand/

Their simple graphic shows a more likely picture, where only 33% of Thai workers are in the farming sector, the country's greatest casual employer.

 

Conclusion: The Pinnochio syndrome seems to be contagious

[Ossy]

1 hour ago, Ossy said:

Really? . . . That's exactly 30% of the population, a population only 70% of which is of working age and half of those are women, most of whom will be housewives and active mothers, giving a working population of 30 million … that's 30M in total, across the board, young, old, male and female.

 

Let's take another look, now, at that absurd informal sector figure. The Ministry says that out of the 30 million total workforce figure, 21 million, i.e. 70%, are self-employed, like taxi-drivers, scooterists and those working from home.

 

I may be over skeptical, but I feel sure that Junta officialdom has got its Maths - just simple arithmetic - terribly wrong . . . again.

 

Here's a link to an employment demographic that is accepted as a world benchmark:-

 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/332341/employment-by-economic-sector-in-thailand/

Their simple graphic shows a more likely picture, where only 33% of Thai workers are in the farming sector, the country's greatest casual employer.

 

Conclusion: The Pinnochio syndrome seems to be contagious

Ah, now I get it. Dish out 'welfare' cash, based on 21 million informal sector workers, subtract the 85% that will cover admin. graft and there you are . . . 'Look out - look out, there's a thief about' and a final amount that, when dished out to the actual formal worker population, might pay their Tesco bill and fuel for the scooter. Good old Uncle Tu . . . thanks a million, or rather, from a million.

 

And tell me, Police General Adul, why the hell are you not where you should be; either a police station or the barracks? You are evidently out of your depth in the Labour Ministry, or have you just popped across from the Social Development Ministry to help the busy guy out? You sure look good in yellow, though.

[rickudon]

I think a lot more than 50% of women of working age are working. And most of those will be in the informal sector.

 

The problem is that when they get to 60, if they retire they will get a lump sum which will only last for a couple of years at best. Too old to work, Government says go starve or get your children to look after you.