Workers Protest at Government House Over Unpaid Wages

On November 12, hundreds of workers gathered in front of Government House to protest delays in wage payments. Around 10,000 workers have not been paid for the past eight months due to subcontractors involved in a clean fuel project in Chon Buri.

Representatives from 28 firms in the Federation of Subcontractors submitted a petition to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The petition was received by Justice Minister Police Colonel Tawee Sodsong and Somkid Chueakong, Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister for Political Affairs.

Thitapat Reewatpatthananan, the federation’s secretary, explained that the main contractor, a group including Petrofac South East Asia Pte Ltd, Saipem Singapore Pte Ltd, and Samsung E&A (Thailand) Co Ltd, was hired by Thai Oil for the Clean Fuel Project (CFP) in Si Racha district. However, they have not paid the subcontractors for their work on the oil refinery, which is worth billions of baht.

The subcontractors have completed their work from February until now without receiving due payment, affecting over 10,000 workers' livelihoods. The issue is further complicated by the subcontractors’ financial difficulties and contracts that force them to continue without payment.

Some subcontractors risk facing lawsuits if they halt operations due to non-payment, according to Thitapat.

Thitapat stated, “We ask the government to step in and ease the burden of our 10,000 workers who have gone without pay for eight months.”

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