Thailand Declares Holidays To Cope With Flood Crisis

[shadiadi]

I doubt if anyone would complain about the lack of holidays here

[Arkady]

Maybe its just me but most of you guys seem to criticise the government regardless of what it does. Lets just hypothetically say for a minute that the headline of this topic was 'Thaiiland does not declare any hoilidays to help cope with floods.' Im sure the same people complaining about the hoilidays now would then be complaining about the lack of hoilidays. I guess some people were just born to winge, even if its not their own country. Ive said it before and Ill say it again - my wife always says, if you dont like it you know where the airport is (Suvarnabhumi anyway!).

This forum allows people to express their opinions freely within the rules, including for and against the government. If you and your wife don't like that, it might be better if you took her and your 27 posts and head for the exit.

[shadiadi]

I guess the logic of this madness is that the more people who get out of Bangkok the better as there will be less people in need of help. On the other hand with less people there will be less people to help the people in need of help.

[shadiadi]

I wonder if any plans have been made for the South of Thailand yet?? It usually gets the worst flooding every year the water has to go somewhere

[Titoyohn]

Anybody know which the 20 other provinces are???

[SICHONSTEVE]

Maybe its just me but most of you guys seem to criticise the government regardless of what it does. Lets just hypothetically say for a minute that the headline of this topic was 'Thaiiland does not declare any hoilidays to help cope with floods.' Im sure the same people complaining about the hoilidays now would then be complaining about the lack of hoilidays. I guess some people were just born to winge, even if its not their own country. Ive said it before and Ill say it again - my wife always says, if you dont like it you know where the airport is (Suvarnabhumi anyway!).

But that is plain rediculous - its like saying my grandmother wasn't run over today!!!

I don't think that I'm going to sell up, leave my home in Thailand and go back to England because the government has given 3 days extra holidays (no matter how irrelevant this action is).

Whats it going to be tomorrow??? the government is going to let everybody have a free pack of peanut M&M's from 7/11 on Friday afternoon (restricted to Bangkok and other affected areas) - the one danger with this is that you might get outsiders drive to Bangkok through the floods to illegaly obtain their sweets creating a shortage for those people in most need (this is despicable and on a par with looting in my mind)!!!!.

[DocHolliday]

Anybody know which the 20 other provinces are???

Those 21 provinces are central SukhoThai, Pichit, Pitsanulok, Nakornsawan, Uthai Thani, Chai Nat, Singburi, Angthong, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Lopburi, Saraburi, Nakornnayok, Prachin Buri, Chasoengsao, Subhan Buri, ankorn Pathom, Khampaengpet, Tak and Bangkok provinces.

[shadiadi]

I see Air Asia are trying to make a negative into a positive I just got an email saying travel from Thailand for 780 baht.

[WarpSpeed]

So we have to let the staff go while continue to pay their salaries - again.

Alternatively they come to work and get OT paid.

One question remains: where can I send my extra staff expenses for all those holidays and OT-extras within the Thai government because, despite asking my customers, they are not willing to pay extra.

And yes, the floods were a man-made goofie by some government officials which opened the water gates of all those dams once they were at the brink of overflowing and not continuous water releases as of the beginning of the rainy season (like they do in all other countries on this planet).

So in all fairness and common sense, the government will pay all these extras as it was their executive nameless staff who involved the costs.

Or does common sense not apply here and we just shut up and pay - as usual?

I am NOT a lawyer.

But as far as I understand, those are holidays for government workers. Unless stated in your employees contracts that you match your holidays on those from the public administration, those extra holidays are not mandatory.

Most of companies in Thailand match their holidays on the banks' schedule. The banks are now discussing whether or not they will follow the government.

As far as I'm concerned, in my company, we're neither following the government holidays, nor the banks holidays, but the public holidays as defined before the beginning of the year. Therefore, there won't be extra holidays given. We're a small company, so it's anyway easier to handle directly depending on each employee situation.

I am a lawyer and an HR manager of a Bangkok company.

This is the labor attorney side of me speaking: The Labor Protection Act only requires that you give employees 13 public holidays (from a list of 16 holidays) each year. If they work on one of those holidays, you must pay overtime. The government has merely added 3 more days to the list of 16. Banks and government offices will be closed. Private employers may remain open for business and require their employee's attendance on the holidays, without paying overtime, unless their employees have taken less than 13 public holidays during the year.

This is the HR manager side of me speaking: As a good corporate citizen, you want to sympathize and accommodate this situation which may be devastating to some of your workers. I will give you an example of an email that I sent to my staff today:

To All Staff:

The Government has designated Thursday, October 27 through Monday, October 31 as public holidays. The purpose of this holiday is to allow workers in Bangkok to return safely to their home provinces, as some areas of local flooding are anticipated over the weekend due to high tide conditions.

Please remember that these holidays apply to those who really need the time to make preparations. The Company will remain open over these holidays.

If you do not need the time off to make preparations, the Company would appreciate if you would come to work as usual. If you should need to take time off, we request that you notify HR of your absence or late arrival time for work during this flooding event.

You should also know that in the event that the office area is threatened with flooding, the Company is making relocation plans that provide for the safety and well-being of all staff and their families.

We ask that each of you take care for your health and safety during this flooding event. If you should need any assistance, do not hesitate to contact HR, as we are here to help you.

Now there's a compassionate and considerate employer, the world could use more like this and less like the first couple of posters who responded with more self centered, single minded complaining.. I mean it's not EVERY day or even 50 years this happens..

[shadiadi]

Does anyone know how bad is the flooding in Phisanulok and Chai Nat?

I just crossed into Laos from Chang Khong and had a hellish experience on a bus from the North to the South took 2.5 days my bus broke down at midnight 20kms from the Chinese border the driver disappeared to the Casino and did not return until 8am.

I would like to go to Udon when I leave and head home to Chiang Rai but am not too sure about the flooding??

[DocN]

Holidays?????

Companies and the economy is falling to pieces as we struggle to keep things going despite the chaos around us

Maybe Yingluck needs a holiday! The rest of us have to work to fix the mess they make...

It's not a holiday for to pack little picnic- baskets for a weekend by the sea! Don't you get it? That is the weekend where they expect the highest water- level EVER in the Chaophraya! Meaning aprx 10 cm OVER every floodbarrier! Still don't get it Einstein? The city is gonna drown! The "holiday" is merely a measure of last resort, telling people "Pack up and brace fpr something ugly"! And maybe...just maybe...it is of use to some to be near their home, instead of in the office, when it is "All systems go"!

Man...some posters here are really complaining about the government being stupid...?!

[shadiadi]

Bangkok was last under water about 16-17 years ago I heard they had solved the problem but obviously not!

Alot of people from Bangkok are now buying property in the north.

[serenitynow]

Maybe its just me but most of you guys seem to criticise the government regardless of what it does. Lets just hypothetically say for a minute that the headline of this topic was 'Thaiiland does not declare any hoilidays to help cope with floods.' Im sure the same people complaining about the hoilidays now would then be complaining about the lack of hoilidays. I guess some people were just born to winge, even if its not their own country. Ive said it before and Ill say it again - my wife always says, if you dont like it you know where the airport is (Suvarnabhumi anyway!).

You can count me amongst those who have been critical of this government's incompetence, wrong priorities, arrogance, indifference to suffering and general stupidity. I check in here everyday since this crisis began to find just ONE THING they have done right. This holiday may be that one thing and I hope it works to lessen the amount of people who will suffer hardship and those who will need aid or rescue in the future. It seems well worth trying.

I hope that's positive enough for those who seem to think that people who think as I do revel in the mistakes of this government and the suffering of Thai people. Nothing could be further from the truth. We're aghast and saddened, even when we thought we'd become innured to bad governance over the course of our many years here.

Edited October 25, 2011 by serenitynow

[shadiadi]

Nobody can blame this on the current government this is just mother nature at work.

Although one of the pre Thaksin governments is probably to blame for penny pinching or pocketing money that was to be used for the flood barriers more than 14 years ago.

[Tattoo180sx]

Can anybody translate yingluck's current speech on tv?

[david555]

Only in thailand do they call disaster a holiday,,,land of smiles

Maybe they can try to declare the monsoons officially finished .......so the water retreats/ dissapears...... in last resort try the Moses trick from bible

[jeanelie]

Bangkok was last under water about 16-17 years ago I heard they had solved the problem but obviously not!

Alot of people from Bangkok are now buying property in the north.

1994 in the month off april on the west side of the river on Borom Ratchachonnani near Pata shopping about half a metre of water.

[witsawakorn]

Just hope I get paid before the office closes

[gamini]

So we have to let the staff go while continue to pay their salaries - again.

Alternatively they come to work and get OT paid.

One question remains: where can I send my extra staff expenses for all those holidays and OT-extras within the Thai government because, despite asking my customers, they are not willing to pay extra.

And yes, the floods were a man-made goofie by some government officials which opened the water gates of all those dams once they were at the brink of overflowing and not continuous water releases as of the beginning of the rainy season (like they do in all other countries on this planet).

So in all fairness and common sense, the government will pay all these extras as it was their executive nameless staff who involved the costs.

Or does common sense not apply here and we just shut up and pay - as usual?

I do not know where you come from but in the UK we had to pay our staff when the socialist labor unions called numerous transport strikes and our staff could not get to work.

The strikes were the result of the incompetent labour government , They did not reimburse us for our costs. Much the same thing happened in Australia. Expecting help from the Thai government is bit far fetched when unlike the UK unions the flooding was not planned by them to disrupt the country. Fortunately we had a brave Mrs Thatcher to clean up the rotten unions in the UK

[metisdead]

An insulting post has been removed.

[patjem]

Holidays?????

Companies and the economy is falling to pieces as we struggle to keep things going despite the chaos around us

Maybe Yingluck needs a holiday! The rest of us have to work to fix the mess they make...

To be fair, most of us can't get our supplies to keep pperating, and the workers are only sitting around in the factory: better to send them all home where most have other more important things to attend to, while we could power-down and save on the bills.

[tonglen]

So we have to let the staff go while continue to pay their salaries - again.

Alternatively they come to work and get OT paid.

One question remains: where can I send my extra staff expenses for all those holidays and OT-extras within the Thai government because, despite asking my customers, they are not willing to pay extra.

And yes, the floods were a man-made goofie by some government officials which opened the water gates of all those dams once they were at the brink of overflowing and not continuous water releases as of the beginning of the rainy season (like they do in all other countries on this planet).

So in all fairness and common sense, the government will pay all these extras as it was their executive nameless staff who involved the costs.

Or does common sense not apply here and we just shut up and pay - as usual?

I am NOT a lawyer.

But as far as I understand, those are holidays for government workers. Unless stated in your employees contracts that you match your holidays on those from the public administration, those extra holidays are not mandatory.

Most of companies in Thailand match their holidays on the banks' schedule. The banks are now discussing whether or not they will follow the government.

As far as I'm concerned, in my company, we're neither following the government holidays, nor the banks holidays, but the public holidays as defined before the beginning of the year. Therefore, there won't be extra holidays given. We're a small company, so it's anyway easier to handle directly depending on each employee situation.

I am a lawyer and an HR manager of a Bangkok company.

This is the labor attorney side of me speaking: The Labor Protection Act only requires that you give employees 13 public holidays (from a list of 16 holidays) each year. If they work on one of those holidays, you must pay overtime. The government has merely added 3 more days to the list of 16. Banks and government offices will be closed. Private employers may remain open for business and require their employee's attendance on the holidays, without paying overtime, unless their employees have taken less than 13 public holidays during the year.

This is the HR manager side of me speaking: As a good corporate citizen, you want to sympathize and accommodate this situation which may be devastating to some of your workers. I will give you an example of an email that I sent to my staff today:

To All Staff:

The Government has designated Thursday, October 27 through Monday, October 31 as public holidays. The purpose of this holiday is to allow workers in Bangkok to return safely to their home provinces, as some areas of local flooding are anticipated over the weekend due to high tide conditions.

Please remember that these holidays apply to those who really need the time to make preparations. The Company will remain open over these holidays.

If you do not need the time off to make preparations, the Company would appreciate if you would come to work as usual. If you should need to take time off, we request that you notify HR of your absence or late arrival time for work during this flooding event.

You should also know that in the event that the office area is threatened with flooding, the Company is making relocation plans that provide for the safety and well-being of all staff and their families.

We ask that each of you take care for your health and safety during this flooding event. If you should need any assistance, do not hesitate to contact HR, as we are here to help you.

Informative, educated post. Well done!

[bkk_mike]

Are you sure it's just 3 days, or is that just for non-schools.

According to my kids' school website, the Ministry of Education has closed all schools in Bangkok until November 7th. (Not sure if this is because they don't want stories of kids drowning on their way to/from school, or if it's because a lot of evacuation centres are schools.)

[biplanebluey]

I see Air Asia are trying to make a negative into a positive I just got an email saying travel from Thailand for 780 baht.

To New Zealand?

[phetaroi]

Only in thailand do they call disaster a holiday,,,land of smiles

Seems logical! Most people like to spend their holidays by the lake or river or seaside. The Thais can do so without even leaving their neighborhood. Thailand is the hub of water vacations!

[theanimaster]

I don't think these floods were mismanaged at all. It was all planned from the very beginning -- to cause chaos, suffering, and utter destruction so that one particular politician can come in and play HERO...

... the lives and livelihoods of the Thai people for one grossly rich scumbag to become even more grossly rich. Sounds familiar... trademark even.

But what's more -- it makes his sister look like a complete block-headed imbecile (which she is anyways) while he takes the cake and becomes Saviour of Thailand. It's the perfect plan. No one benefits but "him".

Edited October 25, 2011 by theanimaster

[Bakseedaa]

a 5 day holiday is just what the people need

No food on the store shelves

No money in the bank machines

..

Great time to give workers time off to go

up north and get drunk for 5 days

..

I understand that this decision is the right one as I am in lak Si and we are being surrounded by the water but not everyone is touched by this problem. I am quite prepared to wade out of here to teach students at a private language centre (who want to study) and are not affected by this but I am forced to take a 7 day sabbatical. Crazy. Too many people mucking around doing nothing is not a good thing. Ask the UK government about what can happen in that situation. No money and no food. Could get nasty.

I would advise peoples to come down to Hua Hin, lovely sunshine, no rain, supermarkets full of goods, cheap hotels and guest houses .. lovely beach and not a cloud on the horizon... dont know what all the fuss is about, did not see a puddle on the golf course today.. pass another Chang mate... Oh, and I did donate the kids old water wings to the flood relief , so I,m not all bad..!

[thaicbr]

a 5 day holiday is just what the people need

No food on the store shelves

No money in the bank machines

..

Great time to give workers time off to go

up north and get drunk for 5 days

..

I understand that this decision is the right one as I am in lak Si and we are being surrounded by the water but not everyone is touched by this problem. I am quite prepared to wade out of here to teach students at a private language centre (who want to study) and are not affected by this but I am forced to take a 7 day sabbatical. Crazy. Too many people mucking around doing nothing is not a good thing. Ask the UK government about what can happen in that situation. No money and no food. Could get nasty.

I would advise peoples to come down to Hua Hin, lovely sunshine, no rain, supermarkets full of goods, cheap hotels and guest houses .. lovely beach and not a cloud on the horizon... dont know what all the fuss is about, did not see a puddle on the golf course today.. pass another Chang mate... Oh, and I did donate the kids old water wings to the flood relief , so I,m not all bad..!

You might not be so happy in a few days when they all arrive...because if you look at this thread.. they aint in BKK any more.

http://www.pantip.com/cafe/blueplanet/topic/E11243600/E11243600.html

[whybother]

Are you sure it's just 3 days, or is that just for non-schools.

According to my kids' school website, the Ministry of Education has closed all schools in Bangkok until November 7th. (Not sure if this is because they don't want stories of kids drowning on their way to/from school, or if it's because a lot of evacuation centres are schools.)

This has nothing to do with schools. It's businesses.

But I'm pretty sure you're right about the schools.

[hammered]

SCG and Se-Ed made good decisions to send all staff home for the period.