SSO
Mixed response to new SSB team
Pratch Rujivanarom
The Nation

Labour chief praises move, but his deputy Wilaiwan is against govt intervention

BANGKOK: -- THE GOVERNMENT'S move to use the special powers granted to it under Section 44 of the interim charter to appoint a new Social Security Board instead of waiting for a proposed election in April has sparked a mixed reaction.

On Sunday, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) issued Order 40/2558 to abolish the board and its adviser team, the Medical Committee and Compensation Fund Committee, and appointed a new board to serve for two years.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha explained the order by saying that he had followed people's demands to introduce a smoother working process at the Social Security Office.

"I did not order the old members of the board to be imprisoned or killed. I have just empowered the board and clarified their duties, so they can work faster and be more efficient," he said.

Charlie Loisung, the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee president, said he was happy with the new board being set up by the NCPO because the list of new members was not bad.

He also said the current board's term ended this month and the system to select a new board was not ready.

"We have to admit that the time-scale to set up the election for 13 million insurers in the Social Security System was too tight and the election would cost more than Bt3 billion - which still could not ensure that the election would succeed," he said.

The selection criteria were amended to use an election system involving every Social Security insurer. The amendment to the Social Security Act came into effect last month ahead of the proposed election of a new board in April.

"This is the right moment for the NCPO to set up the new board because if we could not hold the election, the existing board members would have to stay as acting members," Charlie said. And he did not think that was a good idea, given the board's reputation.

In announcing the establishment of the new board, the NCPO said the action was due to an operational "malfunction" at the Social Security Office that would affect the benefits of business owners, employees and the government.

There was a necessity to appoint a new board, the junta said. Charlie believed new board members would do their job honestly and foster a good election system over the next two years.

But Wilaiwan Sae-Tia, vice president of the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee, expressed suspicion over the move and questioned whether the action would affect workers' rights to participate in the Social Security System.

"I wonder why they [the NCPO] did this and did it for whom. The government and NCPO always say they are strictly following the law, but this order is a violation of the Social Security Act," she said.

"I insist that the board members have to be selected by election, as it is our right to participate in a matter that affects our livelihood."

Meanwhile, Manit Promareekul, president of the Automobile Labour Congress, said he was ready to take charge of the new Social Security Committee to which he has been appointed, in order to solve problems within the Social Security Office and ensure a smooth transition of board members over the next two years.

"Lots of tasks have to be dealt with, as we have to tackle problems within the organisation and make sure that the interests of insurers and business owners are protected," Manit said.

He said the main reason the board was established was to set up the election method to make sure it is not too expensive and suits the insurers who have right to vote in a one-man one-vote scheme. "My concern is that the election is too expensive for selecting a board that will only serve a two-year term," he stated.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Mixed-response-to-new-SSB-team-30272672.html

-- The Nation 2015-11-11

So much for his statements of only using his super hero powers for the sake of national security.