The Ministry of Labor has issued a notification forbidding employers from locking out employees and forbidding employees from striking during the period of emergency situation, in accordance with the 2005 Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations.
The notification, signed by Labor Minister M.R. Chatu Mongol Sonakul, has been in effect from 8 May 2020 onwards, after it was published in the Royal Gazette.
It requires both employers and employees in all areas of the country to strictly follow the Labor Relations Act B.E. 2518 (1975). When there is a dispute between them that cannot be settled, the dispute should be submitted to the Labor Relations Committee for settlement.
In cases that involve lockouts and strikes that had taken place before this notification came into force, employers who locked out employees should allow them to return to work, while employees who staged strikes should also return to work as normal.
The Government on 25 March 2020 issued the declaration of an emergency situation in all areas of the Kingdom of Thailand, to be effective from 26 March to 30 April 2020, in order to contain the spread of COVID-19. Later, it extended the period of the emergency situation declaration from 1 May to 31 May 2020.
This article is taken from Thailand PRD
Photo: GCR