Shutdowns from the pandemic could trigger a tsunami of job losses in Thailand especially for employees who don’t have a regular salary, low-paid workers and people without a written contract.

The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) says that as much as 7 million workers could be out of a job by June because of shutdowns from the pandemic.

The committee said most of the layoffs will affect low-paid workers, with 6 million out of the 7 million workers losing their jobs earning less than 20,000 baht a month, according to a Bangkok Post report.

The worst-case scenario is for employees who don’t have a regular salary in the tourism industry, like people who either work on short-term contracts or even without them. This includes guides, but also employees of parking contractors, cleaners working in shops, waiters in restaurants, suppliers of vegetables, meat and flowers to the hotels among others.

Most of these workers can be fired without notice or severance : a vast majority of daily-wage earners and informal sector labourers fall into this bracket. Their pain can be seen on Twitter and television feeds showing videos of hundreds of migrant workers travelling back to their villages after Bangkok decided to shut down restaurants and bars.

An estimated 4.2 million retail and shopping mall workers will lose their jobs, along with 1 million construction workers, 978,000 hotel workers, 250,000 restaurant workers, 200,000 spa and massage workers and 200,000 garment factory workers

The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB)

The script is similar in many other services…

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BANGKOK(NNT) – The National Older Persons Commission has resolved to suspend payments to its fund for one year, to aid low-income senior citizens.

Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister, Jurin Laksanawisit, who chaired the commission’s latest meeting, says some 41,000 senior citizens who took out loans with the Older Fund to support their careers, will have their debt repayments suspended for a year, from April 1 this year to March 31 next year. Those who want to access the privilege must identify themselves to the fund, their provincial Social Development and Human Security offices or fill out an applicable form. One person providing collateral and two witnesses must sign, or be present at the reporting, with the eligible individual also required to present their identification card and a signed copy. The Deputy Prime Minister said he has ordered relevant offices to make the process convenient for those eligible.

On claims that the budget to provide welfare payments to 4.84 million eligible senior citizens is not sufficient, the commission acknowledged that the Department of Older Persons has requested the Bureau of the Budget ask the cabinet to allot 689 million baht.

The commission then approved a range of measures to accommodate the aging society covering the four dimensions of economics, the environment, health and society. Among the measures is a proposal to allow children under 15 years of age to register with the National Savings Fund and have their parents make payments on their behalf; for local administrations to be empowered to drive life quality enhancement efforts; improvements to care for professionals who are senior citizens, and for every district to be provided with a health rehabilitation center. All the measures are now pending cabinet approval.

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BANGKOK (NNT) – The inflation rate of the Thai economy has been reduced sharply by lower oil prices and a lesser demand for goods due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation has caused the March 2020 inflation rate to recede to 0.54 percent, marking the first recession in 33 months, and the lowest inflation rate in 51 months. The country’s inflation rate this year is now expected to drop to 0.6 percent, from the previous projection of 0.8 percent growth.

The Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) has revealed the Thai economy’s inflation rate in March 2020 was a negative 0.54 percent, making the overall rate for Q1 2020 0.41 percent higher than the previous year.

TPSO’s Director General Pimchanok Vonkorpon said today the global economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and the falling energy price have been the main factors affecting inflation in this year’s first quarter, however there is still no indication as to when these issues will be resolved.

The inflation rate in Q2 is expected to continue receding through to the second half of the year.

The Ministry of Commerce has readjusted the 2020 inflation rate projection to a negative 0.6 percent, within a range of -1.0 to -0.2 percent. The inflation rate this year was initially expected to be 0.8 percent, within a range of 0.4 to 1.2 percent.

Pricing of some products such as limes and chicken eggs has recently risen due to the drought disaster and panic buying. This situation allowed fresh food items to grow at 2.46 percent, albeit the lowest performance in a year. This is due to lower demand from fewer tourists, and the closure of shops and schools.

The pricing of instant meals, condiments, and personal items is still stable, with variations resulting from promotions by modern trade retailers.

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