Thailand
NOTIFICATION OF THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR
Re : Working Safety in Respect to Environmental Condition*
* Government Gazette Vol. 93, Part 148, dated 30 November 2519.
By virtue of the provisions of Clause 2 (7) of the
Announcement of the Revolutionary Party No. 103, dated 16 March
2515, the Ministry of Interior hereby prescribes the welfare
on health and safety for the employees as follows:
GENERAL
Clause 1. In this Notification:
"Condition of heat" means the temperature
around the
employee while under normal working condition.
"Employer" means the person who agrees to
accept the
employee for employment by paying wages, and shall also include
the person assigned by the employer to act on his behalf. In the
case that the employer is a juristic person, it means the person
authorized to act on behalf of such juristic person, and shall
also include the person assigned to act on behalf of the
authorized person of said juristic person.
"Employee" means the person who agrees to
work for an
employer for a return in wages, regardless of the fact whether
he receives the wages himself or not, and shall include permanent
employee and temporary employee but not including an employee who
performs domestic service.
"Permanent Employee" means an employee whom
the employer
agrees to employ on a permanent basis.
"Temporary Employee" means an employee whom
the employer
agrees to employ not on permanent basis, but for the employment
of which the nature is occasional, temporary or seasonal.
CHAPTER 1: HEAT
Clause 2. Within the place where the employees are
working,
the condition of heat shall not cause the body temperature of the
employee to rise above 38 Q Celsius.
Clause 3. In places of work where condition of heat
causes
the body temperature of employees to rise over 38ø Celsius, the
employer shall carry out a remedy or modification to reduce such
condition of heat. If such remedy or modification cannot be
carried out, the employer shall provide the employees with heat
protective equipment to prevent their body temperature
rising above 38ø Celsius.
Clause 4. In the event the body temperature of an
employee
rises over 38ø Celsius, the employer shall grant a temporary rest
period to such employee until his body temperature returns to
normal.
Clause 5. At the sources of heat where the condition of
heat
are hazardous to individual health the employer shall post
notices to such effect as a sign of caution thereof.
Clause 6. The employer shall provide employees working
in
the vicinity of a source of heat generating a temperature of over
45 ø Celsius to the surrounding area, with protective apparels,
shoes and gloves throughout the working period in accordance with
the standards as prescribed in Chapter 4.
CHAPTER 2: LIGHTING
Clause 7. Within the places of work the employees shall
work
as follows:
(1) For work of non-precision nature such as moving,
filing,
grinding or grading of rough material, the lighting intensity
shall not be less than 50 lux;
(2) For work requiring a small degree of precision such
as
the production or assembling of rough pieces of work, the milling
of rice, combing of cotton or the initial stage of work in the
various industrial processes, the lighting intensity shall not
be less than 100 lux.
Clause 8. At a place of work, any one employee shall
work
as follows:
(1) For work requiring medium degree of precision such
as
sewing of cloth, sewing of leather, assembling of utensils etc.,
the lighting intensity shall not be less than 20() lux;
(2) For work requiring higher degree of precision than
mentioned in (1) but not higher than prescribed in (3) such as
the milling or working of metal, repairing of machinery,
inspecting and testing of products, dressing of leather or cotton
cloth, weaving etc., the lighting intensity shall not be less
than 300 lux;
(3) For work requiring special degree of precision and
long
period of working time such as the assemblings of machinery or
equipment of small size, watches, the cutting of diamonds,
polishing of precious stones, sewing of cloth of dark shades
etc., the lighting intensity shall not be less than 1000 lux.
Clause 9. Roads and pathways outside of buildings
within the
place of work; shall have a lighting intensity of not less than
20 lux.
Clause 10. Godowns or storerooms, walk-ways, cat-walks
and
stairs within a place of work shall have a lighting intensity of
not less than 50 lux.
Clause 11. The employer shall take measures to prevent
direct light or reflected rays of the sun or light generating
source from shining into the eyes of employees while at work. In
the event such prevention cannot be effectively rendered, the
employer shall have employees working under such conditions wear,
throughout the working period, light protective eye-pieces
or visors of the standards as prescribed in Chapter 4.
Clause 12. The employer shall have any employee working
in
caves, tunnels or places with insufficient lighting wear,
throughout the working period, protective helmet equipped with
lighting source of the standards as prescribed in Chapter 4.
CHAPTER 3: NOISE
Clause 13. Within a place of work, any employee shall
work
as follows:
(1)Not more than seven hours per day; the sound level
which
the employee is continuously exposed to, shall not exceed ninety
-one decibel (a);
(2) More than seven but less than eight hours per day;
the
sound level which the employee is continuously exposed to, shall
not exceed ninety decibels (a);
(3) More than eight hours per day; the sound level
which the
employee is continuously exposed to, shall not exceed eighty
decibels (a).
Clause 14. The employer shall not have any employee to
work
in a place where the sound level is in excess of one hundred and
forty decibels (a).
Clause 15. In a place where the sound level which the
employee is continuously exposed to is in excess of that
prescribed under Clause 13, the employer shall rectify or modify
the source of such sound or sound passage not to exceed the
prescribed level.
Clause 16. In the event where rectification or
modification
cannot be carried out as prescribed under Clause 15, the employer
shall arrange for the employee to wear, throughout the working
period, ear plugs or ear muffs of the standards as prescribed in
Chapter 4.
CHAPTER 4: STANDARDS CONCERNING
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT FOR PERSONAL
SAFETY
Clause 17. Protective helmet shall not weight more than
four
hundred and twenty four grams, made of non-metallic material and
shall be able to withstand impact of not less than three hundred
and eighty five kilograms. The interior shall be fitted with a
head-band made of leather, plastic, cloth or other similar
material at a distance of not less than one centimeter which
shall be adjustable according to the size of the user's head to
prevent the head from hitting against the interior.
For helmets equipped with lighting device, apart from
compliance. to the standards specified in proceeding paragraph,
there shall be a lighting device generating an intensity of not
less than 20 lux fixed at the forward position.
Clause 18. Ear plugs shall be made of plastic or rubber
or
other material for insertion into both ears and shall be able to
reduce the sound level by no less than 15 decibels (a).
Clause 19. Ear muffs shall be made of plastic or rubber
or
other material covering both ears and shall be able to reduce the
sound level by no less than 25 decibels (a).
Clause 20. Protective eye-pieces shall have coloured
glass
capable of reducing the intensity of light to a level not
hazardous to the eyes. The frame shall be light and equipped with
a light shield of soft material.
Clause 21. Visors shall be made of coloured glass
capable
of reducing the intensity of light to a level not hazardous to
the eyes. The frame shall be light and not flammable.
Clause 22. Protective apparels, shoes and gloves
capable of
preventing that heat in accordance with Clause 6 shall be made
of light-weight material and able to withstand heat from the
source of heat.
CHAPTER 5: MISCELLANEOUS
Clause 23. Prescriptions on health and safety in this
Notification are only minimum basic requirements which must be
adhered to.
Clause 24. The employer may, for work of any nature for
which the employee cannot conveniently utilize the protective
personal safety equipment as prescribed in this Notification,
allow the employee to suspend the use of such protective
equipment temporarily for such specific work
Clause. 25. In the event the competent officer finds
the
conditions of heat, lighting or sound within a place of work to
be contrary to those prescribed under this Notification, he shall
make recommendation in writing to the employer to carry out
proper action within the specified time.
Clause 26. This Notification of the Ministry if
Interior
shall become effective after the lapse of one hundred and eighty
days from the date of publication on the Government Gazette.
Given on the 12 November 2519
KANUANG LUECHAI
Deputy Minister of Interior,
acting for Minister of Interior.
The International Labour Organization is a United Nations specialized agency.