Your Excellency, Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra, Prime Minister;

Mr. Santi Prompat, Minister of Social Development and Human Security;

Mr. Luc Steven, UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand;

Mr. Yoshiteru Uramoto, Regional Director, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific;

Distinguished Guests, Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

I have the pleasure this morning of joining this special event of launching the Report on Social Protection Assessment Based National Dialogue: Towards a Nationally Defined Social Protection Floor in Thailand.

Your Excellency,

I would like to begin by saying that the crucial context of ILO Recommendation No. 202 related to Social Protection is coherent with the Government policy. firstly, all residents have access to affordable essential health care, including maternity care; secondly, all children receive basic income security providing access to nutrition, education, care, and any other necessary goods and services; thirdly, all persons in active age who are unable to earn sufficient income, in particular in cases of sickness, unemployment, maternity, and disability, receive basic income security; finally, all residents in old age receive basic income security either through pensions or transfers in kind.

Your Excellency,

I would like to refer to Section 84 of the current Constitution of the Kingdom Of Thailand, mentioned that “the State shall pursue directive principles of State policies in relation to economy through promoting job opportunities for people in working-age, protecting woman and child labour, promoting labour relations and the tripartite system under which workers have the rights to elect their own representatives, arranging for the social welfare system, providing protection on equal work equal pay, benefits and welfare for workers without discrimination, and arranging savings of people to live on in old age.”

We have to thank the government led by Your Excellency, that gives the priority of urgent policy to promote equality and moral through Social Protection system for all people in all age. Considering the content of the Government policy, we found that it is obviously conformed to the aims of Recommendation No. 202 in the many areas such as:

First, Further develop the health insurance system by increase the efficiency of the 30 Baht universal healthcare system , integrate the various rights of patients under different systems into the health insurance system to ensure that all citizens can access to quality, convenient, timely and equitable healthcare .

Second, Enable a worker to earn not less than 300 Baht per day and a bachelor’s degree holder to have an income of not less than 15,000 Baht per month in line with his/her productivity and efficiency; implement counter-measures to reduce the burden of entrepreneurs whom have been affected by the abovementioned measures so that workers and personnel can make a living with dignity and obtain a decent quality of life.

Third, Improve the quality of life of the elderly by providing public facilities to serve the elderly and the disabled, enhancing the country’s readiness as an aging society, and encouraging the elderly to be a productive part of society considering that the elderly are highly experienced individuals and deserved to be a part of the country’s development process.

And the forth, concerning labour policy, we launch the urgent policy of increasing social security benefits so those under the scheme could adequately access healthcare, as well as improve and expand the coverage of the scheme to entire informal sector workers.

Your Excellency,

Under the social protection scheme in Thailand, Ministry of labour provides the coverage based on the minimum standard of social security through the seven benefits of sickness, maternity, invalidity, death, child allowance, old-age pension and unemployment under Social Security Scheme. Furthermore, for those who get occupational injury are able to access to benefits under Workmen’s Compensation Fund.

The Ministry of Labour takes those who could not access to social security scheme into account by putting up the issue into priority to make all Thai people protected and secured. Both in cash and in kind benefit have been increased to guarantee that they can make a living with dignity and obtain a quality of life.

Finally, on behalf of Ministry of Labour, we have to thank ILO, the Joint Team on Social Protection and relevant officials of their effort and contribution to make this report completed. This will be served as the important guideline for further implementation on social security scheme in order to achieve the final goal of social security and sustainability in Thai society context.

Thank you.