27-7-2024 (BANGKOK) The Labour Ministry has stepped in to address the ongoing dispute over unpaid wages that has led to widespread protests at Thai Oil’s refinery in Chon Buri. Hundreds of workers have been demonstrating since Wednesday, demanding their overdue salaries from Sinopec Engineering Group (Thailand) Co Ltd, a subcontractor of Thai Oil.
The protest, which has drawn the attention of local authorities, stems from Sinopec’s failure to pay its employees since May. Officials from various agencies, including the Department of Provincial Administration office in Sri Racha district, Laem Chabang Police Station, the Labour Protection and Welfare Office, and the Provincial Social Security Office, are closely monitoring the situation.
Labour Ministry spokesman Phumiphat Mueanchan revealed that Sinopec owes approximately 134 million baht to its 1,000 employees, covering unpaid salaries for May and June. The root cause of this financial shortfall has been traced to Sinopec not receiving payments from its multinational unincorporated joint venture partners Petrofac, Saipem, and Samsung (UJV).
The UJV had contracted Sinopec as a subcontractor for Thai Oil’s Clean Fuel Project (CFP). In response to the crisis, Chon Buri’s Labour Protection and Welfare Office has urged Sinopec to settle the overdue salaries promptly. The company has committed to making a partial payment of 40 million baht on 20 August.
Mr Mueanchan also noted that the issue extends beyond Sinopec, with UJV reportedly owing payments to several other subcontractors, affecting approximately 8,000 employees in total. The scale of the problem became evident when over 500 employees joined the protest on Wednesday.
Shedding light on the complex contractual arrangements, Department of Labour Protection and Welfare director-general Sopha Kiatniracha explained that Thai Oil had engaged multiple contractors for its CFP project. The UJV serves as one of the primary contractors, with Sinopec being a major subcontractor under UJV.
Ms Kiatniracha emphasised that Thai Oil has been punctual with its payments to main contractors, suggesting that the current predicament stems from UJV’s failure to pay its subcontractors in a timely manner.
