Thailand
Thailand: FTI demands clarity on factory measures
The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) will on Tuesday ask the government to clarify measures against the spread of Covid-19 in factories and support entrepreneurs’ efforts to conduct Covid-19 testing and keep infected workers in quarantine.
The group is racing against time to submit its proposed solutions to various state agencies as the transmission of the virus threatens to affect manufacturing, which is crucial for the export sector.
The proposals, which include distribution of rapid antigen test kits (ATKs) and the use of quarantine facilities, will be sent to the Office of the Prime Minister as well as the public health, labour, interior and finance ministries, said Supant Mongkolsuthree, chairman of the FTI.
He said the federation also wants to know whether there is a clearer policy to curb the spread of the virus in factories after finding some measures, notably bubble and seal, were implemented under different regulations in many provinces.
The bubble and seal measure, used with factories with more than 200 workers, is aimed at restricting travel among employees. Workers may need to stay in factories or only travel between their dormitories and workplaces, according to media reports.
However, the different regulations to control the outbreak among these various provinces had caused confusion among factory owners and workers.
“FTI wants the government to state more clearly their orders and measures to contain the disease as well as a budget to support factories,” said Mr Supant.
The government should give ATKs free of charge to factories every 14 days. The distribution should cover at least 10% of all workers working in a factory.
“Authorities should help factories pay for ATKs as they can buy the testing equipment at prices below 200 baht, which is cheaper than ATKs bought by the FTI, said Mr Supant.
Factories now need help from the state to prevent infections from escalating.
“Covid-19 infections were already found in more than 1,000 factories. We are worried the situation will affect 5-10% of total production” said Mr Supant.
The FTI suggested the state help factories with over 300 workers set up factory quarantine and factory accommodation isolation, with beds for at least 5% of all workers.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2170015/fti-demands-clarity-on-factory-measures