Thai Oil denies 567 million baht payment for overdue wages

Thai Oil Public Company Ltd firmly denied agreeing to issue a payment of 567 million baht to settle outstanding wages owed to workers by subcontractors.

The unpaid wages are linked to the Unincorporated Joint Venture (UJV) consortium, a subcontractor hired by Thai Oil. The consortium consists of Petrofac South East Asia Pte Ltd, Saipem Singapore Pte Ltd, and Samsung E&A (Thailand) Co Ltd, and was tasked with constructing the Clean Fuel Project (CFP).

More than 8,000 workers, including Vietnamese nationals, are employed by three firms under Sinopec, which is a subcontractor of UJV. These firms are One Turn Ten Co Ltd, EMCO LTD Co Ltd, and Thai Fong Engineering and Construction Co Ltd.

Reports indicate that the issue of overdue wages has persisted for months. Subcontracting firms informed the workers that no money was forthcoming from UJV, despite Thai Oil maintaining that it had made timely payments to the consortium.

Disgruntled workers protested in April, prompting labour officials to step in and mediate the dispute. Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn noted that officials from the Chon Buri Provincial Office for Labour Welfare and Protection have been negotiating between workers and employers since July 24.

Some workers took their grievances to the office, filing formal complaints against their employers. Previous negotiations had resulted in an unsatisfactory agreement where employees were offered partial payments of 2,000 to 3,000 baht each, amounts deemed insufficient to cover daily living costs.

“The issue has escalated, leading to protests from July 24 to 26 and another two-day protest beginning yesterday outside the Thai Oil refinery plant in Sri Racha district, Chon Buri.”

Sopha Kiatniracha, director-general of the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare (DLPW), along with executives and officials, was slated to engage in discussions with Thai Oil and staff to seek a resolution, according to Minister Phiphat.

Sopha stated on Tuesday, July 30, that Thai Oil agreed to advance payment of 567 million baht to resolve the overdue wages issue by next month. However, Thai Oil denied this claim yesterday.

“The company has not entered into any agreement to make an advance payment. The responsibility to meet the payment obligation lies with UJV and the subcontractors,”

Thai Oil added that it has fulfilled all its payment obligations with UJV for the engineering work, procurement, and construction, reported Bangkok Post.

ORIGINAL STORY: Thai Oil workers protest unpaid wages, ministry demands resolution

Hundreds of workers have been protesting outside Thai Oil’s refinery in Chon Buri since Wednesday, July 24 due to unpaid wages. The Labour Ministry has stepped in, urging relevant parties to resolve the issue promptly.

Employees of Sinopec Engineering Group (Thailand) Co Ltd, a subcontractor for Thai Oil, initiated the protest after not receiving their salaries since May. The protest has drawn the attention of several agencies, including the Department of Provincial Administration in Sri Racha district, Laem Chabang Police Station, the Labour Protection and Welfare Office, and the Provincial Social Security Office.

Labour Ministry spokesperson Phumiphat Mueanchan stated that Sinopec owes 1,000 employees a total of 134 million baht for unpaid salaries from May and June. Sinopec’s payment issues stem from not receiving payments from its multinational unincorporated joint venture with Petrofac, Saipem, and Samsung (UJV).

Sinopec was subcontracted by the UJV to work on Thai Oil’s Clean Fuel Project (CFP).

Chon Buri’s Labour Protection and Welfare Office has demanded that Sinopec settle its outstanding payments to employees. Sinopec has agreed to make a partial payment of 40 million baht on August 20.

Phumiphat also disclosed that the UJV owes payments to several other subcontractors, impacting around 8,000 employees.

Over 500 employees participated in the protest on Wednesday.

Department of Labour Protection and Welfare Director-General Sopha Kiatniracha explained that Thai Oil hired multiple contractors for its CFP project, with UJV being one of the main contractors. Sinopec is a significant subcontractor under UJV.

Thai Oil has paid its main contractors on time, indicating that the payment delay issues lie with UJV’s failure to pay its subcontractors promptly.

The situation remains under scrutiny as the involved parties work towards a resolution, reported Bangkok Post.