Summary of AMCHAM Business Today Video Conference for April 1

Summary of AMCHAM Business Today Video Conference

Date: April 01^st 2020

A video conference meeting was held by AMCHAM Thailand at 10:00 AM on Wednesday April 1^st, to give the chance for our members to discuss developments that are affecting their businesses and learn what their peers are doing in response.

The following is a brief meeting summary that highlights the major items discussed and the agreed upon action items.

Summary

Cabinet Resolutions

On March 31^st, the cabinet has approved changes to their financial packages that were to be given out to workers affected by the coronavirus outbreak. These include:
- Workers’ contribution to the Social Security Fund adjusted from 221 to 86 baht.
- Self-employed workers’ contributions to the fund lowered.
- People whose employers were affected by the government closure declarations will now be entitled to 62% (previously 50%) of their daily wage for up to 90 days with a 15,000-baht cap.
- People who lost their job due to the outbreak will also receive 62% of their daily wage for no more than 90 days (previously 50% for 180 days).
Over 20 million people have registered for the 5,000-baht cash handout granted by the Thai government to ease the impact of COVID-19, however only 9 million will be eligible according to the Finance Minister, Uttama Savanayana.
Phuket Airspace has been ordered to shut down effective from April 10 until April 30.

Labor Law Issues

As a trending topic from the previous week, members have once again expressed concerns for clear and consistent directions from the government on this issue.
A member company has prepared a labor law paper for businesses with high number of employees, suggesting an alternative arrangement with the government on a temporary law where businesses are able to park a certain number of employees without pay to ensure the business survive.
Currently, there is no sign of that in Thailand. Businesses would have to pay 75% of the worker’s daily wage if they were ordered not to work or the employer could accept the lofty severance pay to lay off the employee.
In addition, if all workers do not cooperate, it could turn into a big liability down the track when the situation settles down and there seems to be no other way out.
Another member has recommended that the government should use other countries as examples to see what works and what does not to prevent viable and legitimate businesses from going bankrupt and causing a big dip in the economy.
In China, the government has established a law where employers can dismiss their workers at 50% of average wage as severance pay if there is an economic crisis caused by unforeseen events for over 2 months. This is used as a final tight roadblock stopping more businesses from flopping in the country.
They also pointed out that the hospitality industry is a valuable case to extract best practices and policy recommendations from, since they are one of the industries to be hit hardest by the virus, while still maintaining a viable stance.
A member company has advised that companies that feel like they are indirectly affected by the government orders to should consult with their local social security office, since some would allow them to send in the claim forms even if the business is not necessarily closed down by the government.

Lockdown Measures

We have seen some major provinces in Thailand imposing full lockdowns such as in Buriram, Chonburi and Phuket.
In addition, Nonthaburi province which is a part of Greater Bangkok has enforced a curfew on all non-essential travel from 11PM to 5AM, which is causing unease to businesses that are operating 24/7 in Bangkok.
The government has left this decision to the provincial governors to decide on what they see fit. In Bangkok’s case, the governor is in a meeting today to discuss this issue and a partial curfew might be enabled.
In the AMCHAM position paper to the Prime Minister, one of the proposals was to authorize good transporters, manufacturers and service providers to continue to operate allowing an uninterrupted movement of essential supplies.
A member with previous experience of operating through lockdowns in Bangkok mentioned that employers should remain calm since it is highly unlikely that they would order a full lockdown where the whole city must stay home at gunpoint.
The Thai government usually incorporate high exemptions and are not particularly stringent on people driving their own vehicles to work.
On the other end of the scale, companies going through their WFH Periods are experiencing a contrasting issue where both employers and employees are feeling rather down and depressed due to the sudden lack of social interactions, which could seriously hinder work productivity.

Action Points