Govt stresses efforts to help the poor

After four ministers held talks with the Assembly of the Poor, a Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office assigned as the main negotiator, yesterday received suggestions in person from the Assembly, while reassuring those involved that the government has long been committed to solving their issues, but some cases may take longer if involved with policies and law.

A Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office Tewan Liptapallop, who is the chairman of the negotiating team with the Assembly of the Poor, yesterday held talks with Assembly representatives to discuss ways to solve their problems, which include the failure of a private company to provide employment termination compensation as required by law, and suggestions for the Ministry of Labour to amend employment-related law such as the Labour Relations Act, the Social Security Act, and related laws to ensure fair treatment of employees.

Mr Tewan said he has been alerted to many issues by the Assembly, and will be forwarding these cases to relevant ministries for further investigation and to find solutions before the next meeting, adding that the government will regularly hold meetings with the Assembly.

He said the Assembly understood the government’s role in examining some of these issues which may take a lengthy period to resolve, especially those addressing existing policies and law, however the government has confirmed it will pursue these cases to lessen the hardships faced by Assembly members, but the length of time required is unclear.

“Listening to their concerns, I looked at many aspects. I think today the Assembly for the Poor is really facing hardships. They just want all problems to end. They also understand some issues will take some time to solve as they require actions at the policy level. We will do all we can for issues we can address now, but those requiring policy and law amendment will take some time.”

NNT

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