Thai Oil Public Company Ltd has denied agreeing to make a payment of 567 million baht to settle outstanding wages owed to workers by subcontractors.
The unpaid wages are reportedly owed by the Unincorporated Joint Venture (UJV) consortium, which acts as a subcontractor for Thai Oil. This consortium consists of Petrofac South East Asia Pte Ltd, Saipem Singapore Pte Ltd, and Samsung E&A (Thailand) Co Ltd, which were contracted by Thai Oil to construct its Clean Fuel Project (CFP).
Over 8,000 workers, including Vietnamese nationals, are employed by three firms—One Turn Ten Co Ltd, EMCO LTD Co Ltd, and Thai Fong Engineering and Construction Co Ltd—operating under Sinopec, which is, in turn, a subcontractor for UJV.
Reports indicate that the issue of overdue wages has remained unresolved for months. The subcontracting firms informed the workers that no payments were forthcoming from UJV, even though Thai Oil maintains that it has made timely payments to the consortium.
This situation led to a protest by dissatisfied workers in April, prompting labor authorities to step in and mediate the dispute. Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn stated that officials from the Chon Buri Provincial Office for Labour Welfare and Protection have been facilitating discussions between the workers and employers since July 24.
Some workers have filed formal complaints against their employers with the labor office.
Previously, negotiations yielded an unsatisfactory agreement, offering employees partial payments ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 baht each, which the workers deemed inadequate to cover their living expenses.
The issue has raised the possibility of escalating protests, with demonstrations held from July 24-26 and another two-day protest starting Wednesday outside the Thai Oil refinery plant in Sri Racha district, Chon Buri.
Sopha Kiatniracha, the director-general of the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare (DLPW), along with executives and officials, plans to meet with Thai Oil and staff to seek a resolution, according to Mr. Phiphat.
Ms. Sopha stated on Tuesday that Thai Oil had agreed to advance a payment of 567 million baht to resolve the overdue wages issue by next month, but Thai Oil refuted this claim on Wednesday.
The company clarified that it has not entered into any agreement to make an advance payment, emphasizing that the responsibility for meeting payment obligations falls on the UJV and subcontractors. Thai Oil added that it has fulfilled all its payment commitments to UJV for engineering work, procurement, and construction.
