Nearly 40 inundated plants close businesses

BANGKOK, December 3 (TNA) - A total of 39 business plants in Thailand, mostly are manufacturers of automobile parts and located at flood-hit industrial sites, have decided to close down their businesses, leaving nearly 11,000 workers jobless. Thai Labour Minister Phadermchai Sasomsab said on Friday that the jobless workers should not be worried, as his ministry has more than 100,000 jobs available for them now, acknowledging, however, that the workers who were laid off are legally entitled to receive compensation and other benefits from their employers. According to the labour minister, local flood-affected business operators which have sought government assistance have informed the government that they will not terminate their employees and will continue their businesses. Meanwhile, Pravej Ongartsittigul, Secretary-General of the Thai Ministry of Commerce's Office of Insurance Commission (OIC), announced that his office have joined hands with several agencies in setting up automobile service centres, where 20 items of check-up and repair for cars and motorcycles are offered, free of charges, to owners at upcoming events to be organised at four different locations, including the government's new cluster of offices on Chaeng Wattana Road in Bangkok on December 8, the Bang Bua Thong municipal office in Nonthaburi Province on December 14, the Mall Ngam-wongwan Shopping Centre in the outskirts of Bangkok from December 15-18 and the Metalex 2011 fair held at Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) in Bangkok's Bangna area from December 21-24. It has been initially estimated that about 40,000 cars have been damaged by widespread floods in Thailand since late July. (TNA)