Thailand's labour situation returning to normal

BANGKOK, December 14 (TNA) - The Ministry of Labour says that Thailand's labour situation is now returning to normal, in the wake of the country's flooding crisis over the past couple of months. Thai Labour Minister Phadermchai Sasomsab has assessed that the country's labour situation will fully return to normal by the end of 2012, acknowledging that over 550,000 people have returned to work without seeking any assistance from the government. Phadermchai said that a total of some 990,000 workers were affected by Thailand's massive floods this year, about 12,000 of them were laid off by about 55 firms and more than 200,000 of them have participated in a relief scheme sponsored by the government--in which each of them has received 2,000-baht financial support. The labour minister told reporters that he expects Thailand's post-flood labour situation will obviously improve in February 2012 when over 90 per cent of affected workers will return to work, insisting that the national employment situation will likely fully return to normal by the end of next year. (TNA)