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On 5 August 2025, the Labour Court Region 5 has read the verdict of the Supreme Court in the Black Case no. R212–246/2564 and Red Case no. R58–92/2565 between 35 migrant workers employed as subcontracted workers for the employer who won the bidding of cleaning project in a hospital in Chiang Mai, as plaintiff, and the Employee Welfare Fund Committee and the Chiang Mai Provincial Governor regarding access to the Employee Welfare Fund.
Upholding verdicts of the Lower Labour Court (https://hrdfoundation.org/?p=2721 ) and the Court of Appeal for Specialized Cases (Labour) (https://hrdfoundation.org/?p=2962 ), the Supreme Court rules that the 35 migrant workers are entitled to receiving benefits from the Employee Welfare Fund for the total amount of 939,770 baht, even though the employees may not have the proper work-related documentation.
This case stems from that the Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF) has been asked for legal assistance by 38 migrant workers employed by a cleaning company subcontracted to work for a public hospital in Chiang Mai. As the company has failed to pay the employees both their wage and compensation, the employees have complained with the labour inspector, the Chiang Mai Office of Labour Protection and Welfare. On 8 September 2020, the labour inspector issued an order no. CM 0029/4346 instructing the employer to pay both wage and severance pay to all the workers for the amount of 1,097,620 baht (one million, ninety-seven-thousand, six hundred and twenty baht). Despite being informed of the order, the employer refused to act in its compliance and did not appeal the labour inspector’s order within 30 days. As a result, all of the workers have applied for benefits from the Employee Welfare Fund, but the Employee Welfare Fund Committee decided that only workers with Thai nationality were allowed to receive the benefits, while denying the other 35 workers the access to the Employee Welfare Fund citing their lack of eligibility according to the conditions set forth in the guidelines of the Office of Labour Protection and Welfare (the circular letter no. R-NG 0507/W006876). Hence, the case has been filed with the Labour Court.
As legal representatives in this case, HRDF deems it fit that the Ministry of Labour should review and revise the policy on the management of foreign workers which has caused the migrant workers who have registered legally to become undocumented workers. The underlying problems are down to the highly complicated registration process which force both the employers and the employees to rely on services from brokers. And that has led to mistakes in the work-related documentation, problems during the change of employers, or the document retention problem, all of which have caused the workers to become undocumented and not receive justice. State protection mechanisms often invoke the workers’ legal status as a reason to deny them access to the rights prescribed by labour protection law, which is concerned with public order and good morals and human dignity and are upheld in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand and the international conventions to which Thailand is a state party. By doing so, it shall not promote the atmosphere inducive to respect of human rights among businesses, even though the Thai government is being engaged in the drafting of the law to human rights due diligence B.E……. (draft HRDD Act).
Please see detailed information and material about the Employee Welfare Fund at:
For more information, please contact
Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF)
Email: in**@***********on.org, su*****@***il.com
