Labour advocates have objected to plans by the Social Security Office to buy Bt1.5 billion worth of rice for nine million workers and to reduce contributions to the fund by both workers and employers.

Unions will submit a letter of objection to Labour Minister Phaithoon Kaeothong on Monday, calling for a review of both projects.

But Phaithoon responded yesterday that the idea of giving "five kilometres of rice" to each worker came from the previous administration and had been proposed to the SSO board five times already.

He said he would have to consider details in regard to legal matters, appropriateness and workers' benefits before announcing his decision on whether to proceed or not.

Permanentsecretary for Labor Somchai Chumrat, also president of the 15strong SSO board, said board members representing workers had proposed the rice project and the board felt it had more benefits than drawbacks thus approved it. The board would submit details to Phaithoon in a week or two and would abide by whatever the minister decided.

If the project went ahead, it would be done transparently and according to regulations.

Somchai said cutting contributions to the SSO fund by 2.5 per cent was possible provided there were legal amendments. But he admitted it would affect fund benefits worth Bt20 billion. The SSO would face difficulties because it functioned as a database for workers who would receive the Bt2,000 handout and the free rice grains, which was something new to SSO, he said.

Former SSO secretarygeneral Pairoj Suksamrit said that he disagreed with the free rice project as it would lead to problems such as rice quality and distribution system to SSO subฌscribers nationwide.

The better help would be in a form of government funds to provide more welfare to the workers, he added. Spending the SSO fund was risky and should be done in a welfareboosting form such as asking shopping malls to give 510 per cent discount of consumer products to the workers, he said. The money to buy rice was also the administrative budget, he said expressing his view that buying rice grains for workers should not be a mission for the Labour Ministry.

However, he admitted that the SSO fund contribution reduction might be useful to a certain degree because some employers had to distributed a total of millions of baht each month, thus the reduction should help in preventing workers' layoff. He suggested that the reduction should not cover the retirement fund because such was the workers' saving.

President of the Confederation of Thai Labour, Manas Kosol said various labour federations disagreed with the raice project beacsue the five kilograms of rice was only Bt100, so it wouldn't help the workers much. It would be better to invest some Bt1 billion budget to assist the workers in distress as those facing a layoff and, since they had not contributed to the SSo fund for more than 180 days, was not entitled to the unemployment compensation. As for the SSO fund contribution reduction by 2.5 per cent from both the workers' and employers' side, he said the workers could only gain an average of Bt200Bt300 per month but this would affect their retirement fund, which would loose billions of baht income.

Manas said the worker groups would submit their objection to Phaithoon on January 26.

Thai Labour Solidarity Committee President Wilaiwan Saetia urged the fund contribution reduction to be reviewed and implemented with cautions and if problems raised the government should be ready to pay for the loss. She commented that the rice project might be a channel for corruption.

Banking and Finance Labour Federation President, Chaiyasit Suksomboon, said he disagreed with the rice project due to a possible lack of transparency while the fund contriฌbution reduction would affect the SSO subscribers' future savฌings.

PM Abhisit Vejjajiva said he didn't have details about the rice project yet thus would ask the SSO for details first.

Chiang Rai Rice Mill Association head Siri Chaisathitwanich disagreed with the rice project on ground that it was not useful and could bring about allegations of lack of transparency and auction rigging. If it would be done, he suggested the government bring the rice in stock, which the government got from rice pledging this year, for distribution rather than from an auction with a private company.