TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS II TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS VII FOREWORD XI EXECUTIVE SUMMARY XII CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. Overview 1 1.2. Definitions 1 1.3. Report Structure 2 CHAPTER 2. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC TRENDS 3 INFLUENCING SOCIAL PROTECTION POLICY CHAPTER 3. OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL ASSISTANCE, SOCIAL INSURANCE AND LABOR MARKET PROGRAMS 9 3.1. Overview 9 3.2. Evolution of policy settings 9 3.3. Summary of social protection and labor market interventions by life-stage 10 3.4. Enrolment coverage (by life cycle) 12 3.5. Social protection spending composition 13 CHAPTER 4. SOCIAL ASSISTANCE 17 4.1. Overview 17 4.2. Programs 17 4.3. Coverage (by income distribution) 21 4.4. Expenditure 24 4.5. Beneficiary Incidence 25 4.6. Impact 27 4.7. Adequacy 27 4.8. Social assistance and COVID-19 33 CHAPTER 5. PENSIONS 35 5.1. Overview 35 5.2. Pension schemes 36 5.3. Coverage 39 5.4. Expenditure 39 5.5. Adequacy 39 5.6. Sustainability 40 5.7. Towards better, more adequate coverage 41 CHAPTER 6. LABOR MARKET PROGRAMS AND POLICIES 43 6.1. Overview 43 6.2. Passive labor market policies 43 6.3. Active labor market programs 46 TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS III CHAPTER 7. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS AND DELIVERY SYSTEMS 53 7.1. Overview 53 7.2. Institutional arrangements 53 7.3. Legal framework 55 7.4. Delivery systems 55 7.5. Identification 56 7.6. Administrative databases 57 7.7. Social assistance program registries and Management Information Systems (MIS) 58 7.8. Enrolment, registration and verification 59 7.9. Strengthening data governance: towards a virtual social registry for Thailand 60 7.10. Payment systems 62 CHAPTER 8. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 63 REFERENCES 67 ANNEX 74 TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS IV FIGURES Figure 1: Old Age Dependency ratio 2000 to 2060 4 Figure 2: Informality rates by gender, education, urban and rural areas, and sector in 2018 4 Figure 3: Number of people affected by disasters 2008-2017 (millions) 6 Figure 4: Comparing the impact of COVID-19 on different income groups 6 Figure 5: Average family wage/business/farming per capita income (2017). 18 Figure 6: Number of SWC enrollments by income level ( 15 Lump sum Lump sum or else lump sum Benefit indexation No systematic indexation n.a. n.a. Reserves B1.17 trillion (8% of GDP) B1.1 trillion B258 billion Source: Authors’ compilation from sources as of 2017/18/19. Private sec- tor workers are allowed to participate in the National Savings Fund, but Wage ceiling is B4,800 under Article 39, for workers who leave labor market before age 55 8. if they are part of other existing pension schemes (GPF, PVD, SSF etc.) but continue contributing to the fund. they are not eligible for matching contributions from the government (Money Guru 2015). SSF and RMF asset totals include formal and infor- 9. Individuals are eligible to receive tax benefits under RMF if they do not withdraw early. mal sectors – information on the split is unavailable. Total assets of SSF as of 2017 was about B1.85 trillion which includes assets for other 10. insurance benefits offered by the SSF (sickness, maternity, invalidity, child allowance)). TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 38 Competing pension reform proposals currently under and cover illness and invalidity. The highest rate of coverage consideration in Thailand aim for universal coverage also offers child and maternity benefits. of defined contribution schemes. A key difference in the proposals is the institutional arrangement. One proposal The National Savings Fund Act was introduced in 2011 but became would use a centralized provident fund (as in Singapore) effective only in August 2015. This scheme aims to target while another would rely on private provident funds. low-income informal sector workers and the unemployed. A low minimum annual contribution of only B50 (USD 2) is required, up Informal sector workers to a maximum contribution of B13,200 (USD 406). The government matches contributions for workers with an amount capped Thailand has three prominent voluntary pension schemes to which at B600, 960 or 1,200 based on age of the member. The informal sector workers can contribute – the SSF (under Article 40), pensionable age is 60 and the amount of pension is equal the National Savings Fund (NSF), and the Retirement Mutual Fund to total savings in member accounts divided by 240 (20*12 (RMF). Coverage rates among informal sector workers continue to months). If pensioners die before age 80, government pays remain low despite varying amounts of matching contributions the outstanding amount as a lump sum to survivors. If pensioners offered by government through these schemes (see Table 12 below). live beyond age 80, they can register for the OAA (social pension). Under Section 40 of the SSF, introduced in 2011, informal sector workers are permitted to make voluntary contributions. There are The Retirement Mutual Fund is a voluntary individual pension plan. three packages available for informal sector workers to choose from, The scheme is open for all groups of people who want to save money with individual contributions of B70, 100 or 300 per month for their retirement, informal sector workers are included (SET 2015). depending on the package, with government contributing B30, 50 The government provides generous tax incentives for those who save or 150 respectively. All three packages provide for a lump sum on for a minimum of five years and meet the withdrawal rules (Rudolph, retirement at age 60 (comprised of all contributions plus interest) 2019). The assets of RMF, as of 2017, total B258 billion. Table 12 Schemes for the informal sector SSF (Section 40) NSF RMF Scheme type Defined Benefit scheme Defined Contribution Defined Contribution Coverage 3.24 million (2019) 2,294,322 (2020) Unknown Aims to attract All informal sector workers Low income informal sector Voluntary for formal and workers and unemployed.11 informal workers, Contribution rate Individuals can pay B70 B50 – 13,200 per year. Flexible frequency of 100 or 300 and government There is a co-contribution contributions. Minimum 3% of match varies under each. from the government, salary and not less than B5,000 depending on the amount annually they contribute and their age (with a ceiling) Retirement age 55 60 55, penalty for early withdrawal Benefit type Lump sum (all Scheduled withdrawal from Contributions + investment contributions + interest) age 60 to 80, Lump sum returns at age 60. If insured pays benefits if disabled or death B300 per month for 15 or stops contributing years, they will receive an additional B10,000 (Thai PBS 2019) Source: Authors’ compilation as of 2019/20. Private sector workers can join the NSF, if they do not participate in the public or private 11. pension system and other statutory funds that receive contributions from the govern- ment or employers (For examples, Government Pension Fund and Social Security Fund). They can contribute to the NSF however the government will not give any contribution to them (Kapook 2019). TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 39 5. 3. COVERAGE security for civil servants. Only 0.46 percent was invested in social security for private sector workers, covering old-age, Thailand is one of the first developing countries to achieve child allowance, unemployment, sickness, maternity and universal health insurance coverage. Yet, less than one third of invalidity, including co-contributions for informal sector the working-age population is covered by social insurance for workers contributing to the SSF under Section 40. risks other than medical care, including declining income in old age. As of 2019, there were about 1.1 million active civil servants 5. 5. ADEQUACY in the GPF with assets totaling B972 billion or 5.5 percent of GDP (Sampatanukul 2020). In 2019, 13.3 million workers from an In contrast to the relatively meagre social pensions described estimated 17.1 million private sector workers (78 percent) paid in Chapter 4, public sector pensions in Thailand are quite contributions to the SSF. By contrast, although coverage of generous. The Replacement Rate (RR) for full career civil informal workers under Article 40 has risen steadily since 2011, servants replaces 60-70 percent of pay, comparable to of the estimated 21.2 million informal workers in Thailand, just rates in OECD countries. ‘Contributory pensions’ provided 3.24 million (15 percent) made voluntary contributions to the the equivalent of 86.5 percent of household welfare in SSF in 2018. Some 2.3 million individuals contributed to the NSF, 2017, according to the household survey, well above the which is open to both formal and informal workers, although global average of 48 percent for upper middle-income targeted at the latter. countries like Thailand (World Bank 2018a). As only a small fraction of SSF members are currently receiving 5. 4. EXPENDITURE retirement income from the private sector scheme, it is likely that these data reflect the higher values of public Social security expenditure amounted to 1.8 percent of GDP in sector pensions, including the legacy DB scheme. 2019, of which 1.33 percent was taken up by the cost of social Figure 21 Enrolment in the Social Security Fund (2009-2019) Source: Parks et al 2020. The percentage of people in the lowest income group (only 26%) is an anomaly because receipt of the B5,000 monthly payment automatically put most of the lowest-income respondents into the next higher income group (B5,001–B10,000). TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 40 Private sector benefits are less generous than those in the the coverage gap with informal sector workers and potentially public sector and unless ceiling rules are revised the benefits discourage formalization. The difference between gross and will amount to even less over time. The RR from the SSF averages net wage is likely to rise even further given the need to raise around 20 percent for a full career (Ratanabanachuen, 2019). the SSF contribution rate to ensure solvency. In short, the NPF The accrual rate for private sector pensions (Article 33) is proposal does not address the coverage and sustainability 1.33 percent for first 15 years and 1.5 percent thereafter, with issues of the current pension system. a maximum RR of 50 percent (Section 3 Table 3). However, the salary on which benefits can be calculated is capped at 5. 6. SUSTAINABILITY B15,000 per month (USD 462) versus 72 percent of average wage12 and this wage cap is not indexed to prices, wages or Pension reforms are needed to ensure the sustainability of any other indicator. If the wage ceiling of B15,000 - used for public and private sector pensions. The pension expenditure calculating contributions and benefits - is not revised in line for central government employees from the Defined Benefit with nominal wage growth, the RR pensioners receive will be schemes (pre and post 1997) totaled B223,762 million14 or a smaller proportion of their wage each year and in a decade 1.33% of GDP in 2019. In the absence of reforms, the DB pension or so the benefits from the scheme will be negligible. With the expenditure will continue to increase due to demographics wage ceiling of B15,000 in place, the maximum pension an and rising life expectancy. individual can get after 40 years of continuous contributions is only B7,500 per month (USD 231). The government will need Over time, as the system matures and life expectancy of to revise the wage ceiling and index it to nominal wages, if pensioners continues to rise, the number of pensioners drawing individuals are to receive decent pensions.13 from the Social Security Fund is expected to increase to one million in 2026 and to ten million by 2059. The actuarial The unindexed wage ceiling, low retirement age and lack of estimates for the baseline scenario suggest that cashflow automatic indexation of pensions means that pensions from deficits will emerge in 2041 and reserves will eventually be SSF alone as they currently exist will not provide adequate exhausted by 2054 (MOL 2017). These estimates do not retirement security for private sector workers. Private sector include impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which is expected workers who would like to save more for retirement can do so to worsen the sustainability of the SSF because of investment through voluntary schemes such as the Voluntary Provident losses, lower contribution revenue due to the reduction of Fund (PVD), and Retirement Mutual Fund (RMF). The low coverage mandatory contributions, and possibly higher rates of early numbers of these voluntary retirement schemes, however, retirement. mean that most formal sector workers will retire with benefits from SSF alone. Meanwhile, most informal sector workers will In order to ensure the sustainability of the SSF, parametric have to rely on the Old Age Allowance. reforms to the scheme are warranted, such as increasing the retirement age and contribution rate. These reforms can be The government has recently approved a new, defined coupled with reforms aimed at improving the adequacy and contribution scheme in principle and may soon submit equity of the scheme, for example by introducing inflation legislation to Parliament (Bangkok Post 2021e). This “National indexation of pensions, changing the earnings measure and Pension Fund” would apply to all formal sector employees with indexing the wage ceiling, thereby improving the efficiency of a contribution rate that gradually increased to seven percent the scheme. for both employer and employee. If implemented well, this As of January 2020, the average wage in Bangkok was B20,854 per month according to 12. would result in more adequate retirement income for many the National Statistical Office (NSO). formal sector workers that were not otherwise covered In 2018 the Labor Ministry proposed revising the wage ceiling from B15,000 to B20,000 13. but the proposal has not yet been implemented (Bangkok Post 2018b)). by voluntary schemes. However, this would increase 14. Spending excludes pensions for SOE and local government. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 41 5. 7. TOWARDS BETTER, MORE ADEQUATE 2020). The subsidy can also be differentiated according to the COVERAGE capacity of the individual to contribute, subject to having the requisite data through the aforementioned virtual social By 2050, a third of Thailand’s population will be age 60 or registry for example. above, while today only one third of the working age population is building retirement income through a mandatory or voluntary At least one proposal has been submitted in the Thai Parliament pension scheme. This gap can be addressed in two ways. following the logic of this approach. This plan envisions the opening of an individual pension account for every adult not The first is to increase the level of the social pension so that already covered in a formal sector plan. The government would it at least provides a minimum income above the poverty line. deposit a certain amount into this account with the proviso that Assuming a relative poverty line at say, one third of income per the individual would have to make a minimal periodic contribution capita, this would require as much as ten percent of GDP at or lose the initial amount. There are many possible variants on current coverage levels. Alternatively, at current benefit levels the basic principle of subsidizing social insurance contributions, relative to incomes, the poverty rate among the elderly would but the key element is breaking the link with occupational status. significantly exceed that of other demographic groups15. Compared to many of its peers, Thailand is in a better position to implement such a policy given its strong identification and A second approach would emulate the Thai approach to government-to-person (G2P) payments platform (discussed reaching universal health insurance coverage. This was done in Section 7) and its experience of implementing universal health by delinking formal employment status from coverage and insurance over the last two decades. fully subsidizing the premium for most of the population. This This pattern took place during the last two decades in Korea since contributory pension 15. approach retains the insurance principle and budgeting can be coverage became universal only in the 1990s. As a result, new social pensions have been introduced in the last few years to bridge the gap until the contributory scheme matures. done on the basis of transparent actuarial calculations with defined benefit or defined contribution (Palacios and Robalino Box 5 Achieving Universal Health Coverage Before 2001, approximately 71 percent of Thai citizens were covered by one of four public health insurance schemes. The Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme (CSMBS) was (and remains) a tax-financed benefit for civil servants. The Social Health Insurance (SHI) scheme was (and continues to be) provided along with social security benefits to members of the SSF. The Medical Welfare Scheme (MWS, also known as the Low-Income Card Scheme), provided publicly subsidised free health care for low-income earners (established through means testing), along with children, the elderly, and PWD. The Voluntary Health Card Scheme (VHCS) was a premium-financed public insurance program where government paid 50 percent of the premium (Tangcharoensathien et al 2019). Although coverage was intended to be universal, the VHCS and MWS suffered from adverse selection, inclusion and exclusion errors, and a lack of coverage in the informal sector, respectively (Paek et al. 2016). In order to ensure subsidized healthcare for all Thai citizens, the government created the UCS, which guaranteed a 30-baht (~US$1) co-payment for accessing healthcare at public hospitals, to replace the VHCS and MWS in 2001 (World Bank 2018d). Thailand achieved full population coverage of financial protection for health care in 2002, with the three schemes – UCS, CSMBS and SSS - covering 98.5% of the population by 2015. Thailand achieved full population coverage of financial protection for health care by 2002, and today all Thai citizens have access to comprehensive health care services through one of the three public health insurance schemes. (Tangcharoensathien et al 2019). TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 42 The Government of Thailand is also considering other policy to establish: i) a center to support informal workers in options for improving support for informal workers in the wake each province and a fund that to provide insurance (health and of COVID-19. In April 2020, the Ministry of Labor established a safety); ii) a revolving fund for informal workers or groups new Policy Unit for Informal Workers. The Unit is tasked with of workers to administer; and iii) grant support to NGOs to coordinating with line agencies and the private sector to monitor help informal workers in various aspects. MoL plans to set up programs related to informal workers, including elderly workers, an informal worker database in the future, support their livelihood workers with disabilities and those from disadvantaged groups. development and extend social security protection under The Unit has submitted a draft law to promote and develop Section 40. quality of life for informal workers which includes proposals TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 43 CHAPTER 6. in Thailand implies a swiftly shrinking working age population that ultimately could threaten economic growth. However, LABOR MARKET activating older people and women could help counteract this trend. The proportion of people aged 60 or older reporting poor PROGRAMS AND or very poor health has declined significantly since the 1990s across genders and urban and rural areas (UNFPA 2019), POLICIES suggesting that it may be possible to extend working lives beyond the current (private sector) retirement age of 65. Female labor force participation is 20 percentage points lower 6. 1. OVERVIEW than that of men, a gap that has persisted for two decades. But there seems to be significant room to increase women’s Labor market programs seek to address breakdowns in the participation (Moroz and Naddeo 2020). labor market. Active labor market programs help generate more and better employment opportunities by targeting labor 6. 2. PASSIVE LABOR MARKET POLICIES demand (e.g., employment subsidies), labor supply (e.g., skills and self-employment training), and labor market intermediation Unemployment insurance (e.g., employment services). Thailand’s labor market programs protect the unemployed and seek to remove barriers to Thailand has provided unemployment insurance to workers employment for the poor and other vulnerable groups. registered with the Social Security Fund since 2004. Benefits are provided to formal workers who have contributed to social The changing nature of work makes an increased focus on security for six months in the last 15 months. Unemployment labor market programs essential. The rapid evolution of the benefits are provided at 50 percent of pay for up 180 days. labor market as technological change proceeds is likely to Table 13 shows the main parameters of Thailand’s unemployment bring increased disruption in working lives that puts insurance system. Benefit levels are somewhat below those livelihoods at risk. A strong unemployment insurance system typical of other countries with unemployment insurance systems that can support workers as they move from one job to another in Asia (Table 14). The replacement rate of 50 percent of will be important to maintain the wellbeing of these workers wages compares with 80 percent in Malaysia, 45 to 70 in and to help improve labor market matching so workers can find Mongolia depending on job tenure, 60 percent in Vietnam, jobs suitable for their skillset. Growth of new technology and and 50 percent in Korea. The duration of benefits is similar. skill-intensive sectors will also require lifelong workforce The unemployment insurance system is well funded, with education and training, supported by demand-driven labor B142,864 million at year-end 2017. The reserve ratio of market programs that effectively match skills with labor market contributions collected to benefits paid that year was 20.87. needs and incentivize learning (Moroz and Naddeo 2020). This implies that existing funds are available in the case of labor market shocks, as occurred during the COVID-19 outbreak Thailand’s rapidly aging population will also require an when the government expanded benefits. increased focus on labor market programs. Population aging TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 44 Table 13 Parameters of Thailand’s unemployment insurance system Category Current system • Employed persons, including voluntarily unemployed (excludes Coverage Employees employees of state enterprises, certain agricultural workers, temporary and seasonal workers) Self-employed • Not covered Minimum employment • 6 months of contributions in last 15 months • Registration with Employment Service Office within one month of unemployment Conditions Other conditions • Ready and able to accept any suitable job offer and not refus ing job training • Report once a month to Employment Service Office Exceptions • In case of force majeure in which employer decides to tempo rarily close office or factory Worker • 0.50% Finan- cing Employer • 0.50% Government • 0.25% Replacement rate (% of wage) • 50%; 30% for voluntarily unemployed Duration • Up to 180 days; up to 90 for voluntary • 7-day waiting period for benefits • Department of Employment through Employment Service of Benefits fice registers for job placement and training Other benefits • Department of Skill Development provides training to unemployed as needed Source: Authors. Table 14 Unemployment benefits in Asia China Malaysia Mongolia Thailand Vietnam Korea Replacement > local public 80% for 1st 45-70% 50%; 30% for 60% 50% Rate assistance, month and depending voluntarily (% of wage) < local declining on job tenure unemployed minimum thereafter wage Duration 2 years 3-6 months 76 days; 40 Up to 180 days; 3-12 months 90-240 days for up to 90 for depending voluntary voluntary on age TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 45 Coverage of unemployment insurance is limited by Thailand’s (Chandoevwit 2012). These discrepancies also reportedly led to high rate of informality. The large share of employment that is payment delays during the response to the COVID-19 outbreak. informal means that most workers lack access to unemployment insurance. Indeed, approximately 40 percent of the employed Despite these challenges, Thailand’s unemployment insurance population is covered by the unemployment insurance system. system has been effectively deployed to respond to Coverage rates among the unemployed are also low. In 2019, economic crises including the global economic crisis in the an average of 172,000 people received unemployment insurance late 2000s and the ongoing economic crisis resulting from benefits in any given month, which represented about 46 percent the COVID-19 pandemic. The system has allowed the of the unemployed. While this is significantly lower than the government to channel support to laid-off workers fairly median coverage rate in advanced economies, it is better than quickly. As Thailand shuttered its economy due to COVID-19, other countries in the region including Korea, Japan, and China it amended the unemployment insurance system to provide (Asenjo and Pignatti 2019). assistance to formal workers affected by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Labor Uniquely among countries with unemployment insurance issued a regulation making compensation available systems, workers who have become unemployed voluntarily to employees who were otherwise eligible but had to stop are eligible for benefits, though these are reduced in amount working temporarily between March 1 and August 31, 2020 and duration. Between 2015 and 2019, an average of 78 percent because they had to quarantine or because their employer of beneficiaries of unemployment insurance had voluntarily had to stop operations. Compensation was provided at 62 resigned, though this moderated during the COVID-19 outbreak. percent of wages for 90 days. A similar regulation was issued While incentivizing additional separations by providing in January 2021 for employees who ceased working since unemployment benefits to workers who leave their jobs December 19, 2020 with benefits provided at 50 percent of voluntarily could lead to improved labor market matches, such daily wages for 90 days. Compensation was also expanded incentives could also create distortions in the labor market. for workers who were fired. Workers who lost their jobs In fact, young people and seasonal workers seem to be more because of the crisis between March 1, 2020 and February prevalent among those receiving unemployment benefits. 28, 2021 are eligible for benefits at 70 percent of their wages This raises concerns that both groups view the program as for 200 days while workers who became voluntarily a permanent feature of their working lives, which could have unemployed are eligible for benefits at 45 percent of their negative implications for skills development and ultimately wages for 90 days. productivity. This also suggests that the main function of the unemployment insurance system (at least prior to the Unemployment insurance helped stabilize workers contributing COVID-19 crisis) has not been to protect workers in case of to the SSF during the COVID-19 crisis. The number of people sudden, unexpected income loss (Chandoevwit 2012). receiving unemployment insurance benefits began increasing in the second quarter of 2020 during the height of the The unemployment insurance system faces several other outbreak in Thailand rising to 491,000 in October 2020, challenges. Unemployed workers are linked to job placement almost three times the number a year earlier, before beginning and training services at Employment Service Offices under the to fall in the final two months of the year (Figure 24). Department of Employment with the Department of Skills Additionally, between April and November of 2020, Development providing the skills training. However, the links 1.5 million people claimed unemployment benefits via the between unemployment insurance and re-employment strategies special temporary measures put in place by the government like skills training are weak with few beneficiaries participating. (MOL 2020a). But, as discussed elsewhere in this paper, the There is also some evidence that claimants are unfamiliar with impact of the unemployment insurance system was limited regulations and benefits, and that payment delays occur as a by the prevalence of informal jobs, which do not provide result of reporting discrepancies between firms and workers access to unemployment insurance. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 46 Figure 22 Number of persons receiving monthly unemployment benefits, 2019-2020 Source: MOL 2020a Severance pay workforce. Despite these measures, the hiring rate falls short of the target. Out of 85,602 PWD who should be hired based Employers in Thailand are responsible for paying severance on the number of companies in the country, only 23,726 or 27.7 to terminated employees. Based on the Doing Business Survey, percent were employed. severance pay requirements are among the strictest in Asia with the length of severance pay longer than all other countries Q1 Tax incentives for employers in the Senior Employment in the region besides Indonesia and Sri Lanka (World Bank Promotion Program aim to encourage employment of older forthcoming). Evidence on the enforcement of severance pay workers. Employers can deduct twice the amount of expenses requirements is limited, however, so the ultimate impact of incurred for employing people over 60 years of age these measures – and whether they distort the labor market from corporate tax, provided that the expenses do not exceed – is not clear. B15,000 per month, including contributions to a provident fund. Companies can claim for up to ten percent of their workforce 6. 3. ACTIVE LABOR MARKET PROGRAMS in a given month. The deduction is only available for people already employed by the company or registered as jobseekers Employment subsidies with the Department of Employment. Employment incentives are aimed at increasing the number The effectiveness of Thailand’s tax incentives for employment of PWDs in employment, although hiring rates fall short of older people should be evaluated. Based on international of targets. 845,706 PWDs, or 47.7 percent of total number evidence, the impact of wage subsidies to support the hiring and of PWDs, are of working-age (15-59). Since 1991, legislation retention of older people is questionable. Recent evidence finds has sought to combat employment discrimination against that the significant subsidies needed to induce substantial people with disabilities in Thailand. Section 33 of the Persons employment effects are unlikely to be cost-effective with Disabilities Empowerment Act (2007) requires private (Boockmann 2015). Other concerns are deadweight loss (in and public businesses to hire one disabled person for every case the subsidies are provided for hiring workers who would 100 able-bodied employees. Tax incentives introduced in 2018 have been hired anyway) and the reinforcement of stigmas aimed to encourage more hiring of PWDs. Companies may deduct and negative attitudes toward older workers (OECD 2006). one to three times the costs of expenses incurred as a result Evaluating the effectiveness of Thailand’s incentive programs of hiring people with disabilities (PWD) in their corporate tax, is important to understand whether these funds could be better depending on the proportion of PWD employees hired per total directed to other employment promotion efforts. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 47 The government has put in place employment subsidies to uptake: around 9,000 older people enrolled and completed support employment during the COVID-19 outbreak, which training in 2019 while around 600 people with disabilities did. could be continued and targeted to affected sectors if and DSD has in place a system to assist trainees with job placement when further outbreaks occur. The support provided via and track graduates after training. During the COVID-19 the unemployment insurance system to workers who have outbreak, DSD reportedly offered 15-day training courses and temporarily had to stop working because of the pandemic are a daily allowance of B150 to people who had to stop working wage subsidies. Subsidies of this type can help firms retain (The Nation 2020). workers and tend to be effective as short-term measures during economic downturns when concerns about displacing workers Other ministries also provide training. Non-formal vocational who are not subsidized are limited. While Thailand continues short courses are supervised by the Office of Non-Formal and to impose transmission control restrictions to combat the Informal Education in the Ministry of Education and are COVID-19 outbreak that affect normal business activity, provided in various settings including community centers. employment retention schemes that incentivize employers to At the subdistrict (tambon) level throughout the country, the retain workers are sensible. These should be sufficiently large Ministry for Social Development and Human Security runs that firms use them and conditioned on worker retention and informal Education Centers in coordination with local flexible or no working hours (Carranza, et al. 2020). The administrations, which provide informal community-level subsidies should also be time-limited, and phased out as the training. 113,000 people participated in these activities in recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak takes hold. The subsidies 2016 (see Annex 1). The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives can be targeted to sectors of the economy that are in most need. also provides training. Skills and self-employment training The Quality of Life Promotion Program is the vocational component of the SWC program, and is available to A range of skills training programs targeting specific, beneficiaries earning less than B30,000 per year. The program under-employed groups, including the poor, women, and the is aimed at promoting employment and reduce poverty elderly are available, but uptake is a concern. amongst low-income earners. A range of training programs are provided by various government departments, such as The Department of Skill Development (DSD) is the main agency community handyperson training from the Ministry of Labor, providing skills development for the workforce at regional and skills training for farmers from the Ministry of Agricultural Institutes of Skill Development and provincial Skill Development Cooperatives. Participating in some courses has provided Centers. DSD provides pre-employment, upskilling, and reskilling some graduates with access to low-cost loans and improved training. Training is provided in engineering (construction, marketing opportunities (FPO 2018). Entrepreneurship training industrial, and mechanical); electrical, electronics, and computers; is also incorporated into some training. industrial arts; industrial agriculture; and services. In 2019, most pre-employment training was provided in services; The following programs also contain skills training components: mechanical engineering work; and electrical, electronics, and computer technician work (MOL 2020b). Most upskilling training • The National Village and Urban Community Fund (One was provided in services; electrical, electronics, and computer Million Baht Village Fund), which targets village and urban technician work; and industrial technician work. Most reskilling community members who lack access to financial training was provided in industrial arts; services; and construction. institutions, providing vocational training and funds for Beyond future and current workers, training is targeted to infrastructure development projects such as building informal workers, people with disabilities, older people, the community barns, agricultural warehouses, and water unemployed, soldiers, and other groups. Most pre-employment storage facilities. The fund includes a loan for degree training is provided to new workers. Most upskilling training studies that is organized in collaboration with university is provided to current employees in formal employment followed partners, with immediate work opportunities for successful by workers in informal employment, while most reskilling training is graduates. These measures aim to create career opportunities provided to current employees in informal employment followed and raise household incomes at the village level. In 2018, by older people, prisoners, and soldiers. Programs targeted to there were 79,595 village funds covering 13 million members. older people and people with disabilities seem to have fairly low TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 48 • The Equitable Education Fund (EEF) includes a community- based While impact evaluations of skills training in Thailand are career development program for people living in areas with very limited, recent evidence questions their effectiveness. high poverty rates, unemployment, and those which are Evaluating training of all types in Thailand, Chongcharoentanawata, poorly ranked according to the human development index. Gassman, and Mohnen (2018) find that training does not The new program has sought proposals from educational have a positive impact on earnings or employment. They find institutions to develop occupational, management, and life that outcomes are worse for disadvantaged workers such as skills that create self-employment and wage work women, the less educated, the economically inactive, people opportunities for disadvantaged people. in rural areas, young people, and the elderly. Outcomes are better, however, when training is provided by private providers. • The Department of Women’s Affairs and Family Development There is some qualitative evidence that suggests why training in the Ministry for Social Development and Human Security programs for unskilled workers provided by Skills Development (MSDHS) provides skills training for two groups of vulnerable Centers lack effectiveness. Reasons include a failure to women. The Center for Women and Family Development change curriculum to meet evolving needs resulting in out-of-date provides vocational training to women who lack social programs (for example, many courses are short-term trainings opportunities to acquire professional skills in eight in crafts), lack of access due to the limited number of Skills provinces. Two types of vocational training are provided: Development Centers, and failure to meet demand for courses 1) center-based vocational training with job support leading to self-employment and skills in demand in their local services after successful program completion and 2) areas (Wannagatesiri et al. 2015). A state audit of training community-based vocational group training to promote services in 2019 found that training courses did not match labor women’s community enterprise. The center-based training market demand, particularly in the context of Thailand’s has resulted in the employment of more than 15,000 competitive landscape and Thailand 4.0; poorly allocated people each year and produced more than 140 groups of training equipment; and weak data management (SAO, 2019). entrepreneurs each year. The second group of vulnerable women are supported by Protection and Occupational Short training courses offered to SWC holders appear to Development Centers. The centers are located in four provinces have had good uptake, and to have been more successful. and offer skills training in crafts and services for victims According to NESDC’s poverty and inequality report, more of human trafficking. than three million welfare card holders (22 percent) participated in government-provided career training over The use of DSD training has declined in recent years. two phases in 2018 and 2019. SWC holders who registered for 125,800 people enrolled in pre-employment (6,751 people), training received additional, monthly stipends of B200 (for upskilling (76,000 people), and reskilling (43,000 people) those earning less than B30,000 per year) or B100 (for those training in 2019, down from 211,000 in 2015 (MOL 2020b). earning B30-100,000 per year) to support living expenses. A Many more training programs – nearly 500,000 - were provided follow up survey of the 2018 cohort revealed that 80 percent in 2018, though this was much larger than any recent year. of those surveyed later received a higher income following Graduation rates are high (near 100 percent) for the upskilling completion of training (NESDC 2019). Of these, more than and reskilling programs but have only been around 75 percent half had moved from the lowest income category (earning for the pre-employment training. Post-training employment less than B30,000 per year) into the B30,000-100,000 per rates vary. In 2019, about 60 percent of pre-employment year group. graduates received employment, nearly 80 percent of upskilling graduates received employment, and just over half Amongst the 2018 cohort, training programs offered by the of reskilling graduates received employment. Post-training Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives (BAAC) employment rates improved significantly for upskilling and were by far the most popular, reflecting that many of the reskilling programs in 2019, perhaps reflecting the decline in people who had signed up for training were farmers (Bangkok enrolments. Post 2018a). TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 49 Table 15 Individual incomes post-SWC training, 2018 Income category Number of people % of total Still earning B30,000 or less 1,040,842 39.9% Incomes increased to between B30,000 and B100,000 1,451,237 55.7% Incomes increased to more than B100,000 115,116 4.4% Total 2,607,195 100.0% Source: FPO 2019b Notes: Total represents number of trainees tracked post-training, 80 percent of the total cohort of 3,267,941. Income figures are self-reported. Figure 23 Number of individuals trained (by training department/agency) 2018 Source: Isranews 2018 In the second phase, some government agencies expanded 2019). The BAAC and related government agencies report- on support provided to trainees by providing access to edly offered distribution channels to those who passed the finance and marketing assistance. For example, graduates of training through more than 6,000 ‘Blue Flag’ stores (Bangkok the Ministry of Labor’s entrepreneur training program were Post 2018a). These complementary interventions make the eligible for loans from the Government Savings Bank program similar to the economic inclusion model of sustainable (GSB) of not more than B50,000 with a monthly interest rate livelihoods generation that provides multiple benefits to of 0.75 percent. This scheme was piloted in five provinces: beneficiaries to address the multiple constraints they face Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Chiang Mai, Phitsanulok and Phayao, (Box 6). before expanding to other provinces in Thailand (DSD TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 50 Box 6 An introduction to economic inclusion programs Economic inclusion programs are a hybrid between social assistance programs and traditional employment programs. They seek to expand opportunities for income generation in order to increase household income. Several characteristics are typical of economic inclusion programs. They tend to focus on the poor or other disadvantaged groups and to involve multiple interventions to address the multiple challenges facing these groups. They are based on the hypothesis that these multiple constraints can only be overcome by combining social assistance’s protective characteristics (such as consumption smoothing through transfers) with interventions that aim for inclusion in income-generating activities (such as asset transfers, skills training, access to financial services, and links to income-generating activities). Economic inclusion programs are primarily deployed in self-employment and agricultural settings, but wage employment and urban areas are a growing priority. They have traditionally been led by NGOs, but national governments are increasingly exploring how to incorporate them into social protection systems. Impact evaluations have found that economic inclusion programs can increase food security, assets, and income, though there are challenges to implementation at scale. Evaluations of a series of economic inclusion “big push” programs beginning with the Targeting the Ultra Poor program in Bangladesh and including programs in eight other countries found positive impacts on most indicators including consumption, assets, and food security. Subsequent studies have found that the impacts of these programs seem to persist. Though more research is needed, combining interventions seems to be a key aspect of the programs’ success. Despite this success, cost and complexity are challenges to scaling up the programs, which tend to be expensive to implement and administratively complicated to deliver. Thus far, the impacts of only smaller-scale programs have been assessed, raising the potential that the programs could have general equilibrium effects, for example on asset prices, that have not been found thus far. Finally, the training and mentorship included in many economic inclusion programs may be administratively difficult to deliver at a large scale while maintaining quality. Examples of economic inclusion programs are emerging in East Asia. The Philippines’ Sustainable Livelihoods Program was designed to create sustainable livelihoods by linking beneficiaries of an existing conditional cash transfer program Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program either to microcredit or employment facilitation through seed capital, training, local jobs, and public works. Economic inclusion programs can play a role in recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak in the medium and long term. The COVID-19 outbreak has created challenges to participating in productive activities for many households. Economic inclusion approaches can help overcome these challenges by complementing and building on social assistance programs that are already in place. However, this will require carefully considering the cost of economic inclusion programs, the context for the interventions, and their operational feasibility. Source: Andrews et al. (2020); Archibald et al. (2020); and World Bank (forthcoming). Skills and self-employment training programs could be an important linked to subsidies provided in the form of vouchers that finance part of addressing the labor market impacts of the COVID-19 training and act as a wage subsidy to promote demand or in the outbreak. Upskilling and reskilling programs could help workers form of start-up support for self-employment. E-learning modules displaced by the COVID-19 outbreak to find jobs. Training programs could be explored for program delivery. Thailand has experience could target workers from sectors severely impacted by the with this type of program. In response to the 2008-2009 economic outbreak (e.g., tourism) and provide training in strategic sectors crisis, Thailand launched the Tongla Archeep program that provided likely to grow in the near and medium term (e.g., the care sector). a month of vocational training and a cash allowance for three Given the weakness in labor demand, however, these training months to encourage beneficiaries to start businesses or find jobs. programs may also need to focus on promoting livelihoods and self-employment skills, particularly in rural areas. Training could This training could also be targeted to vulnerable groups, including be provided in technical skills as well as digital skills and soft those receiving social assistance, to encourage moves into wage skills such as teamwork and interpersonal communication, employment and more sustainable self-employment. This approach which are increasingly demanded by employers and are applicable could build on the experience of providing training and other assistance across sectors. Training could also be provided in entrepreneurship to SWC holders. Support could also be expanded to include financial skills to help generate self-employment. The training could be services, job search assistance, and access to markets. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 51 Employment services low-skilled workers versus 24 percent for medium-skilled and nine percent for high-skilled workers). Indeed, administrative Employment services are available to the general public. The data from the Ministry of Labor shows that most job applicants Department of Employment provides employment services at public employment services centers have a secondary education through its Bangkok, provincial, and online offices such as labor or a Bachelor’s degree. The strong reliance on personal networks market information, career guidance and counselling, vacancy can be helpful for finding jobs, but also tends to limit the types registration, job search and matching, and job fairs. The most of jobs that workers are exposed to. Indeed, research on internal frequent employment promotion activities conducted in 2019 migrants in Thailand has shown that their social networks were providing training guidance to students and to unemployed reduce the duration of job search but also tend to funnel them people, including those in the unemployment insurance system into agricultural jobs (Swee 2017). One of the potential reasons (MOL 2020b). Targeted employment services are available to that jobseekers do not use public employment agencies is that elderly workers to encourage continued workforce participation. they find that the information provided is not relevant. Indeed, 10,000 older people have accessed Employment Service Centers there is evidence that the agencies provide outdated vacancy for Elderly Workers and Registration Centers at provincial labor information (Chandoevwit 2012). offices, which provide information about paid jobs and volunteer opportunities. In 2019, about 3,000 older people accessed A strengthened labor market information system could employment services (MOL 2020b). The Elderly Fund serve as a backbone for delivering effective labor market administered by MSDHS sponsors elderly-related projects programs. Labor market information is available from, and provides 3-year personal (B30,000 maximum) and group among other sources, the Department of Employment’s open (B100,000 maximum) occupation loans with no interest. In data portal, which offers detailed information from survey 2019, 8,991 people received occupation support loans that totaled and administrative sources about the labor market; from B225,195,000 (See Annex 1). Targeted employment services are the Department of Employment’s Smart Job Center, which also provided to students and people with disabilities. offers job search services as well as employment outlook and wage information at the occupation level; and from the The use of public employment services has been declining in Department of Skills Development’s online training portal. recent years. In 2019, there were 330,000 new and existing Further developing this system would help meet demands job applicants registered at the public employment office, down in Thailand’s labor market emerging under Thailand 4.0 and from 2.7 million in 2015 and down from 377,000 in 2017. Employers help link disadvantaged jobseekers to productive employment. have also registered fewer vacancies at public employment High-performing labor market information systems are relevant, offices, declining from 477,000 in 2015 to 343,000 in 2019. Job reliable, efficient, client-centered, and comprehensive placements have remained steadier, declining from 424,000 in (World Bank 2020d). They perform functions like job matching 2015 to 297,000 in 2019 (MOL 2020b). and career and skills guidance, but also inform government support for active labor market programs and other government Jobseekers tend to use other forms of job search. While private programs related to employment, and generate real-time, employment services including low-cost internet search platforms demand-driven intelligence about the labor market. These have become increasingly prominent and accessible, public functions need strong institutional arrangements, active employment services can still help low-skilled individuals who partnerships with the private sector, and strong technological may lack skills or resources for job searching. However, data solutions for sharing, analyzing, and disseminating information. from the 2018 Labor Force Survey shows that only 11 percent Interoperability with other systems, for example the unemployment of jobseekers searched for work at a public employment office insurance system, is also key. Such a high-performing labor while most either applied to a job agency (52 percent) or market information system is a necessary step in creating searched through friends and relatives (19 percent) and the an outcomes-based employment services and training system internet (17 percent). Low-skilled workers are the least likely that rewards the provision of skills that are in demand and to seek out public employment agencies: only five percent that leads to good jobs. Such an outcomes-based employment do versus 11 percent of medium-skilled workers and 13 percent services and training system that rewards service providers of high-skilled ones. Low-skilled workers instead rely on who deliver improvements to beneficiaries’ employment and private agencies (53 percent) and, much more than medium-or wages should be the ultimate goal of active labor market high-skilled workers, on friends and relatives (42 percent for policies. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 53 CHAPTER 7. which will enable real-time and comprehensive decision-making. At the same time, the quality of data in some program INSTITUTIONAL and administrative databases may also need to be improved, in order to improve the effectiveness of the system. For instance, the ARRANGEMENTS AND Low-Income Earners Registry, which is used for poverty-targeting in the SWC program, could be improved by establishing on-demand DELIVERY SYSTEMS updating. Turkey’s Integrated Social Assistance System, Chile’s Social Household Registry and Thailand’s own Universal Health Registry (described later in this chapter) provide useful examples 7. 1. OVERVIEW to emulate. A well-functioning virtual registry will allow targeting to be automated, routine and more shock responsive. Thailand’s social protection and labor system is relatively fragmented, creating inefficiencies in program management, 7. 2. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS lack of clarity over investment impact, and missed opportunities for synergies and referrals between programs. Multiple agencies Like many countries in the East Asia Pacific region (World are responsible for planning, implementation and beneficiary Bank forthcoming), social assistance programs in Thailand data management. are implemented by multiple ministries holding disparate policy mandates. Foundational elements of Thailand’s social protection delivery systems are well-established. Near universal coverage of Several ministries plan, budget and implement multiple social Thailand’s population registry (World Bank 2018b), and assistance programs. These include: ubiquitous use of the 13-digit Personal ID (PID) number throughout its administrative databases allows for ad-hoc • The Ministry for Social Development and Human Security cross referencing between data sources, primarily to exclude (MSDHS) has responsibility for 13 distinct social assistance people who exceed income and assets tests or are covered programs for children, the elderly, PWD, people living with by formal social insurance. Financial inclusion is also high, HIV/AIDs (PLWHA), and housing grants for poor families. and payment of social protection benefits through electronic With the exception of the Child Support Grant, these all appear platforms is driving their uptake. to be small programs (data on coverage and budget was unavailable for most). Although MSDHS implements several Thailand was able to leverage these systems to achieve a small-scale transfers for particularly vulnerable elderly comprehensive, rapid and successful roll-out of emergency people and PWD, it does not manage the much larger social assistance in response to COVID-19. Innovations included pensions for either group (see Annex 1). online registration and the most comprehensive effort to cross-reference beneficiaries with multiple government data sources to date, to ensure broad coverage while avoiding • Instead, budgeting and implementation of the Old Age duplication of COVID-specific payments. Between Thailand’s Allowance and PWD allowance have been devolved to local regular social assistance programs, its social security government authorities, under the auspices of the Ministry coverage and the recent enrolment of 15 million informal sector of the Interior. workers for emergency COVID-19 benefits, the large majority of the population is likely now registered for some form • The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has carriage of the largest of social protection. This is complemented by digitization of regular social assistance program, the State Welfare Card, other registries, such as civil servants, taxpayer, land, vehicle, as well as the recently introduced No-One Left Behind education and health information systems. Program which responds to COVID-19, working in close collaboration with the state-owned Krungthai Bank. There are opportunities to improve social assistance beneficiary data management, by explicitly linking social • The Ministry of Education implements the transfers, school assistance databases with other sources to create a virtual feeding and scholarship components of the Free Education social registry. There is scope to better harness this data Program, Primary Lunch Program, and the Equitable through greater interoperability, sharing and matching capabilities, Education Fund. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 54 • The Ministry of Defense manages 17 cash transfer Human Services (MSDHS) and the Ministry of Labor (MOL) programs for war veterans which cover allowances for to provide assistance to disaster-affected people and livelihoods, education, funeral, disaster relief, maternity workers, as well as contingency funds for disaster response. among others. Strategies typically involve one-off cash transfers and small-scale vocational training programs for affected people, Management of Thailand’s social security schemes is as determined by local government authorities (OPM 2018). split between the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Finance. Schemes for private and informal sector workers Thailand lacks effective interagency coordination of social are coordinated through the Social Security Office, under assistance programs, and between social assistance and the auspices of the Ministry of Labor, while schemes for social insurance programs, as well as with broader social civil servants are administered by the Ministry of Finance. and economic programs. Better coordination could assist Unlike other countries in the region, Thailand lacks a pension government to develop coherent policy, monitor spending and and provident fund supervision agency, or a consolidated ensure consistency, equity and efficiency in implementation. financial institution regulator. The two schemes seeking Coordination of beneficiary data is a related issue, with multiple to incentivize informal sector workers to contribute to agencies managing separate databases without a coherent voluntary social insurance (through SSF section 40) and framework or overview. As discussed later in this chapter, Thai retirement savings (NSF) are managed by the Ministry of authorities were able to effectively cross reference between Labor and the Ministry of Finance respectively. Marketing of relevant datasets to achieve a comprehensive emergency social these schemes appears to have been uncoordinated and protection response in the face of COVID19 with only minimal potentially puts them in competition with one another delays; however there is scope to improve routine interoperability (World Bank 2012). in order to make the system better able to respond rapidly to shocks. Active and passive labor market programs also fall under the purview of several ministries: Further, beyond high level references in long- and medium-term development plans (described in Section 3.2), Thailand • The Department of Labor provides skills training programs lacks a policy strategy or framework articulating how social for SWC holders, the elderly, the unemployed and recent protection investments contribute to high level goals and graduates. how the system can be responsive to shocks. A strategy would set clear objectives, targets and indicators for social • MSDHS manages skills training centers for vulnerable protection programs. It should be based on further assessment women and administers grants to promote self-employment of overall costs, benefit incidence across the lifecycle, and among the elderly. analysis of areas of convergence, overlaps and gaps. Developing a high-level policy framework or strategy, to articulate • The Ministry of Finance is responsible for tax incentives how multiple programs contribute to high-level goals, and to encourage employment of PWD and people over the improving inter-agency coordination could assist Thai age of 60. authorities to better identify where overlaps, gaps and opportunities lie for synergies and efficiencies between social • Small grant and training schemes under ‘One Million assistance, social insurance and labor market programs. Baht per village’ fund fall under the purview of the Office There may be further opportunities to consolidate smaller of the Prime Minister and Ministry of Commerce. programs and harmonize delivery systems (discussed later in this chapter) and to promote a more sustainable model Thailand’s Disaster Risk Management (DRM) plan sets that will provide adequate coverage for the entire population out the roles of the Ministry of Social Development and at a fiscally sustainable cost. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 55 Box 7 Mechanisms for inter-agency planning and coordination for social protection An inter-agency coordination mechanism could take a number of forms. In some countries, including Cambodia, Nepal and Pakistan, coordinating mechanisms are established under central finance or development planning agencies (World Bank forthcoming). In the Philippines, policy responsibility for social protection is shared between the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), a planning agency, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which implements the largest social assistance programs. A standing Sub-Committee for Social Protection (SCSP) under NEDA coordinates policies and programs, chaired by DSWD with representation from a range of other government agencies (World Bank 2018b). In Indonesia, an independent inter-ministerial coordination body was convened under the leadership of the Vice President to coordinate and advise on social protection policy making. (World Bank forthcoming). Possible candidates to play this role in Thailand include the Codifying social protection in law can have the benefit of Office of the Prime Minister, which has convening power to safeguarding it for future changes in administration, ensuring bring other ministries together, or MOF, given its leading role stability for beneficiaries, especially where programs need to in the implementation of the SWC as well as the COVID-19 mature over long timeframes. This has been the case in Thailand response. for key measures such as social security, the Old Age Allowance and the PWD Allowance, all of which were established under 7. 3. LEGAL FRAMEWORK previous administrations, and continue through today. A number of social protection policies and programs are However, the corollary is that laws, just like ministries, establish enshrined in Thai law . Key laws include the Social Security 16 silos, and may hinder efforts at reform or coordination. This Act (1990, amended in 1994 and 1999 and in 2015 to extend underscores the need for clear agenda setting and oversight voluntary insurance to informal workers), the National Health of social programs through the articulation of a strategic framework Security Act (2002), the Persons with Disabilities Empowerment and ongoing coordination between responsible agencies, to Act (2007) and the Old Age Act (2003, amended in 2009 to ensure that legislated programs and entitlements remain include the Old Age Allowance as an entitlement) (Paitoonpong coherent. et al 2016). Most recently the Equitable Education Act (2018) was established to address educational disparity, and the 7. 4. DELIVERY SYSTEMS Civil Welfare Arrangement for Local Economy and Society Act (2019) governs the SWC program. Thailand ranks only behind Mongolia in South and East Asia on critical indicators for efficient and effective delivery of social The level of legal prescription varies between policies and protection programs. Near universal ID coverage (just under programs. For people with disabilities (PWD), ‘welfare’ is 100 percent) provides the government with a unique identifier broadly stated as an entitlement alongside other measures, to keep track of who is receiving which benefits. High rates but specific programs are not described. For the elderly, the of financial inclusion, through access to bank accounts and social pension is given as an entitlement, but benefit levels mobile money (82 percent) enable efficient, transparent and and other processes are not defined. These are instead secure payment of benefits. High mobile phone ownership (93 governed by ministerial decree and therefore subject to percent) enables access to online and digital services including change (ILO 2016). The Civil Welfare Arrangement Act payments and, potentially, enrolment mechanisms. similarly does not define allowances. The Social Security 16. Previously, the 2007 Thai Constitution (repealed in 2014) put social protections more firmly on a Act, by contrast, defines categories of insured persons, sets rights-based footing. It set out rights to welfare and “appropriate aids from the state” for the elderly, PWD, the mentally impaired and the homeless, as well as the right to access to health care for all. Under out entitlements and specifies mandatory contributions the current 2017 Constitution. Thais still have the right to public health, but rights to “appropriate aids” are limited to people over sixty years of age “with insufficient income for subsistence” and to the “indi- from government, employers and employees into the fund. gent”. The state’s responsibility to “protect labor to ensure safety and vocational hygiene, and receive income, welfare, social security and other benefits which are suitable for their living and should provide for or promote savings for living after their working age” are described in the current constitution as “Directives for state policy” rather than rights. By contrast, ‘equitable education’ is stated as a right under the current constitution. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 56 Figure 24 Three key digital transformations Source: Findex (2017), replicating Gelb (2019) in World Bank forthcoming. 7. 5. IDENTIFICATION addressing the issue of statelessness among some border communities. Thailand’s national ID and civil registration system is well-established and operated by the Bureau of Registration In 2019, the National Digital ID (NDID) platform was Administration (BORA) under the Ministry of Interior. Since launched, creating opportunities for more trusted online 1909, Thailand has carried out various forms of civil and population transactions such as beneficiary self-enrolment and managing registration, based on household books (the tabien baan) and entitlements. The NDID is an initiative that allows citizens ID cards for adults (Pannarunothai et al 2019). In 1982, the (and eventually legal entities and foreign residents) to create Government launched a large modernization program to digitize digital identities with third party digital identity providers (for existing civil, population and household registration data and example, banks and mobile network operators) for transactions to upgrade to digital systems, including the introduction of a and services. While the NDID platform itself was developed unique 13-digit personal ID (PID) number for every individual. as open-source software17 by the private sector and has been The national ID system was upgraded in 2005 with automated established as a public-private company, it was enabled by fingerprint recognition, which has enabled the cleaning of amendments to the Electronic Transactions Act and the population and household data, and the introduction of the ecosystem is supervised by the Electronic Transactions national ID smartcard, which has since undergone several Development Agency (ETDA). The NDID moved from the Bank iterations. of Thailand remit in February 2020 to a pilot phase for financial sector use cases. During the COVID-19 lockdown period in Thailand’s population registry has near-universal coverage April 2020, transactions on the pilot platform peaked at (World Bank 2018c). PIDs are issued to individuals at birth 160,000 per week among eight banks, a massive increase registration and national ID cards are issued at age six, from the average of around 20,000 in the weeks prior (NDID coinciding with the first compulsory year of school. Birth and 2020). Adoption of the NDID by social assistance and social death registration rates are also high (99 and 95 percent security agencies in the future will allow more of their services respectively). The Government of Thailand is making progress to be available completely online. regarding registration coverage of migrant workers and 17. https://github.com/ndidplatform TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 57 7. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE DATABASES example, in an early phase of enrolment, SWC applicant data was checked against tax, occupational and other databases, The widespread verification and seeding of the PID number in the process eliminating eight percent of applicants and into administrative databases allows Thai authorities to saving an estimated USD 29.7–59.4 million. (World Bank cross-reference applicants for social assistance programs 2017a, World Bank forthcoming). with other data sources. This is most frequently done to exclude potential beneficiaries, for example because they are The table below summarizes key national databases and their already covered by other insurance schemes, or to determine that potential utility for assessing eligibility for social assistance income and assets are above eligibility thresholds. For programs. Table 16 Thailand’s administrative databases Source of data Potential utility for social protection National ID and Civil Registration System (PID), Validating identity, citizenship, location, household Bureau of Registration (BORA) composition, family relationship, and age-dependent criteria; cessation of benefits on death. Civil Servant Registry Indicates coverage by health and social insurance schemes, grounds for exclusion for pension tested programs. Civil servants are excluded by category from some social assistance schemes. Social Security Registry Indicates coverage by private and public social insurance schemes, grounds for exclusion for pensions-tested programs. Ministry of Public Health records Disability status, HIV/AIDs status (noting sensitivity of these records). Tax database, Ministry of Finance Indicates income for means-tested programs. Bank of Thailand Bond Holding records Indicates income for means-tested programs. Land registry Indicates assets for means-tested programs. Land and crop holdings (Ministry of Agriculture) Indicates assets for means-tested programs. Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives Indicates category (farmers) eligible for specific types (BAAC) of public assistance. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 58 However, the utility of this approach is also constrained back to the PID using cryptography or reference tables when by the quality of data in administrative databases. For needed. example, only a small proportion of Thais pay tax, and land registry data may be out of date. 7. 7. SOCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM REGISTRIES AND MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS Although desirable on efficiency grounds, cross-referencing of (MIS) official data creates significant privacy risks that must be managed to ensure that efficiency does not trump Thailand’s 2016-2018 Digital Government Master Plan confidentiality. Accessing health records, for example, highlighted the government’s inability to monitor and measure could assist in the identification of PWDs and PLWHA who the effectiveness of government assistance provided to may be eligible for assistance, but would require explicit beneficiaries due to scattered and insufficient data. The and limited permissions. Care must be taken to protect extent of data fragmentation was highlighted in the 2019 user privacy and control through system design, and safeguard Digital Government Status Report, which found that between data privacy, security and user rights through legal and the Ministries of Social Development and Human Security, regulatory frameworks (World Bank 2017a). Finance, Labor and Public Health, there were 194 databases that were ‘ready’ and another 286 databases that were ‘not Further, the storing of PID numbers by multiple databases yet ready’ to be linked with others (DGA 2019). The Master creates data protection risks, as it may allow unauthorized Plan sets out the need for data from all agencies to be correlation of data and compromise the security of PIDs. integrated, in order to determine suitable rights for each For example, there have been large leaks of national ID individual. It proposes a number of initiatives, including the numbers in the Republic of Korea, South Africa, Columbia development of a central registration system that allows and India, not from the ID systems themselves but other people to apply for all types of social welfare from all government systems that store these numbers. A data protection and agencies, and automatic registration for the OAA so that security measure that countries are increasingly adopting those who become eligible at 60 receive the allowance without to mitigate these risks is tokenization, where the PID itself is needing to actively register. A Universal Benefits Card was not stored in or used by other systems but is substituted by also proposed, that would collect personal data, review and non-sensitive derivatives (or tokens) that can be mapped record the use of benefits (DGA 2016). Box 8 Thailand’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) virtual registry Thailand’s own UHC registry provides lessons on the potential for efficiencies unlocked by greater interoperability. The Universal Coverage Scheme (USC) scheme was initiated in 2002, establishing essentially free hospital care as an entitlement. To achieve true universality, authorities turned to the national population registry, which already had near-complete coverage. Using PIDs, National Health Security Office (NHSO) administrators identified and excluded members of the population already covered through the formal sector insurance schemes (SSS) or the Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme (CSMBS). The remainder formed the basis of the UCS registry. Even though the three health insurance schemes are managed by different ministries (CSMBS by the Ministry of Finance, SSS by the Ministry of Labor, and the USC by the NHSO) (Tangcharoensathien et al 2019), their respective registries are interoperable under the management of the NHSO, updating in near-real time, ensuring that citizens who change jobs and move in and out of the government, private and informal sectors remain automatically covered by the relevant scheme. BORA provides updated data on births and deaths daily to the NHSO; newborns are automatically added to the UCS beneficiary registry while the deceased are automatically removed. Source: World Bank 2018d. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 59 The Low-Income Earners Registry (LIER), established for the blamed for delays to top-up payments for vulnerable people SWC program, was initially envisaged as an integrated through pre-existing programs, although these appear to have social registry for Thailand’s social assistance programs. been resolved within months, and still constitute a rapid response To date, the LIER has been used primarily to determine eligibility by international standards. of only a single program, the SWC. As noted in Section 2, however, the B30,000 and B100,000 income thresholds With the benefit of hindsight, Thai authorities could perhaps for the SWC are also applied to other programs, including have better used the rich data available to them to plan the the CSG, an additional payment for the indigent elderly and scope of its COVID-19 response, by emulating the approach it economic stimulus top-ups. This suggests that information used for universal health coverage. Initially, Thai authorities sharing between program beneficiary lists is necessary, estimated that three million people would qualify for the program, although the extent to which it occurs is not clear. When first but quickly expanded it to nine million and finally 15 million in envisaged in 2016 and 2017, there were reportedly more response to high demand. As discussed in Chapter 3, 30.7 million ambitious plans to integrate data from other social assistance individuals –10 times the earliest estimate – ultimately appear to programs into the LIER and build in interoperability with have been eligible for some form of COVID-19 assistance. other government datasets through web-based Application Although No One Left Behind reached a large cohort, it only Programming Interfaces (APIs); however this does not appear extended social assistance by less than ten percent to 81.5 to have occurred. percent, from regular coverage of 72 percent, indicating many if not most informal workers already lived in households covered by Data quality issues and limited interoperability appear to have the pre-existing social safety net. called the credibility of the LIER into question. A 2020 state audit report of the LIER found it lacked linkages with other Guaranteeing COVID-19 compensation to all individuals databases operated by government agencies working with low (or families) not already covered by formal social insurance income and vulnerable groups. It also highlighted the lack of schemes could have resulted in less initial public confusion and data review procedures resulting in incomplete, incorrect and anxiety when initial applications were rejected, saved the un-updated beneficiary data, so that the LIER “lacks the complexity of assessing individual eligibility for the emergency credibility to be used for meaningful program management” informal worker and farmer programs, and ultimately reached a (State Audit Office 2020). similar group of people. The COVID-19 response appears to have involved a 7. 8. ENROLMENT, REGISTRATION AND comprehensive effort to cross-reference social protection VERIFICATION databases to date, aimed at ensuring broad coverage while avoiding duplication of COVID-specific payments. According Applications for the SWC program are opened periodically to reports, authorities cross-referenced informal worker applicants rather than being available on-demand, and lodged through for ‘No-One Left Behind’ with farmer data in BAAC to determine state-owned banks (Krungthai Bank, Government Savings who should receive payments under which scheme. Early on, this Bank, BAAC), piggybacking on widespread bank networks step created some confusion, with some applicants being told and points of service. In 2017, 70,000 student surveyors were they were ineligible for payments because their names appeared deployed to verify income and asset information provided by in BAAC records (Bangkok Post 2020d and 2020e); presumably, applicants; this step does not seem to have been subsequently however, they eventually qualified for farmer assistance, which repeated (Bangkok Post 2017). As noted above, cross-referencing was announced subsequently. ‘No-One Left Behind’ applicants applicant data with other sources has been more effective at were also cross-checked against social security data. Authorities excluding applicants whose income or assets exceed the eligibility then cross-referenced databases for recipients of social assistance thresholds. The Cards themselves are valid for five years (see for the elderly, PWD, children and SWC holders, to provide Figure 17), and to date there appear to have been no efforts at top-ups to those who had not already received the emergency recertification or updating of socio-economic data. COVID-19 schemes. The need for manual data matching was TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 60 Local authorities play a greater role in registration for the CSG ‘lookup’ function that allowed individuals to check whether they and programs for the elderly and PWD. CSG beneficiaries are were registered for payments under the elderly, PWD and CSG identified by community health and social volunteers and village schemes, indicating that automated cross-checking of these heads, with registration and verification managed by sub-district registries is possible. administrative organizations under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior (UNICEF 2019). A 2017 assessment found that 7. 9. STRENGTHENING DATA GOVERNANCE: 85 percent of participants met eligibility criteria, suggesting TOWARDS A VIRTUAL SOCIAL REGISTRY some error due to the discretion of certifiers (Thammasat 2017), FOR THAILAND although this discrepancy is relatively minor. Applicants for the OAA and PWD Allowance register at local administrative offices. In line with the direction set out in the Digital Master Plan, Applications for the OAA are processed annually, meaning there Thailand is already in a strong position to establish a virtual can be a significant lag between an individual turning 60 and social registry. Between its regular social assistance programs, receiving benefits (Badiani-Magnusson 2016). which reach 72 percent of the population, its social security coverage and the recent enrolment of 15 million informal At the height of COVID-19 related restrictions, the need for sector workers into No-One Left Behind, the likely basis of social distancing led to an increase in the use of online a proposed Informal Workers registry, the large majority of channels for enrolment and verification. Applicants for the the population is now likely registered for some form of social No-One Left Behind program were required to apply through a protection. web portal, and were able to contest the ruling and provide supplementary information through the same channel. Notably, Thailand’s own Universal Health Care registry, along with hundreds of thousands of applicants reportedly made use of the international examples like Turkey’s Integrated Social “cancel application” button on the website registration page, after Assistance System (ISAS) demonstrate the value and efficiency Thai authorities threatened legal action against those submitting of increased interoperability between social protection fraudulent claims (World Bank 2020d). Separately, the Ministry programs, and with other sources of administrative data. of Social Development and Human Security created a simple online Box 9 Social Registries Social Registries are information systems that support outreach, intake, registration and determination of eligibility for one or more programs. They differ from Beneficiary Registries, which include information only on those enrolled in specific programs to support beneficiary enrolment and benefits administration. When multiple programs use an integrated social registry, it can play a useful policy role by coordinating efforts to reach intended populations and facilitating synergies across programs aiming to deliver complementary benefits and services to common groups (World Bank 2017c). Social registries are Multisided Service Platforms that can help connect people to a range of public services. These include social protection, health, and financial inclusion, based on the principle of “progressive universalism,” expanding coverage, and in the process, prioritizing the poorest people. If the social registry is to serve its “inclusion” role, it is important that it covers as many potential recipients of social programs (or other “user programs”) as possible. Social registries may draw on data from other information systems. Data can be collected from other administrative systems to prefill application forms or supplement self-reported information provided by registrants. Integration with other systems verifies the information captured from the client by making sure that it matches information contained in other authoritative administrative systems (external cross-checks). Finally, data resulting from the assessment of needs and conditions can be delivered through the registry to other programs to help them make eligibility and enrollment decisions. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 61 Social registries foster coordination of programs and create savings. When linked to a unique ID number, these platforms can reduce costs associated with inclusion errors. In Pakistan, the social registry, which includes about 85 percent of the population and has provided access to data to 70 institutions and programs both for eligibility and analytical purposes, contributed to savings of USD248 million. In South Africa and Guinea, a similar process saved USD157 million and USD13 million, respectively. In Argentina, linking 34 social program databases to the unique ID number of beneficiaries revealed inclusion errors in eligibility for various social programs. This led to USD143 million in savings over an eight-year period. Source: World Bank 2018d. Box 10 Turkey’s ‘virtual’ Integrated Social Assistance System (ISAS) Turkey operates a ‘virtual’ social registry used by categorical and means-tested programs to determine eligibility and provides a possible model for improving interoperability. Modules developed for individual types of assistance draw on two overall sources, depending on the eligibility criteria for each. First, programs can draw information from various administrative databases, including the civil registry, social security records, taxation and business registration, land and motor vehicle registries and others. This in itself may be sufficient for determining eligibility for categorical programs. Second, the ISAS houses additional data on income and assets are required for means-tested programs. In Turkey, this is collected through an on-demand application process (applicants visit local government offices or apply through proactive registration by officials during home visits.) Between these two mechanisms, the ISAS contains socio economic data on 45 percent of the population but can access limited data on much of the population through linkages to other databases. The ISAS is considered a ‘virtual’ registry because it is achieved through interoperability between these other datasets, rather than full integration into a single data set. Critical to the success of this approach in Turkey was universal coverage of the National ID and its ubiquitous use across administrative datasets. Source: Barca 2017. Building a virtual social registry, with the capacity to benefits and support to assist with longer term recovery access data on nearly everyone, would also increase (OPM 2018). Thailand’s capacity for shock-responsive social protection, essentially by rationalizing and streamlining the processes However, as a foundation for improving interoperability, that Thailand has successfully employed in response to the there is also a need to build the strength and credibility of the COVID-19 crisis. National social protection programs are not data, especially for estimating income and eligibility for poverty currently used to channel emergency assistance in response targeted programs. Improving the quality of poverty and to natural disasters, but there would be benefits in doing administrative data is important as Thailand moves towards so. Programs such as the SWC, CSG, Old Age and PWD greater interoperability between sources; a social registry can allowances could be used to identify the already vulnerable in only be as good as the data contained in its component databases. affected areas. Established delivery systems, especially the Careful processes will be needed to establish the hierarchy of electronic payments platform, would expedite assistance, available data, to ensure that correct data is being assigned to while the national structures could allow for more sustained each person. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 62 If not already the case, the LIER should serve as the primary reference adequacy is better understood and addressed. point for all poverty-targeted programs, and be strengthened through on-demand updating. Multiple enrolment mechanisms 7. 10. PAYMENT SYSTEMS already in use could be leveraged to support this. An online portal, like the one established for ‘No-One Left Behind’ could allow for Financial inclusion in Thailand is relatively high with an estimated applications to be made at any time and create the potential for the 82 percent of the population aged 15 and over having a bank government to issue regular (for example, annual) requests for account. Since 2002, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) has had four income and asset information to be updated. Banks could be successive Payment System Roadmaps to enhance the integrity instructed to receive applications on an ongoing basis. In the case and efficiency of Thailand’s payment ecosystem, including to of those for whom the internet and bank branches remain increase the proportion of cashless payments as a fundamental inaccessible, community volunteers and local governments will feature of the ‘Thailand 4.0’ economic development strategy continue to play an important outreach role to identify the most and prerequisite for Thailand’s shift to a digital economy (BOT vulnerable. 2019). Enabling ‘on demand’ rather than periodic registration for key Authorities have driven adoption and registration for social assistance programs can ensure data remains current, PromptPay by channeling Government-to-Person (G2P) payments which in turn improves data quality and credibility. ‘On-demand’ through the system, including social assistance benefits and or ‘dynamic’ updating can go some way towards reducing exclusion income tax returns. The introduction of the PromptPay error, as it means individuals and families may be able to apply for platform in 2016 was a flagship initiative of the Thailand 4.0 support when circumstances change. economic development policy, which has enabled instant, low-cost and interoperable payments between and among people, Improving interoperability and increasing the frequency of data businesses and government by linking bank accounts and updating should, together, create other opportunities to improve e-money wallets to PID numbers, mobile phone numbers, and targeting. Greater linkages with administrative databases (like corporate registration numbers. As of December 2018, 46.5 motor vehicle registries, as in the Turkey example) would create million users were registered with PromptPay (BOT 2019). more opportunities for affluence testing, to reduce inclusion error. A virtual social registry could also provide a mechanism Both regular social assistance and emergency COVID-19 payments for identifying instances where individuals and households are are paid via electronic transfer. Applicants for ‘No-One Left eligible for multiple benefits. This may be particularly relevant in Behind’ were required to have a deposit account in any financial Thailand where individual program benefits are relatively institution or have a PromptPay account registered as one of low, and value is derived from accessing a ‘package’ of programs. the eligibility criteria. CSG payments are made through this This may also illuminate opportunities to rationalize or consolidate system (UNICEF 2019); it is also used to transfer SWC allowances. programs to reduce the complexity of the overall system – although Older programs, including the OAA and PWD Allowances, that reducing duplication of benefits, mentioned as a priority in the pre-date the introduction of PromptPay in 2016, have transitioned current medium-term plan, should not be the focus until to using the platform for payments (Bangkok Post 2018c). Box 11 Chile’s Social Household Registry In Chile, people can apply and be registered into the Registro Social de Hogares (RSH), the country’s social registry, to be assessed and considered for eligibility for numerous social programs. There are three intake modalities, two of which are online, and a third which is in person at the municipality office. The first online intake modality requires the use of the applicant’s civil registry password and allows the applicant to submit all required data and supporting documents through the RSH website. The municipality later validates this information, with no need for the applicant to go to the municipality office in person, and this is followed by a household visit conducted by a municipality enumerator. The second online intake modality requires the use of the applicant’s unique identification number and allows the applicant to apply and submit required documents. This modality requires an in person visit to the municipality office so that the applicant can show proof of their identity, validate the information, and hand in any pending documents. Source: Chile, Ministry of Social Development and Family. 2017. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 63 CHAPTER 8. raising the retirement age, actuarially fair adjustments for early or late retirement and raising the contribution rate CONCLUSION AND once the COVID-19 crisis subsides. RECOMMENDATIONS 2. Improve the generosity, design and targeting of social assistance programs Greater investment is also necessary if the system is to Thailand’s social protection system is in many ways comprehensive. contribute to reducing poverty in line with government It has the capacity to reach a high proportion of the population, targets. Benefit sizes and overall expenditure, despite having and reaches most categories of vulnerable groups, including the increased over the past years, remain among the lowest in the poor. Spending on social protection has been progressively region, and in comparison with other middle-income countries. increasing along with the coverage and adequacy of programs. Overall coverage of social assistance is large however adequacy Its strong identification, payment and (to a lesser extent) remains low. With the economic impacts of COVID-19 still very registration systems rose to the considerable challenge of much present, continued assistance to poor and vulnerable mustering a major COVID-19 response effort, which appears to groups, including informal sector workers, will be necessary. have been broadly effective. Recommendations: This report makes recommendations for strengthening Thailand’s social protection and labor market systems in four areas: • Determine a maximum/minimum package of benefits that households may receive, based on assessment of 1. Strengthen social security coverage and adequacy, including how multiple benefits currently accrue to households, and by subsidizing coverage for informal sector workers. where gaps, overlaps and opportunities for rationalisation exist. This will be critical going forward so ensure Social security coverage of informal sector workers, representing that beneficiaries receive adequate support, and that the over half the workforce, is the most significant gap in government is able to track what individual households Thailand’s social protection system. Schemes for the informal receive. This may require raising benefit levels, and sector are voluntary and despite matching contributions therefore spending, for some programs. and different contribution rates offered to workers, remain under-subscribed. In line with global trends, the Thai workforce • Convert the current set of SWC allowances to a basic cash is not formalizing. Building on Thailand’s approach to achieving payment, reducing the nominal value of the benefit while universal health coverage, social security must be de-linked from increasing its utility for recipients. formal or informal employment status, requiring greater investment by government to extend protections to workers. • Consider adjustments to the way programs are targeted. If reaching the poorest is a primary goal, attempting narrower Recommendations: targeting may conversely lead to greater exclusion without other adjustments. Instead, Thailand could consider adjusting • Consider expanding minimum contingent coverage against maximum thresholds for inclusion and greater affluence- and shocks for informal sector workers, including for unemployment, pensions-testing to reduce inclusion error. as well as providing retirement income in old age. This may mean further expanding government subsidies. • Harmonize targeting and enrolment for poverty targeted programs (primarily the SWC and CSG), to create efficiencies. • Improve the adequacy of existing pension schemes by indexing retirement benefits to prices and indexing the wage ceiling on • Extend benefits to the informal sector and other vulnerable which SSF retirement benefits are calculated to wage growth groups until the economy recovers. This would represent (as the case in most OECD countries). a sound investment in poverty and inequality reduction, improving productivity, and enhancing resilience. • Improve the sustainability and fairness of existing pension schemes through parametric reforms including gradually TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 64 3. Invest in active labor market programs to transition to An advanced labor market information system not only demand-driven skills training and employment services supports basic employment services functions such informed by a real-time labor market information system. as job matching and career and skills guidance, but also serves as a platform to coordinate government support for In both the short and long term, social protection will need unemployment insurance, active labor market programs, to be complemented by labor market policies tailored to and other government programs, and to generate the needs of a knowledge-based economy. In the short real-time, demand-driven labor market information term, upskilling and reskilling workers displaced by the and analysis. A high-performing labor market information labor market disruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak system is a necessary step in creating an outcomes-based will be essential. In the longer term, Thailand’s aging population employment services and training system that rewards and the changing nature of work will see the workforce the provision of skills that are in demand and that leads shrink, potentially creating skills shortages. But weaknesses to good jobs. Such an outcomes-based employment services in matching training programs to labor market demands and training system that rewards service providers who and in providing effective employment services present a deliver improvements to beneficiaries’ employment and challenge at the very time when changing skills needs require wages should be the ultimate goal of reforming active them most. labor market policies. Recommendations: • Evaluate the effectiveness of existing active labor market programs. Evaluations of active labor market programs in • Invest immediately in upskilling and reskilling programs Thailand are scarce. Undertaking high-quality evaluations to help workers displaced by the COVID-19 outbreak to could help determine where interventions should be scaled find jobs. Training can be linked to wage subsidies that up, better targeted, or eliminated. incentivize firms to hire workers or to startup support to stimulate livelihoods opportunities. This training can be 4. Establish more coordinated and coherent data governance targeted to vulnerable groups, including those receiving and policy making for social protection across government. social assistance, to encourage moves into wage employment and more sustainable self-employment. This approach Underpinning these recommendations is the need to improve could build on the experience providing training and policy and data coherence for social protection. Between other assistance to SWC holders. Support could be expanded Thailand’s regular social assistance programs, its social to include financial services, job search assistance, and security coverage and the recent enrolment of 15 million access to markets. While Thailand continues to impose informal sector workers for emergency COVID-19 benefits, transmission control restrictions to combat the COVID-19 the large majority of the population is likely now registered outbreak that affect normal business activity, employment for some form of social protection. Harnessing the capacity retention schemes that incentivize employers to retain within the system to create a virtual social registry that workers can also be implemented. But these should be would make data sharing automated and routine would time-limited and phased out as the recovery from the enable greater visibility and oversight of the system for policy COVID-19 outbreak takes hold. makers. It would also improve targeting and make the system more shock responsive. Data quality in the Low-Income Earner’s • Invest in a labor market information system that could serve Registry has called its credibility into question and also needs as a backbone for delivering effective labor market programs. to be improved. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 65 Recommendations: it in place because of some of the foundational elements already exist, especially through the wide use of the PID. • Establish a virtual social registry to support outreach, intake, registration and eligibility determination for all social • Establish data sharing protocols and mechanisms for assistance programs and introduce on-demand updating informed consent and put in place or strengthen privacy to strengthen the collection of socio-economic data for protections for personal data. targeting poverty programs and enable real-time and comprehensive decision-making. In contrast to a single • Improve coherence of the social protection system and registry, a virtual registry is essentially a platform that labor system, by developing a national social protection links databases and information systems to exchange strategy and establishing inter-agency coordination, as and match data in real-time. This is a more dynamic well as by leveraging the virtual social registry. mechanism and Thailand has a strong opportunity to put Table 17 Proposed sequence of actions and reforms v 0-6 Extend emergency payments through the SWC program into the first half of 2021. Open months enrolments for SWC, to allow newly impoverished individuals to register for assistance. Trial online enrolments to supplement existing face-to-face options, building online registration undertaken during COVID-19 restrictions. Invest in upskilling and reskilling programs to help workers displaced by the COVID-19 outbreak to find jobs, linked to subsidies (vouchers) that finance training and act as wage subsidies. Implement time-limited employment retention measures to protect jobs in the short-term while transmission control measures remain in place. 6-18 Establish an inter-agency coordination mechanism for social protection and labor programs, under months the auspices of the Office of the Prime Minister or the Ministry of Finance. Undertake further analysis of how regular and emergency social protection benefits and services accrue to individuals and households. Review social assistance registries, eligibility criteria and overlaps. Evaluate the effectiveness of existing active labor market programs. If appropriate, expand active labor market schemes for SWC holders, building on lessons from first two rounds in 2018 and 2019. Draft social protection and labor market strategy, considering options for: - determining a maximum/minimum package for social assistance benefits at the household level and improving adequacy; - expanding minimum contingent coverage for informal workers, including through greater government subsidies; - indexing retirement benefits to prices and indexing the wage ceiling based on which SSF retirement benefits are calculated to wage growth; - gradually raising the retirement age, actuarially fair adjustments for early or late retirement and raising the contribution rate once the COVID-19 crisis subsides; - transitioning to a results-oriented training and employment services system; - expanding linkages and referral pathways between social assistance, social insur ance and active labor market schemes. Prepare a road map for data governance reforms, including establishment of a virtual social registry. Transition to an electronic cash payment for SWC, with a view to eliminating other allowances. Invest in a labor market information system that could serve as a backbone for delivering effective labor market programs. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 66 v 18-36 Implement the road map for data reforms, including to: months - harmonize targeting and registration for poverty targeted programs, and introduce (1.5-3 on-demand updating to improve data quality and reduce exclusion error; years) - Establish a virtual social registry that links existing program and administrative datasets through APIs; - Establish data sharing protocols and privacy protections. 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TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 74 Annex 1 Social Protection Programs in Thailand Social Assistance Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency State Welfare Cash transfer program for Thai citizens, over 18 years 13.9 million The government Card Program poor working age households. old, unemployed or with in 202019. allocated B40 Type: Cash Each month, the government an annual income below billion to finance Transfer transfers between B200 B100,000, holds no state welfare Since 2016 (US$6) and B300 (US$9) via financial assets worth smartcard holders Implemented by: the beneficiaries’ cards, with more than B100,000, in fiscal year Ministry the exact figure depending and does not own real 202020. of Finance on the annual income of the estate. cardholder. Those who have incomes below B30,000 baht a year receive B300 /month. Those who have incomes between 30,000-100,000/ year receive B200 /month. Child Support Cash transfer to poor families Poor pregnant women In 2019, B2,056,000,000 Grant with children up to 6 years or mothers of [newborn] nearly (approved by the Type: Cash of age. The cash transfer children who are Thai 700,000 Cabinet as of 19 Transfer amount per child is B600/ nationals born since children February 2020) Since 2015 month. October 2015, until the age received Implemented by: of 6. Not for beneficiaries the grant. Ministry of Social of social security funds, In 2020, Development and welfare, other benefits the program Human Security from government reached https://csg.dcy. agencies, or state 1.5 million. go.th/ 21 enterprises (excludes households occasional allowances), monthly. and not in state care. Must live in a poor or near poor household with total household income of less than B100,000 per person per year22 Child Subsidy to The program aims to help Children of poor families, 2019 Target: In 2019, the Poor Households children whose families from infancy to 18-years 175,270 budget was Type: Cash experience hardship, and (if in education, not older B175,279,00026 Transfer therefore cannot take care than 20) experiencing Since: 198623 of their children. Hardships25 hardship or whose parent, Implemented by: include illness, imprisonment both parents, or guardian Ministry of Social and disability among others. cannot work due to, for Development and MSDHS will determine how instance, illness, disability, Human Security24 much monetary assistance imprisonment, etc. Orphans each household will get based or abandoned children on the condition of their with a guardian. Children hardship. The program offers in households with critical grants of B1,000-2,000 per poverty who cannot take child up to B3,0000 care of them. per household. 19. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1339094/covid-19-pandemic-thailand-extends-electricity-wa- 24. http://www.chanthaburi.m-society.go.th/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=arti- ter-subsidies-for-another-year https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1339094/covid-19-pandemic-thai- cle&id=129:2014-01-24-03-10-56&catid=50:2014-01-24-03-00-22&Itemid=197 land-extends-electricity-water-subsidies-for-another-year 25. http://thainews.prd.go.th/th/news/detail/TCATG190113091941435 20. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1822089/family-income-joins-new-welfare-criteria 26. https://www.dcy.go.th/webnew/upload/download/file_th_20192406142008_1.pdf 21. For a recent evaluation of the program see https://www.unicef.org/evaldatabase/index_103759. html 22. https://csg.dcy.go.th/th/support/how-to-register 23. http://www.ayutthaya.m-society.go.th/?p=3729 TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 75 Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency Foster parents’ Cash transfer to poor foster Poor fostered children - - assistance parents (up to B2,000 / younger than 18 or poor Type: Cash month per child – to a max of foster families, who Transfer Since: B4,000 /month/total in the experience economic 2015 case of more than one child. hardship and cannot Implemented by: Transfer mechanism: Cash afford childcare costs. Ministry of Social (self-pick-up) or bank transfer Security and Development27 15-year Free The FEP provides universal All children in Thailand - In 2019, Education quality education for all including stateless and the budget was Programme children from preschool ethnic minority children B27,468,378,300 (FEP) through the high school level and children of migrants. 29 Type: Social and vocational education, Assistance covering formal, non-formal, (cash or in-kind) and informal education. Since: 2009 Includes per-student grants Implemented by: to primary and secondary Ministry of schools. Administered by Education28 schools (learning and teaching activities, schoolbooks and student development activities), or by transfer (student uniforms and learning materials) in-cash or in-kind. uniforms and learning materials) in-cash or in-kind. Equitable EEF provides full scholarships Students from very EEF seeks - Education Fund to targeted students from very low-income families to select (EEF) – Higher low-income families, so that (within the lowest 20%) and support Education for they are not compared with who have good grades. about 2,800 educational more fortunate students from scholarships Equality program higher income families. per year.31 Type: Social Assistance (scholarships) Since: 2018 Supervised by the Prime Minister and a Board of Governors appointed by the cabinet.30 The Equitable Conditional cash transfer The program targets the In 2018, Budget of B953.5 Education Fund program for the poorest poorest primary and 510,040 million for the (EEF) – Conditional students, providing B1,600 per secondary aged students students year 2018-201935 Cash Transfer student per year with half going with the necessary received Program to OBEC-registered schools, resources to be successful the fund Type: Cash and the other half directly to the in their educational Transfer students’ guardians. Disbursed endeavours according Since: 2018 in two periods with the second to their aptitude. Proxy Supervised as released upon the submission of means testing is used above.32 financial statement, attendance based on family’s housing and health statistics of the stu- condition, land ownership, dents, and records of school meal vehicle ownership, and provisions and skills development the number of dependent activities.33 family members.34 27. https://www.dcy.go.th/webnew/uploadchild/plc/download/file_th_20172811101210_1.pdf 32. https://www.eef.or.th/ 28. http://www.moe.go.th/index.php/ 33. https://www.eef.or.th/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/aw14.pdf 29. https://www.matichon.co.th/education/news_1442704 ื ระบบคัดกรองทุนเสมอภาค-ตชด-162.pdf https://obec.blob.core.windows.net/cdn/pdf/คู่มอ 30. https://www.eef.or.th/ 34. Link here 31. https://www.eef.or.th/en/eef/ 35. For more information see page 9 in the EEF annual report: https://www.eef.or.th/wp-content/up- loads/2019/08/aw-EEF-Annual-Report-2018_Final-052919.pdf. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 76 Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency Area-Based EEF works with provinces to Children aged between The program A budget of B111 Initiative for reach out of school children 3-17 years old who are aims to reach million was set for Out-of-School who face multiple challenes, out of school and face 670,000 2019-2020 Children developing strategies in multiple challenges children Type: Cash 15 provinces, partnering Transfer with stakeholders to create Since: 2018 learning opportunities for out Supervised as of school children that are above.36 flexible and meet provincial education and employment needs, aligned with UNESCO’s suggestions related to flexible learning strategies. Fund for Lunch of The Fund for Lunch of The program is “1.8 primary - Primary School Primary School Program implemented children Program Type: was enacted to alleviate in all public primary and nearly School feeding nutritional problems among schools (approx. 30,000 700,000 in Since: 1952 school children. Schools can schools), with poor early years Implemented by: apply for funds (B20 per children selected through education.”39 School Lunch person per day) allocated annual growth Project Fund by the Department of Local monitoring. Bureau, Ministry Administration for nutritious of Education.37 lunches for students.38 Home improve- Department of Older Persons Poor elderly aged over - - ment assistance provide B22,500/home for 60 years in need of home Type: Social materials, labor, and improvements. Assistance (Cash management expenses as Transfer) home improvement assistance Since: 2013 for the poor elderly. Implemented by: A committee set up by the Ministry of Social MSDHS determines which Development and houses need improvement.41 Human Security.40 Social emergency Provides basic relief before People who face or can - - relief Type: Social providing subsidy, development, be expected to face Assistance (Cash and restoration to sudden hardship Transfer) independence. requiring an immediate Since: 2004 Offers cash or other items response to prevent Implemented by: worth no more than B2,000 other social problems Ministry of Social per occasion per household, from happening. Development and and where the amount of cash Human Security.42 or the value of items exceeds B2,000, this continues at the Governor’s discretion. Transfer mechanism: Bank account transfer, cheque or other approved methods. 36. https://www.eef.or.th/ 37. http://www.obecschoollunch.com/history/ 38. Link here 39. http://worldfood.apionet.or.jp/thai.pdf 40. http://www.dop.go.th/th 41. http://www.dop.go.th/download/knowledge/knowledge_th_20152212144750_1.pdf 42. http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2550/E/046/5.PDF TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 77 Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency Reducing The Program is a revolving It offers social In 2019, In 2019, this Inequality fund requiring a “one baht/ assistance (grants, items, there were program disbursed Community day savings” for a minimum or benefits) to low-income 1,972,680 B2,088.67 million. Welfare Funds of 15 years. The fund offers earners of the Welfare members, (CWF) Program insurance benefits and Smart Card Program and 5,998 Type: Social flexible low interest loans to (also known as funds all Assistance (Food, communities. Government the Government Welfare over the in-kind and allocations to the CFW are Program) who earn less country. near-cash at 365 baht per member per than B30,000 per annum. transfers) year. The Fund encourages Since: 1980 savings for people in the Supported by community, and provides the Community modest financial assistance Organization for community members who Development have a savings account for Institute (CODI) the following purposes: under the childbirth, education, Ministry of Social ordination, marriage, Development and healthcare and pension for Human Security.43 the elderly.44 Baan Mankong 1) Loans of B89,000 / Low-income people and 5,240 B61,793 million in Program household to improve housing city dwellers living in households budget in 201948 Type: Cash T conditions of low-income slums. in 201947 ransfer households in urban areas; Since: 2003 2) Cash grants for housing Implemented by: improvement of B25,000 CODI, Ministry per household; and utilities of Social systems development grant Development and of B30,000 for current Human Security45 estate and B50,000 for new estates.46 Old Age Basic pension: a monthly All elderly citizens are 9.09 million B5,602 million as Allowance benefit to all elderly without eligible, except recipients (2019)49 of 202050 Type: Social other pension income. of public and private Pension Since: Benefits range from 600 to sector social insurance 2003 B1,000 per month, depending pensions. Aged 60 and Implemented by: on age: between 60 and 70 over, with no civil service The department years, the benefit is B600, pension. There are no of local with every decade of age previous residency criteria administration, adding B100 to the monthly for participation, but Bangkok amount. benefits can only be paid Metropolitan to people who are Administration resident in Thailand. and Pattaya City Social Development Office Cash assistance Cash transfer for low-income Low-income elderly who - - for low-income elderly holders of the State are holders of the State elderly Type: Welfare Card. Those with Welfare Card Social Assistance incomes less than B30,000 (Cash Transfer) per year receive cash assistance 2018 Ministry of of B100 per month. Those Social Development with income between and Human B30,001 - 100,000 per year Security 51 receive B50 per month.52 43. https://web.codi.or.th/development_project/20190321-194112/ 49. 2019 NCOP “The Situation of Thai Elderly 2019”. National Commission on Older Persons 44. http://www.mfa.go.th/sep4sdgs/contents/filemanager/images/sep/VNR%20English.pdf 50. http://www.nakhonsawan.go.th/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=arti- 45. www.codi.or.th cle&id=2541:2020-02-04-07-01-04&catid=26:2018-02-15-04-16-33&Itemid=217 46. https://www.thairath.co.th/news/business/finance-banking/1600153 51. http://www.dop.go.th/th 47. https://web.codi.or.th/remuneration_project/20190614-6973/ 52. https://thainews.prd.go.th/th/news/detail/TCATG200306151626752 48. https://www.efinancethai.com/LastestNews/LatestNewsMain.aspx?release=y&ref=M&id=U- 2s1UkFYLzZKQnM9 TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 78 Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency Allowance for Emergency allowance for an Elderly people over 60 - - abandoned and abandoned or abused elderly. years of age, with Thai abused elderly The cash allowance of no nationality. Type: Cash more than B500 can be Transfer used based on needs Since: 2005 (transportation, litigation, Implemented by: food, clothing, basic Ministry of Social healthcare service etc.).53 Development and Human Security. Funeral allowance Funeral expenses for the Poor elderly people over 4,774 in As of 2020: for the elderly elderly poor (B2000 each). 60 years of age, with 2020 9,548,00055 Type: Cash Thai nationality. Transfer Since: 2014 Implemented by: Ministry of Social Development and Human Security54 Allowance for Cash allowance of B800 Thai nationals with 1.84 million - B1,475 million People with per month for people with disabilities. people in in expense as of Disabilities disabilities. In 2020, the The beneficiaries must 202059 202060 Type: Social Cabinet approved an increase be: 1) domiciled in the pension Since: to B1,000 per month to take district according to the 2010 effect from October 2020.57 census; 2) have a disability Implemented by: Transfer mechanisms card according to the Local - Face-to-face cash collection Persons with Disabilities’ Administrative - Bank transfer to registered Quality of Life local Organization, account with beneficiaries’ government Promotion Ministry of name Act, B.E. 2550 (2007); Interior56 - Starting in 2020, via an and 3) not living in e-payment system directly government welfare into the beneficiaries’ shelter. account on the 10th of every month.58 Social assistance (i) In the case of children with Registered children or - - for families of disabilities, cash assistance people with disabilities people with of not more than B1,000 / from poor families. disabilities time and not more than 3 Type: Cash consecutive times / family Transfer Since: - (ii) In the case of people with Implemented by: disabilities, cash assistance Ministry of Social not more than B2,000 / time Development and and not more than 3 consecutive Human Security61 times / family Equipment Equipment purchase subsidy People with medically - In 2019, B112,000 purchase subsidy for people with disabilities. certified disabilities in budget63 Type: Social in need of special Assistance (Care equipment vehicles. for the disabled) Since: - Implemented by: Ministry of Social Development and Human Security62 53. http://www.oic.go.th/FILEWEB/CABINFOCENTER3/DRAWER089/GENERAL/ 57. https://www.thairath.co.th/news/politic/1758353 DATA0000/00000148.PDF 58. www.oic.go.th › general › data0002 http://www.oic.go.th/FILEWEB/CABINFOCENTER18/DRAWER003/GENERAL/ 59. https://www.prachachat.net/finance/news-408562 DATA0000/00000057.PDF 60. http://www.nakhonsawan.go.th/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=arti- 54. http://www.dop.go.th/th/topic/view=195 cle&id=2541:2020-02-04-07-01-04&catid=26:2018-02-15-04-16-33&Itemid=217 55. http://www.dop.go.th/download/implementation/th1589509535-1163_0.pdf 61. http://www.chanthaburi.m-society.go.th/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=arti- 56. http://www.dla.go.th/index.jsp cle&id=131:2014-01-24-03-29-06&catid=50:2014-01-24-03-00-22&Itemid=197 TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 79 Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency Equipment Equipment purchase subsidy People with medically - In 2019, B112,000 purchase subsidy for people with disabilities. certified disabilities in budget63 Type: Social in need of special Assistance (Care equipment vehicles. for the disabled) Since: - Implemented by: Ministry of Social Development and Human Security62 Equipment lease 18 types of information People with medically - - Program technology or communication certified disabilities in Type: Social equipment leased to people need of information Assistance (Food, with medically certified echnology or in-kind and disabilities. The Ministry of telecommunication near-cash transfers) Digital Economy and Society equipment. Since: 2007 aims to source 3,500 pieces Implemented by: of equipment under this Ministry of Digital program.65 Economy and Society.64 Support for HIV/ Social assistance to ease the People living with AIDS - - AIDs Patients and economic burden on the families and their families. Their Families of people living with AIDS. Type: Social Each family receives up to t Assistance (Other B2,000, up to three times, social assistance) to cover essential expenses, Since: - medical bills, or occupation Implemented by: related costs. Ministry of Social Financial aid to children Development and of AIDS-affected families, Human Security 66 limited to B1,000 for families with one child and B3,000 for families with more than one child with both parents deceased, by bank transfer. Allowance for Diagnosed AIDs patients Diagnosed AIDS 87,683 - In 2018 the HIV/AIDS eligible for patients lacking income, (2018) total budget patients a monthly living allowance of abandoned, without any allocated was Type: Social B500 per capita by the local caretakers, or unable to B5,261.000.00 Assistance (Other government agency. provide for him/herself. million. social assistance) Since: 2004 Implemented by: Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. Social assistance 17 cash transfer programs for Military, police officers, As of 2018, - programs for war war veterans with allowances civil servants and civilians 630,000 veterans for livelihoods, education, who protect national war veterans Type: Cash funeral, disaster relief, security of the country as are under transfer maternity among others. determined by the Ministry the care of Since: 1948 of Defence or Ministry of Implemented the Prime Minister’s Defence.68 by: Ministry of Office. Defence.67 http://dep.go.th/Content/View/1340/2 62. 64. https://www.mdes.go.th/ http://www.oic.go.th/FILEWEB/CABINFOCENTER24/DRAWER022/GENERAL/ 63. 65. https://www.nectec.or.th/ace2019/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/20190909_SS04_Wansiri.pdf DATA0000/00000238.PDF 66. http://www.chanthaburi.m-society.go.th/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=arti- cle&id=132:2014-01-24-03-33-54&catid=50:2014-01-24-03-00-22&Itemid=197 67. http://www.thaiveterans.mod.go.th/wvoth/welfare/index.html 68. https://www.matichon.co.th/politics/news_928590 TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 80 Social Insurance Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency Civil Servant Pension program for civil Central government - The defined Pension Program servants. As either a gratuity employees, local benefit pension Type: Old Age or a pension upon retirement government officials, expenditure for Pension (individual decision). Payment some SOEs. public servants Since:1902 is equal to the last salary in 2019 totaled Implemented received multiplied by B223,762 million by: Ministry of the number of years of Finance employment, divided by 50. Includes amendments to the 65-year-old Pension Act, which caps the retirement age at 60. The Government Long-term compulsory savings All civil servants except In 2020, the In 2020, the Pension Fund fund with defined contributions the political branch; civil fund covered net asset value (GPF) from government officials. servants prior to 27 March 1,088,288 is B967,691,636,569 Type: Old Age An addition to the original 1997 and registered as members. .62 Pension pension system guaranteeing a member by 26 March Since: 1996 pension payments and 1997; Newly appointed or Managed by savings to its members. transferred civil servant the Committee of since 27 March 1997. Government Fund under the Ministry of Finance.69 Social Security Contributory social insurance General population aged In 2019 the In 2017, expenditure Fund (Sections scheme for private employ- over 15 who are not number of on SSF sections 33 and 39) ees in firms with 20 or more civil servants or deemed people 33, 39 and 40 (see Type: Other social workers, covering 18.84% of exempted by the Social covered was below) totalled insurance the population for: sickness, Security Law. 11,686,393 78,145,000,000, Since: 1991 injury, maternity, invalidity, under covering old-age, Implemented by: death, unemployment, old age. Section 33, child allowance, Social Security SSS Section 33 covers those 1,648,118 unemployment, Office, Ministry of employed in non-agricultural under sickness, maternity Labor.70 establishments aged 15 and Section 39.72 and invalidity older. Employers with at least benefits.73 one employee must register their employee(s). SSS Section 39 covers those previously insured under Section 33 who contributed for not less than 12 months or no longer employees but wish to remain insured. 69. https://www.gpf.or.th/thai2019/Index/index.php 70. https://www.sso.go.th/wpr/assets/upload/files_storage/sso_th/4fe3599e47b4578591d- b2ab1af138d26.pdf 71. https://ucinfo.nhso.go.th/ucinfo 72. Source: SSO, link here 73. SSO Report 2017. TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 81 Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency Social Security Contributory insurance scheme Informal economy In 2019, the See above Scheme for for informal economy workers, workers number of Informal Workers i.e., self-employed or family age between 15-6575, i.e., people (SSS Section 40) workers not covered by any self-employed workers covered was Type: Other social social security system. Section or family workers who 3,242,579 insurance 40 covers: are not an insured person under Since: 1991 Package 1 – Illness, invalidity pursuant to section 33 Section 40.77 Implemented by: and death benefits; (monthly and 39 of the Social Social Security contributions: 70 baht by the Security Scheme.76 Office, Ministry of insured); Labor.74 Package 2 - Illness, invalidity, death, and old-age (lump sum) benefits; (monthly contribution: 100 baht by the insured); Package 3 – Illness, invalidity, death, old-age, and child bene- fits (monthly contribution: 300 baht by the insured). Social Security Part of the SSF program, a In either case, retirees 13 million - Fund for Old savings tool incorporated into receiving Old Age Pension Pension the Social Security Fund to are not eligible for the Type: Old Age ensure that retired employees non-contributory Old Age Pension receive minimum income. Allowance. Since: 2014 Each employee and employer Implemented by: is required to contribute 3% of The Office of Social their salary to the SSF for Old Security under the Age Pension. Upon retirement Ministry of Labor. at 55, the retiree can elect to receive either a lump sum payment or monthly payments. Workers Com- Insurance for employees of The scheme covers As of March In 2018 it was pensation Fund private firms, government employees in the formal 2018, B3,007 million. Type: Other agencies, non-profit private sector the fund insurance organizations, and foreign (companies with one or comprised Since: 1974 firms against work related more employees) and of S 33: Implemented by: injuries that can result in loss regular migrant workers. 10,913,304 Social Security of income. Funded with employer members Office.78 contributions, compensating S. 39: employees who die, are injured, 1,384,583 suffer loss of organs or members. disabled due to work-related causes. National Savings Expand contributory public The program targets In 2020, the In 2018, Fund (NSF) pension scheme for workers workers in the informal fund has B1,100,353 million. Type: Old Age in the informal sector (not sector age 15-60 years. 2,294,322 Pension covered under state pension members. Since: 2011 programs or private provident Implemented by: funds). Voluntary defined Ministry of contribution system. Finance.79 Calculated on the basis of 1) the deposit, 2) contribution and 3) benefit derived from the deposit and the contribution. 74. https://www.sso.go.th/wpr/assets/upload/files_storage/sso_th/4fe3599e47b4578591d- 78. https://www.sso.go.th/wpr/main b2ab1af138d26.pdf 79. https://www.nsf.or.th/index.php/2016-04-07-12-33-30/2018-01-10 75. https://www.thairath.co.th/news/local/bangkok/1733415 76. Source: SSO, link here 77. Source: SSO, link here TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 82 Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency The Provident Voluntary benefit scheme Employees of private During the In 2018 the Fund Program between employers and companies, government second total budget was Type: Old Age employees who set up a enterprise employees quarter of B1,100,353 Pension fund committee to oversee and government 2019, 19,008 Since: 1987 the provident fund. Aims for permanent employees. employers Implemented by: employees to have savings and Securities and for retirement, disability, or 3,060,504 Exchange for the family if the employee employee Commission dies. Employees receive a members (SEC)80 lump sum at the termination of their employment or upon retirement.81 Private Teacher A provident fund, welfare Private school directors, In 2017, 2.2 million in 2017 Aid Fund benefits (medical, child teachers and educational 88,647 were Type: Other social education support, etc.), personnel. covered insurance and financial assistance In 2020, Since: 1974 for private school directors, medical Implemented by: teachers, and staff. Monthly benefits for Ministry of contributions (not exceeding 3 member Education.82 percent of the member’s total increased to salary) paid by the teacher, B150,000/ the school (equal to the member’s person/ contribution), and the Ministry year.83 of Education (twice the member’s contribution). Universal Health Comprehensive healthcare for The program covers As of The budget for Coverage all Thais who are not covered 70.75% of the population February fiscal year 2021 Type: Health by other healthcare schemes. that is not covered by other 2020, was B202,704.07 subsidy Since: The package is comprehensive social health protection 47,472,496 Million, or 2002 and includes general medical schemes, such as (a) the people or B3,853.04 Financed by the care and rehabilitation services, Social Security Scheme 70.75% of per eligible person. National Health high-costing medical treatment, (SSS) for private sector the population Security Office and emergency care. employees, and (b) the are covered .85 In 2017, it was (NHSO) under Civil Servant Medical Benefit 6.21% of the the Ministry of Scheme (CSMBS) for total budget. Health.84 government employees B127,445.1859 and government retirees, million for eligible as well as their spouses, citizens (4.66%) dependents under 20 and B42,307.2340 years old and parents. for wages of health officers.86 Civil Servants Non-contributory scheme Civil servants and In 2019 the 2019 expenditure Medical Benefit for civil servants. permanent employees, number of was B13,741 million Scheme (CSMBS) Benefits include in-patient pensioners, the military, people who Type: Health and out-patient treatment foreign employees paid used the insurance in public hospitals, by the government benefit was Since: 2010 specific private hospitals, whose employment 2,311,163.88 Implemented by: or, in emergency cases, any contract does not specify National Health other private hospitals a condition for medical Security Office.87 services for them and their dependents (legitimate children, spouse, and parents) 80. https://www.thaipvd.com/content/60 81. https://www.set.or.th/education/th/begin/mutualfund_content14.pdf 82. http://www.aidfunds.org/ 83. https://siamrath.co.th/n/100660 84. https://www.nhso.go.th/ 85. https://ucinfo.nhso.go.th/ucinfo 86. https://gnews.apps.go.th/news?news=53201 87. https://www.nhso.go.th/ 88. https://www.prachachat.net/finance/news-293773 TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 83 Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency Compulsory Health insurance scheme Undocumented migrant - - Migrant Health providing basic health care (not workers registered under Insurance (CMHI) work-related injuries or illnesses) Section 13 of the Foreign Type: Health for undocumented migrants Workers Employment insurance who pay 500-B3,200 per year, Act, B.E. 2551 (2008) Since: 2004 depending on the duration of and their dependents Implemented by: coverage (3 months – 2 years) who are not covered Ministry of Public .Medical services provided are by the Social Security Health (MOPH)89 similar to those afforded to Scheme. people covered by the UHC. Labor Market programs Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency Unemployment Unemployment benefits for Must pay contributions for In 2019, the - Benefit in SSF job seekers who are insured at least 6 months within a number was Type: Passive against unemployment. Job period of 15 months before 170,455 92 ALMPs seekers are entitled to unemployment, and be Since: 1990 unemployment insurance registered with the Implemented by: benefits in the event that Department of Ministry of Labor, they are laid off or resigned. Employment, Ministry and Social Security of Labor. Office.91 Those laid off receive 50 per cent of wages up to 180 days within 1 year. The voluntarily unemployed receive 30 per cent of wages up to 90 days within 1 year. National Vocational training and funds Village and urban In 2018 there In 2018, Village and Urban to develop infrastructure community members who were 79,595 B55 billion. Community Fund development projects, such lack access to financial Village Funds (1-million Baht as building community barns, institutions. In 2018 covering 13 Village Fund) agricultural warehouses and only 2,560 Village Funds million Type: Training water storage facilities. These are ready to become a members in Since: 2001 measures aim to promote the community financial 77 provinces. Implemented by: country’s economic equity.94 institution. Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Commerce.93 Welfare Card Jobs Vocational training courses for The program aimed to In 2018, In 2018, Training Program State Welfare Card holders to cover 1,000,000 State 3,267,941 B235,751,500 Type: Training promote employment. Divided Welfare Cardholders who welfare card million. Since: 2018 in two categories: (i) Fast earn less than 30,000 holders Implemented by: Track Handyperson Training baht per annum and participated. Ministry of Labor. C u r r i c u l u m (c o m m u n i t y reside in city and rural handymen), a 60-hour training communities. course for cardholders nationwide. (ii) Vocational Training Curricula providing short courses. 89. http://fwf.cfo.in.th/ 92. https://www.bot.or.th/App/BTWS_STAT/statistics/ReportPage.aspx?reportID=111&lan- 90. Source here guage=th93.https://www.nhso.go.th/ 91. Source here 93. http://www.villagefund.or.th/ 94. http://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news/detail/TCATG19122113071137295. https://www.nhso.go.th/ TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 84 Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency Equitable Community-based career Poor, working-age Target: - Education Fund’s development program for population in 50 pilot 5,000- Community -based people living in areas high in areas. 10,000 career development poverty rate, unemployment, people Type: Labor market and poorly ranked in terms Since: 2018 of the human development Supervised by the index.95 Prime Minister and governed by a Board of Governance appointed by the Cabinet Center for Women Vocational training for women Women who lack social The program - and Family who lack social opportunities opportunities to acquire produced Development to acquire professional skills. professional skills. more than Type: Labor 1) Center-Based Vocational 140 groups of market Training with job allocation entrepreneurs Since – service after program completion. per year. Implemented by: 2) Community-Based Vocational More than Ministry of Social Group Training to promote 15,000 Development and women’s community employed per Human Security. enterprises.96 year. Protection and The Centers are located in Victims of human The program - Occupation four provinces and offer skills trafficking. produced Development training in crafts and service more than Centers. industry for victims of human 140 groups of Type: Labor trafficking.97 entrepreneurs market per year. Since - More than Implemented by: 15,000 Ministry of Social employed Development and per year. Human Security Non-formal and Non-formal and Informal The elderly, people with 887 - Informal Education for the elderly, disabilities, and socially disadvantaged Education Centre people with disabilities, disadvantaged groups. people in for Special Target and socially disadvantaged 2018 Groups groups.98 Type: Labor market Since: - Implemented by: Ministry of Education Occupation Occupational and skill training The elderly, aged 60 and In 2018, In 2019, the Training Program for senior people with the above. 6,953 people budget was set at for the elderly objective to support them to completed B22,032,000 Type: Training find employment, reducing the training Since: - reliance on the family, and 101 Implemented by: fulfill labor market demand Ministry of Labor/ in certain areas. Currently, Department of there are over 100 courses Skill Development available, such as Social 100 Networking, cooking, and craft. 95. https://www.eef.or.th/fund/community-base/ 100. http://www.dsd.go.th/DSD/Home/History2559 96. https://gnews.apps.go.th/news?news=51343 101. http://www.dsd.go.th/it/Region/Download_Doc/15876 97. Link to source here 98. http://101.51.150.100/stg/?name=news2&file=readnews&id=4299. http://www.villagefund.or.th/ 99. http://101.51.150.100/stg/UserFiles/File/Disadvantaged.pdf TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 85 Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency Occupation Funds the protection and 1) Senior citizen over 60 In the fiscal The 2019 loan Grants (Elderly empowerment of the elderly as years old year 2019, amounts to Fund) Program well as ensuring that they have 2) Organizations for 8,991 senior B225,195,000 Type: Self- stability and good quality of the elderly or elderly citizens employment – life. For: organizations received grants and loans Occupational loans: no more occupation Since: 2007102 than B30,000 /individual support Implemented by: borrower, and no more than loans.104 Ministry of Social B100,000 for a group of over Development and 5 people. Project support (cash Human Security. transfer),amount determined 103 by size. PWD employment Companies can deduct 1-3 - - - tax incentives times of the expenses incurred Type: Employment from hiring PWD in their subsidies – tax corporate tax, depending on incentives the proportion of PWD e Since: 2018 mployees hired per total Implemented by: workforce. The Revenue Department, Ministry of Finance.105 Senior Employ- Under Royal Decree No. 639, Thai nationality, already - - ment Promotion which allows corporate income employed by the company Program taxpayers to deduct twice the or juristic partnership or Type: Employment amount of expenses incurred registered as a job-seeker subsidies – tax for employing elderly people for with the Department of incentives income tax purposes, for Employment, and not Since: 2017 expenses no more than director or shareholder of Implemented B15,000 per month including the company or juristic by: Ministry of contributions to a provident partnership. Finance.106 fund. Centers for Skills Skills training in various - - - Development vocations offered by the Type: Training Department of Skill Since: - Development. 108 Implemented by: Ministry of Labor. 107 Transformation Skills training in various SME businesses in - - Funds for SMEs vocations offered by the manufacturing, service, and Mini Voucher Department of Skill wholesale, and retail industry Type: Labor Development Aims to which are registered with market incentivize SME businesses and the Ministry of Commerce. Since: 2017 start-ups to integrate digital 110 Implemented by: innovations in their operations. Digital Economy Four options of vouchers are Promotion Agency available for amounts ranging (DEPA), Ministry from B10,000 to B150,000. of Digital Economy The four vouchers issued by and Society. DEPA include: mini transformation, 109 standardization, intellectual property and internationalization. 102. http://ijasos.ocerintjournals.org/tr/download/article-file/261800 108. http://www.dsd.go.th/DSD/Intro/show_search?activity=all&searchbox=&department1=0&but- 103. http://www.olderfund.dop.go.th/content/index/7/page ton_search=%E0%B8%84%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%B2&page=5 104. http://www.olderfund.dop.go.th/uploads/content/download/5d8ac5358db5a.pdf 109. https://www.depa.or.th/en/digitalmanpower/digital-transformation-fund/promotion-tools 105. http://www.rd.go.th/saraburi/hotcolumn/2561/Benefits_hiring_people.pdf 110. https://www.depa.or.th/th/smedigitalcoupon 106. https://newstartup.rd.go.th/taxdeduct/index1.jsp 107. https://www.mol.go.th/ TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 86 Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency One Tambon One A local entrepreneurship Income generation for - In 2019, a B902 Product (OTOP) stimulus effort that supports people in the community. million budget was Type: Labor the locally made products allocated.113 Market Since: from each tambon (subdistrict). 2001 Implemented Aimed at strengthening the by: Community grass-root economy by Development encouraging collaboration Department of the with the public and private Ministry of Interior sectors. 111 Government oversees marketing, providing advertising budgets for OTOP products, organizing events, and creating information exchange among producers, buyers and consumers through a website at www. ThaiTambon.com.112 Social care services Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency Long Term Care To help Dependent Elderly In 2017, 4,501 sub-districts In 2017, In 2017, a budget of dependent persons, providing signed on the project with 180,126 of 900 million was elderly people long-term care (LTC) to 3,013 passing the assessment elderly approved. (LTC) Program prevent healthy elderly people (almost 50 per cent). persons Type: Social care from being dependent and 180,126 dependent elderly, received services (Care for care for those already the programs has 4,577 care. older persons) dependent. Covers functional care managers, 18,309 Since: 2017 training, psychological care givers, 99,300 care Implemented by: support, vital checks, personal plans, 4,501 sub-districts Ministry of Health hygiene care, environmental have joined the project; checks, daily living assistance, only 50 per cent or 3,013 oral health checks, nutritional sub-districts pass the care and Thai traditional assessment. massage.114 Accommodation Supports senior able-bodied Senior citizens age 60 and April 2017: - and Care Program people/poor/homeless, poor above with no disability, 1,026 Senior Type: Social care and elderly/ without caretakers no dangerous disease, no citizens services with accommodation and place of residence, no applied. June Since: 2003 care in retirement homes and caretaker, who are poor.116 2017: MSDHS Implemented by: improves the surroundings renovated 680 Ministry of Social and facilities for all. houses and the Development and Social Welfare Human Security Development and other Local Center for Administrative Older Persons Organizations.115 renovated 410 houses and 62 venues. 111. http://www.cdd.go.th/ 112. https://www.undp.org/content/dam/thailand/docs/TICAUNDPbpVol1.pdf 113. https://voicetv.co.th/read/HkBh9lV0M 114. https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30308802z`` 115. http://www.dop.go.th/en/aboutus/11 116. http://law.m-society.go.th/law2016/law/view/620 TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 87 Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency Promotion of the Elderly Quality of Life Devel- Senior citizens age 60 and 878 EQCC - Quality of life for opment and Career Promotion above with no disability, Supporting the elderly People Centers (EQCCs) nationwide , no dangerous disease, no 81,833 Living in the promoting elderly clubs and, place of residence, no elderly Community schools, Vocational Training for caretaker, who are poor. people. Program Elderly people. EQCCs are seen Elderly people Type: Social care as a community-based social services (Care for welfare service. The elderly, older persons) local leaders, volunteers, Since: 2014 communities, and public and Implemented by: private network organizations Ministry of Social can take part in and drive the Development and operations of EQCCs, and local Human Security.117 administrative organizations provide additional support .118 PWD protections Provides social care for people Disabled persons with PWD In 2018, in 2018, and development with medically certified ID card who register and 1,607,505 B15,347.240.00 centers disabilities, covering PWD petition for Disability Living million was Type: Social care protection centers and job Allowance to allocated. services (care for training. the Administrative the disabled) Organization as indicated Since: - by the House Particulars Implemented by: of the petitioners. Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEP) under the Ministry of Interior.119 Homeless shelters 11 homeless shelters Homeless people aged be- In 2016, - Type: throughout the country, tween 18-60 years.120 there were Social care supporting homeless people 4,188 people services (Care for and beggars who experience residing in the homeless) economic and social hardship. the shelters.121 Since: - Shelters also provide basic Implemented by: needs, social Ministry of Social assistance, recreation, Development and therapeutic activities, Human Security funeral support, and vocational training. Emergency Social Assistance Programs Save-the-Nation During the 2009 crisis, one-time SSF members/state 6 million B18,970 million Cheque B2000 donation (Check Chuay enterprise employees and people Type: Cash Transfer Chart or Save-the-Nation civil servants with monthly received the Since: 2009 Cheque) to SSF members/ earnings of less than cheque .124 Implemented by: state enterprise employees and B15,000. Ministry of Finance civil servants with monthly 122 earning of less than 15,000 for a total of about B19 billion. Handouts were paid in vouchers to be used to purchase goods at selected stores or cashed at designated banks.123 117. http://www.dop.go.th/ 122. https://www.sme.go.th/upload/mod_download/chapter-13-20171024123654.pdf 118. https://so05.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/PSAKUIJIR/article/download/218516/151345/ 123. https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/project-document/76104/44152-012-reg-tacr-27.pdf 119. http://dep.go.th/Content/View/1341/2 124. https://www.sme.go.th/upload/mod_download/chapter-13-20171024123654.pdf 120. http://www.dsdw2016.dsdw.go.th/page.php?module=service&pg=servicedetail&ser_id=1 121. http://www.bsws.go.th/province.html TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION 4.0 AN ASSESSMENT OF THAILAND’S SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR MARKET SYSTEMS 88 Name Program description Target beneficiaries/ Number of Budget allocated Type of program Eligibility criteria beneficiaries or trend Year established Implementing agency No-One Left Cash transfers of B5,000 per Temporary, contract, and 15.1 million B225 billion Behind program month for three months. self-employed workers (for informal not already covered by workers) 125 one of Thailand’s social Type: Cash insurance schemes. Transfer Since: 2020 Implemented by: Ministry of Finance No-One Left Cash transfers of B5,000 per Farmers, fishers and 4.7 million B150 billion Behind program month for three months. herders (for farmers) Type: Cash Transfer Since: 2020 Implemented by: Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives 125. https://www.xn--12cl1ck0bl6hdu9iyb9bp.com/