Bangkok, A group of employees of the subcontractors of the CFP project of Thai Oil Refinery PCL gathered in front of the refinery in Chonburi province again to demand payment of wages. Thai Oil coordinated with the government and private sectors to resolve the problem. Thai Oil confirmed that it had already paid compensation to the contractors according to the terms and conditions specified in the contract. As a group of laborers gathered along Sukhumvit Road In front of Thai Oil Refinery, Sri Racha District, Chonburi Province, continuously from 24-26 July 2024 due to not receiving wages from the contractor as scheduled. Thai Oil Public Company Limited announced that it understands that the group of workers are Thai and Vietnamese employees of One Turn Ten Co., Ltd. (One Turn Ten), EMCO (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (EMCO), and Thai Fong Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. (Thai Fong). All three companies are employers and sub-contractors of Sinopec Engineering Group (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (Sinopec), which is a sub contractor of the UJV joint venture: Unincorporated Joint Venture of Petrofac South East Asia Pte. Ltd. ('Petrofac'), Saipem Singapore Pte. Ltd. ('Saipem'), and Samsung EandA (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (formerly Samsung Engineering (Thailand) Co., Ltd.) ('Samsung'), the main contractor for the construction of the clean energy project. (Clean Fuel Project: CFP) to the Company The labor groups have gathered to demand wages from the three employers (One Turn Ten, EMCO, Thai Fong), as well as Sinopec and UJV. The three companies have not received wages from Sinopec, and Sinopec has not received compensation under the subcontract from UJV either. Therefore, it is unable to pay wages to the subcontractors, including the three companies mentioned above. Thaioil confirmed that it had paid compensation to UJV in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract. UJV had hired subcontractors and had contracts with approximately 60 subcontractors, including Si nopec. Therefore, when the subcontractors' laborers gathered in front of Thaioil's refinery, it was the responsibility of the subcontractors (Sinopec) and UJV to be responsible for paying the wages and taking action to allow the laborers to return to work as usual. However, the Company is aware of the suffering of the labor group. We have continuously coordinated discussions between representatives of the labor group of subcontractors, relevant government agencies, representatives of subcontractors, and UJV representatives. From the negotiations on July 26, even though the relevant parties have not been able to reach an agreement, the Company has been informed that representatives of the labor group of subcontractors, representatives of subcontractors, and UJV representatives understand the facts that have occurred and are likely to reach an agreement. The next negotiation has been scheduled for today (July 30, 2024). When the labor group was informed of the progress of the negotiations and the next appointm ent, the rally was dispersed at 8:30 p.m. on July 26, 2024. Today (July 30, 2024), a group of laborers gathered again to wait for progress from a joint meeting between Sinopec UJV, laborers' employers, government representatives, and laborers' representatives to negotiate a settlement on outstanding payments to contractors. The company has taken care of and has personnel who are ready to maintain the safety of Thaioil Refinery and has coordinated with government agencies to prepare an emergency plan and send personnel to monitor any emergencies that may occur, covering the area 24 hours a day, strictly controlling entry and exit to ensure that thGovernment House, Cabinet supports SME green loans, allocating 1,350 million baht to compensate for interest Ms. Ratklao Intawong Suwannakiri, Deputy Government Spokesperson, revealed that the Cabinet meeting approved the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand (SME Bank) to implement the SME Green Productivity Loan Project with a budget of 15 bill ion baht, by separating the accounts according to the government policy (PSA) to compensate the difference in interest rates for SME Bank with a budget of 1.35 billion baht. SME Green Productivity Loan Project to support SMEs to have sufficient liquidity to be able to revive, improve their business, expand their business and create added value for products and services, including transforming to green industries and reducing the impact on the environment. The conditions are set as follows: Maximum loan per person is not more than 10 million baht, with an interest rate of 3 percent per year for the 1st-3rd year (the government compensates the SME Bank for the interest rate of 3 percent in the first 3 years). From the 4th year onwards, it shall be as determined by the SME Bank, with a maximum loan period of not more than 10 years (no principal repayment for a maximum of 1 year). SMEs apply for loan insurance from TCG or use collateral as specified by SME Bank and have an operating period from the date of the Cabinet's resolution to approve, accepting loan applications by 30 December 2025 or until the project's joint loan limit runs out. The Budget Bureau sees that for the expenses that will occur, SME Bank should prepare an operating plan and budget spending plan to submit a request for communication of the annual budget expenditure according to actual operating results according to the proceduree gathering will be peaceful, safe, and minimize impacts on the surrounding community. Source: Thai News Agency