Progressive Team Seeks Cancel of Illegal Social Security Advisor Picks
The Progressive Social Security Team demanded the cancellation of the appointment of seven advisors to Thailand’s new social security board, claiming the selection process was illegal and pre‑empted the board’s election. They said the board won the election on 11 October 2069 but the Social Security Office had already formed the advisor committee and met on 22 September 2069, before the vote. The team warned that the process violated the Social Security Act and called for the Labor Ministry’s secret order to be revoked.
The Progressive Social Security Team issued a statement urging the Social Security Office and the Minister of Labor to halt and cancel the selection of seven advisors to the new social security board, calling the process illegal and an overreach of the board elected by the public.
Dated 19 October 2069, the team said the new board won the election on 11 October 2069 but has not yet been appointed, yet the Social Security Office had already formed the advisor selection committee and held its first meeting on 22 September 2069, before the election.
Furthermore, the selection committee was not composed of representatives from the incumbent employer‑employee board. The seven advisor positions are crucial for managing the social security fund, and by law the selection committee must include input from all sides. Evidence shows that the Labor Ministry’s secret order No. 1884/2569 dated 8 September 2069 appointed the advisory selection committee for the new social security board. The Progressive Social Security Team found several irregularities in the appointment:
1) It contradicts the intent of Section 8/1 of the Social Security Act and the selection regulations, which require the committee to consist of three employer representatives, three insured‑person representatives, and three state representatives, with the employer and insured‑person nominees coming from the newly elected board.
2) The process was rushed and used improper authority. Although the election results for the new board were already clear, the Labor Ministry proceeded to appoint six individuals from the old power bloc to the nine‑member selection committee without nominations from the employer and insured‑person sides.
3) The committee acted abnormally quickly, convening its first meeting on 22 September 2069 to set criteria and details for selecting advisors, less than a week before the original election date of 27 September 2069, while public attention was focused on election preparations.
We, the Progressive Social Security Team, comprising the nominee employer and insured‑person representatives elected by the public, believe that those appointed as advisors to the social security board will determine the direction of the fund, which belongs to employers and insured persons alike. Therefore, the selection committee must be legitimate and tied to the elected representatives, not to individuals appointed by secret executive orders.
We therefore call on the Minister of Labor and the Social Security Office to:
1. Immediately revoke the Labor Ministry’s secret order No. 1884/2569 if the selection committee process lacks participation from the newly elected social security board, as the order risks violating Section 8/1 of the Social Security Act and cannot be lawfully implemented.
2. Halt the selection process for the seven advisors
