Organisations joining the campaign included Youth Network of New Face Drinker Prevention, Stop Drink Network, and twenty others related to children, youth, and family matters,

Also, he revealed that PCR had offered the ‘voluntary early retirement’ scheme three times before the company was finallly closed. “It was intended for those employees who wanted to resign. Most employees were aware of the problems and the company owner did not make the decision suddenly” he explained.

“PCR was closed legally, and had no intention to overthrow the Thai Auto Product Workers Union Thailand (TPT) as internet rumours have suggested,” he said.

Meanwhile, the TPT president Suppanyu Namthaisong said PCR was not in deficit previously. It paid employees’ salaries on schedule and always discussed with the union on worker-related issues. The rumours were probably created by those employees who wanted to get more, in terms of compensation, from the company,” he added.

PCR was a manufacturer of tyre and plastic parts for the auto industry, in Samut Sakhon province. The company announced its closure on December 23 with immediate effect and the workers, it was initially reported, were not told of the reasons.

The factory’s closure has left workers jobless. Over 620 of them are gathering in front of the premises today (December 25), waiting to hear details of the compensation package, which will be paid tomorrow.

In addition, a Facebook page named ‘Thailand Vision’ revealed on Tuesday (December 24) that a Facebook user, claiming himself as one of PCR employees, posted that the company ended its business as a way out of a dispute on labour welfare with the union, instead of financial problems.

“The union submitted its proposal on labour welfare to PCR owner on November 25” said the post, adding that “there were four rounds of discussions held on the matter before the company was closed”.

Moreover, the post said the owner of PCR had registered a new company named PR Production (PRP) to continue all PCR manufacturing activities with some employees joining from PCR.

However, PRP was later explained as a reopening of PCR by new owner.

This demonstrates that BTS Group has placed importance on creating a sustainable business as well as focusing on responsibility for the environment, society and governance (ESG), Thaipat Institute said while announcing winner.

Eighty-four listed companies and business organisations, who are members of the sustainability disclosure community (SDC), were considered for honours.

SDC companies publicly disclose their financial and non-financial performances covering ESG through their Sustainability Reports or other formats. This year there are 27 awards for Sustainability Disclosure, 21 for Sustainability Disclosure Recognition and 36 for Sustainability Disclosure Acknowledgement.

“We organised a workshop for 32 farmers from four fruit production groups, namely, durian, langsat, cashew, and tamarind. Also, it gave each farmer two bio-charcoal furnaces” she added.

This activity was based on the research project on agricultural soil improvement by using bio-charcoal and biomaterial to reduce acidity in the soil. The project studied Palmyra fruit-waste processing. The URU researchers found that the Palmyra fruit shell can be burned as charcoal briquettes and charcoal odour absorber.

The researchers plan to develop this waste-processing idea to apply for different kinds of wastes in other areas. However, in Uttaradit, the processing of Palmyra shell was not practical.

“The geographical indication of this province is fruits, which are grown on the mountain where the soil is highly acidic,” she explained “Moreover, there are numerous agricultural wastes, so we decided to adapt our know-how to solve the local farmers’ problem of wastes.”

The URU operational team then discovered the bio-char burning technique, which was suitable for this provincial area. The bio-char produced from this technique can store moisture and also release nutrients at the same time. Besides, the bio-char was capable of keeping the carbon dioxide under the soil, reducing the factor of greenhouse effect in the air.

Furthermore, the parking buildings of both MRT lines will be open from 5am on December 31 to 3am on January 1.

The extension of service hours, however, does not cover the MRT Blue Line’s Taopoon-Tha Phra extension, which is currently undergoing test runs.

For additional information, contact the call centre 02-624-5200, Facebook: MRT Bangkok Metro and “Bangkok MRT” mobile application.

Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division commander Pol Maj-General Worawat Watnakhonbancha along with Samut Sakhon police arrested the monk from Ban Paew district.

After investigation, police said they found the abbot had allegedly molested about 19 novices aged between 4 and 15 years old and 10 temple boys, with the youngest boy aged only eight. The abbot also reportedly had a collection of photos of his sexual intercourses. Police also accused the monk of being involved with male child prostitutes.

Police said the abbot allegedly controlled the use of cellphones in the temple to prevent his alleged crimes from being reported.

However, police said one of the victims was able to take a picture and sent it to his parents, exposing the abbot’s alleged illegal behaviour.

One of the novices reportedly told police that he was tied to a chair and forced to have sex with another person while the abbot watched and he also allegedly invited other people to join for group sex in the temple. The abbot has denied all charges.

Three Chinese nationals aged between 23 and 25 were arrested in the raid, which turned up 116 Chinese branded phones, 90 USB charger cables, 119 sim cards packages and one laptop.

According to investigators, the Chinese group was using as Thailand as a base to hack a popular social networking site. They had bought a large number of mobile sims and inserted them mobile phones from China with embedded applications for hacking We-chat, a popular chat program. to create accounts that cannot be verified to sell on the black market. Fake We-chat accounts are in high demand among fraudsters in China and the group was creating thousands of these fake accounts per day.

Police said Chinese hackers using Thailand as a base to commit such crimes was growing and if the fake user account with Thai sim card was used for terrorism and other offences in foreign countries, the image of the country would be severely tarnished. For now, the Chinese group has been charged under the “alien workers working without permission” law and the authorities would coordinate with the Chinese authorities.

It has been created from more than 100,000 600-ml clear plastic bottles and took 300 workers 45 days to build and decorate with lights. The aim us to remind visitors to not throw away garbage that can be recycled properly and stop using plastic bags. Launched last night (December 24), it saw tourists taking their children to admire the beautiful lights and will will remain standing through the end of January, after which the bottles will be taken to a factory to be turned into plastic thread for recycling into 5,000 T-shirts.

These woodcraft workshops have been organized since July 2019 and aim to provide the participants with skills to earn an income for families living in Bangkok’s Lat Krabang district, whose disabled children receive daily physical therapy and medical assistance at Camillian Home.

“This isn’t charity, but the beginning of a sustainable small social enterprise,” Malik said. “Everyone is well paid during training and they are able to take care of their children at all times. I felt this is the right time to move forward, give back and add value now that my business is well established. Every business operating in Thailand owes it to give back to local communities.”

Malik goes to Camillian Home on a regular basis and conducts the workshops while providing all necessary materials. From day one they learn craftsmanship, including hours and hours of hand sanding on vertical flat and countered surfaces. Techniques taught include hand position, applied pressure, grain direction, different sandpaper grits and how to anticipate wood hardness plus much more.

“There is very little opportunity for low income families to find work that is also dignified. Often the parents must stay home full time to care for their child. By conducting workshops at Camillian Home the parents can remain close to their children. It provides a source of much needed income for the families as Thai social programmes are limited in assistance,” Malik said,

Before being a full-time woodworker, Malik spent 6 six years working with Father Giovanni Contarin, a founder of Camillian Home for Children Living with Disabilities, by volunteering at the home.