University graduates will be allowed to work in the field of occupational medicine to help entrepreneurs deal with a shortage of experts in work safety.
Despite concerns raised earlier by university scholars and labour advocates over potential impacts of the move, the Workplace Health and Safety Commission has resolved to make it a new law, a source said.
The resolution was granted as the panel, chaired by deputy permanent secretary for labour Wiwat Chiraphanwanit, was considering the draft law.
Commission members agreed the graduates, including non-science majors, can work as occupational health experts if they possess five years' work experience and attend at least 222 hours of training in the field.
Successful candidates will be allowed to work for five years. However, according to the draft law, this special selection will be carried out only if the companies are unable to find applicants in occupational medicine, find too few, or fail to strike a deal with them.
The panel admitted businesses are currently under pressure to hire experts in work safety, the source said. A law stipulates employers must recruit those who directly graduate from the field. A company with 100 or more workers is required to employ at least one expert; otherwise, they will face a six-month jail term or a fine of 100,000 baht.
According to the source, it is also not easy to hire incumbent occupational health experts as they are rather choosy and often change jobs after one or two years of work for a better career path. However, opponents of the solution said earlier the change has caused worries among majors in this field over their new competitors.
