September 3, 2008
Bangkok - The employees of the Port Authority of Thailand were already on strike to press Samak government to resign.
Paithoon Thongkam, deputy chairman of the Port Authority of Thailand PAT) labor union, said PAT employees were on strike to protest against the government.
He confirmed the strike was in line with the law and the entrepreneurs were told about the service suspension in advance.
Export procedures were halted and the owners of the products were told to park their ships at the mouth of the gulf to wait for further clarity.
Klong Toei Port serves about 1.5 million containers per year while Laem Chabang Port was managed by the private sector.
It was estimated the PAT today lost more than ten million baht of revenue from the staff strike.
Santi Vilassakdanont, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said the strike might affect exports, raw material imports as well as the industrial sector.
Exports account for about 70% of the eight-trillion-baht GDP.
