Thai Railway Labor Union Presents Petition to PM, Urges Faster Hiring and Review of 1998 Cabinet Resolution
Thai Railway Labor Union submitted a petition urging the government to accelerate hiring and review a 1998 rule limiting new staff to 5 percent of annual retirements, citing severe personnel shortages hampering rail operations.
At 9:30 AM on May 25, 2026, at the government complaint center within the old office of the Civil Service Commission, 30 representatives from the Thai Railway Labor Union (Sarawut Saranyong, union president, leading the group) submitted a letter to the Prime Minister requesting urgent resolution of the State Railway of Thailand's severe personnel shortage. The union demanded that the government accelerate approval of additional staff allocations to SRT and review the Cabinet resolution from July 28, 1998, which restricts new hires to no more than 5 percent of annually retiring employees. The union stated that this resolution has caused continuous personnel shortages at SRT, negatively impacting operational efficiency and public service delivery. At 9:40 AM, the group submitted the letter to government representative Somphap Nilphun, Prime Minister's Office advisor, who received it for forwarding to the Prime Minister and coordination with relevant agencies.
