1M Thai employees affected by flooding

Thailand's Department of Labor Protection and Welfare said Sunday more than 1 million employees in 21 provinces have been affected by floods since July. The department said more than 28,500 manufacturers throughout the country have been inundated, with about 5,400 of them having resumed business, putting more than 116,000 employees back to work, Xinhua reported. However, more than 900,000 employees are still on suspension and are at risk of being jobless, the department said. About 4,500 workers from 15 factories severely damaged by the foods have been terminated so far. The department has launched a project to move some flood-hit employees to work in provinces unaffected by the floods. So far, 530 factories in 41 provinces have joined the project, making more than 66,000 jobs available. Seven industrial sites have been put completely out of commission due to flood damage, representing at least $4.5 billion worth of damage, Xinhua said. The department expects flood recovery for manufacturers will take about six months.