The Kla Tham Party is advancing a draft Freelance Worker Protection Act, stating it is time to upgrade riders' rights and platform workers' access to fair compensation, accident insurance, and legal protection mechanisms.
At 3:00 p.m. on 14 May 2026, Siraphop Somphon, MP for Sakon Nakhon from the Kla Tham Party, together with party members, held a press conference announcing plans to submit the draft Act to promote and protect freelance workers into the House of Representatives. The goal is to improve the quality of life and establish protections for freelance and platform workers in Thailand, including riders, food delivery drivers, parcel couriers, freelancers, and new digital-age workers.
Siraphop said freelance workers are currently a vital force driving Thailand’s economy but lack specific laws to support and fairly protect their rights regarding income, workplace safety, social security, and bargaining rights with platforms or businesses. The draft law had previously been submitted to the last parliament but lapsed due to dissolution. Kla Tham Party is now reviving the draft to concretely establish legal protections for freelance workers who still lack safeguards.
Siraphop emphasized that this law is not the law of any one person, but the law for “new generation workers” — those who wake before dawn to deliver food, those who ride through rain to earn a living for their families, and those who work hard every day yet lack the life security they deserve.
“Freelance workers should not be viewed merely as partners when companies profit but left to bear risks alone when problems arise. It is time for Thailand to have a law that truly values freelance workers. Kla Tham Party will fully push this law to ensure all workers have dignity, security, and a better future.”
Key points of the draft law include granting freelance and platform workers the right to fair compensation, including the ability to set minimum pay if platforms are found to exploit them. If companies or platforms delay payment, a fund can provide compensation to workers first, then recover costs from the companies later, so workers are not left bearing the risk alone.
Regarding welfare, the draft law covers rights to accident insurance, medical expenses, and income compensation during recovery for workers injured on the job. It also allows freelance workers to form organizations or councils as legal mechanisms to negotiate with platforms and businesses.
Additionally, if workers have their work suspended, apps closed, or services unfairly canceled, they can enter a formal dispute mediation and litigation process to ensure greater fairness for new generation workers.