Labor Minister Julapan revealed that today the Cabinet approved two APEC documents addressing AI's transformative effect on the labor market, focusing on skill development and workers' rights protection.
15 Sep 2026 GMT+7 Mr. Julapan Amornwiwat, Minister of Labor, disclosed that today’s Cabinet meeting approved two draft outcome documents on human resource development under APEC, as proposed by the Ministry of Labor: the draft joint declaration for the 8th APEC Human Resources Development Ministers' Meeting and the draft annex on initiatives to address AI's impact on employment in the Asia-Pacific region. The meeting also authorized the Labor Minister or a designated representative to co-sign these documents.
Mr. Julapan added that this meeting is scheduled for 21 September 2026 in Nanjing, People's Republic of China, under the theme “Modernizing Human Resources Development for A Stronger Asia-Pacific Community,” aiming to prepare human resources to adapt to changes in the economy, society, demographics, and technology.
The draft joint declaration focuses on three key areas: promoting full and quality employment while protecting labor rights; investing in people through lifelong learning and digital and AI skill development; and enhancing social security systems to be effective and accommodate diverse employment forms and an aging society.
Meanwhile, the draft annex emphasizes human-centered AI use to create new jobs and careers, upgrade existing work patterns, foster human-technology collaboration, improve working conditions and safety, and protect labor rights against AI and algorithmic systems.
“This cooperation will enable Thailand to exchange knowledge and best practices with APEC members and apply them to workforce skill development, employment service systems, and labor protection, allowing Thai people to benefit from AI and adapt effectively to the future labor market,” he concluded.