Bangkok to lay off 6,000 bus staff

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BANGKOK, Nov 19 (AFP): The state-run Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMA) announced today that one-third of its staff, or 6,000 people, would be laid off under a restructuring plan aimed at cutting huge losses.
The largest ever job cut at the BMA, which employs about 18,000 people to run public buses in Bangkok and the suburbs, comes after the authority posted losses of six billion baht (177 million dollars) last year, its director said.
"Our losses have increased every year, while services have yet to improve," BMA director Pinetr Puapatanakul told the news agency. "As fuel prices are going up, we won't be able to survive if we don't do anything to cut costs."
The organisation planned to cut staff and instead bring in an electronic ticketing system under a plan recommended by the finance ministry, Pinetr said. The strategy is subject to cabinet approval Tuesday.
About 300 BMA union members rallied outside government house Monday to oppose the move.
"We are asking the government to halt BMA's restructuring, which simply means laying off staff," said Sanarn Boon-ngog, a leader of the 9,000-member union, which has rejected the BMA's proposed early retirement packages for the affected staff.