The demonstrators held up banners and demanded the Tambon Nam Kam Municipality explain why their had not been paid their monthly allowances for the past two months. They decided to stage the protest out of fear there could be a repeat of 2015, when they say the authority failed to pay their old-age and disability allowances for several months. Rattana Chaipairee, 74, said she had joined a protest two years ago when the local authority failed to pay the allowances. The demonstrators agreed to end their protest after officials told them that old-age and disability allowances for 1,500 eligible people from 20 villages, totalling Bt1.2 million, would resume by November 18. The non-contributory monthly allowances are granted to Thai citizens over 60 as follows: Bt600 for those aged 60-69; Bt700 for those aged 70-79; Bt800 for those aged 80-89; and Bt1,000 for those over 90.

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 03, 2017 09:33 UTC