“I received complaints from several instructors that they were fined a lot of money for breaching this condition, even if they have a legal instructor’s licence. Some of them are giving up and closing their shops,” Ratanapon Promchu, Manager of the Phuket-based ATUS office, told The Phuket News.
“If this condition continues to be strictly enforced, it could have a terminal effect on Phuket’s scuba diving industry and hurt Phuket’s overall tourism reputation,” she added.
The warning follows a spate of arrests of dive instructors for using swimming pools at other dive companies, or teaching in the sea, as their employing company did not have pools at their places of business.
Among the slew of complaints received by The Phuket News about the arrests were recurring reports that passports and work permits were being withheld even after a court-levied fine had been paid.
Allegations surfaced that officials were looking for cash contributions of a consistent sum of B35,000 before they would return the passports and work permits. (See story here.)
Those allegations have yet to be responded to by officials.
“I would like to request that officials consider a stipulation to dive instructor work permits that enables them to conduct instruction outside of their registered place of business,” Ms Ratanapon said.
“This issue needed to be clarified. We plan to present an official request to the Phuket Employment Office in February,” she said.
“After we learned about the spate of dive instructors arrests on January 5, I went to talk with the Phuket Employment Office the next day but my request was refused,” Ms Ratanapon explained.
“The reason which the officials gave me was that my complaint was not detailed enough. They said it needed to contain more details as to why instructors are complaining and making the request to be allowed to teach outside of their registered business place.
“Now we are asking dive shop owners and other instructors who want to be involved in the official complaint to contact us. We aim to collect all the individual complaints and requests together and submit our joint proposal under the ATUS name to the Phuket Employment Office in February.
“I hope the Phuket Employment Office will seriously consider our request,” Ms Ratanapon added.
The Phuket News contacted the Phuket Employment office and were told by a staffer who did not want to be named, that, “The Acting Chief of the Phuket Employment Office is in other province on official duty. She is not available to comment. Please contact her next week.”