The first meeting was on Wednesday (November 5) and focused on people who used to be in the three beach jobs most affected in Thalang District: beach chair rental, beach massage and food and beverage sales.
“First of all, we discussed the masseurs. There are 259 masseurs registered (with the various OrBorTor in Thalang) and the hotels we have cooperated with have agreed to let them work in the hotels,” said Vice-Governor Jamroen Thippayapongtada, chairing the meeting.
He announced that a limited number of vendors will be allowed to work on the beaches – a total of 80. “They must be residents from the area only and must be registered with the OrBorTor,” he said.
Beach chair renters will not, however, be allowed back on the sand.
“All the beach chair operators and masseuses have agreed except for those at Surin Beach because the area along the beach has a NorSorLor [community land] paper. We are still waiting for a decision by the court on this,” said the Vice-Governor.
In the meeting, the chief executive of Cherng Talay OrBorTor, Ma’ann Samran, said he felt there was no need for chairs on the beach because “no one has been affected by the clean-up”. The beach has to be purely for public use, he added.
That statement resulted in a call for a protest by beach chair operators, though this was cancelled when it was pointed out that this would contravene martial law, which is still in force across Thailand.
On Thursday (November 6), officials tried to broker an agreement for the beaches in Muang District, such as Rawai, Nai Harn, Kata and Karon.
“Normally, we don’t allow vendors to work on the beach,” said Arun Soros, Mayor of Rawai.
“I want to focus on the masseurs and beach chair operators because they are the ones who are suffering.
“The masseuses are aware they are welcome to work in the hotels, but because they are used to working for themselves, they may not want to.
“Besides, we don’t have enough hotels in the area to help all the 209 masseurs from Rawai and Nai Harn beaches,” said Mr Arun.
He suggested used a grove of casuarina trees (which also holds a Nor Sor Lor land paper), near Nai Harn Beach, for the masseuses to work in temporarily. The idea was accepted by the other officials in the meeting and is will be taken into consideration.
Despite the Army-ordered beach clearance, Mr Arun said umbrellas are allowed on the beach temporarily and mats or mattresses can be rented or sold by local vendors.
However, masseuses in Kata and Karon have asked to be allowed to stay on the beach.
Muang District Chief Pakpoom Intarasuwan said in the meeting that many hotels in Kata and Karon are welcoming local masseuses to work for them, but the masseuses have all rejected the idea.
“We have done this job for three decades,” said Thanyarat Klimanchevski, a representative of Kata and Karon masseurs. “We do not want to work for a hotel. Normally we get B400 per hour, but if we moved to a hotel I don’t think we would get the same wage. We need help from the authorities to set up a space for us.”
Summing up the ideas from the meeting, V/Gov Jamroen said, “There will be no beach vendors left in [Muang District] – only masseuses and beach chair operators.
“Masseuses will work in an area specified by the local OrBorTor. The OrBorTor will rent out umbrellas, while local operators will be allowed to sell or rent mattresses or mats.”
These will not be set out on the beach but must be carried there by customers. “They are allowed to rent or sell cushions in the booth set up by the local authority, while beach massage services can also be booked at the same booth,” said V/Gov Jamroen.
The final meeting, about beaches in Kathu, took place Friday November 7, and was chaired by Muang District Chief Mr Pakpoom.
“Having no beach chairs available on the beach has created problems. Tourists have started putting up their own umbrellas which they have taken from hotels, and we cannot do anything about that,” said Chalermluck Kebsab, Patong mayor.
“The area for beach chairs and massage services will be smaller and limited in specified zones. There will be more public space managed by the local authority.
Yesterday (November 10) Palat Jantarasopin, chief of Phuket Tourism Operator Association, told The Phuket News, “The final decisions will be presented at another meeting this week.
“It’s great that the authorities have acknowledged the need to help the people affected by the beach clean-up,” he said.
On Saturday (November 8), Governor Nisit Jansomwong, posted on his Facebook a capture from his Line account, stating that an application by the Provincial Government for the beach to be converted to local use is now with the Supreme Court.
Mr Palat said that if the Marine Department and the Land Department approve the use of the beach for their own businesses, “they can have their jobs back illegally.”
“Normally this would not be considered illegal because the workers do not build anything permanent on the beach.”
Pol Col ML Pattanachak Chakkrabhan, superintendent of Kamala Police said he agreed with the idea, “There are two types of law: unchangeable and changeable. We will present the idea to the Phuket Police Commander.”