A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Regional and Rural Development Planning

Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic most affected informal employment since they were excluded from social protection and had limited access to government assistance. Over the pandemic period, many studies on the COVID-19 impact on informal workers were conducted. However, studies for Thai massage therapists and Tuk-Tuk drivers rarely exist although both occupations are worldwide popular among international and Thai tourists. This research, therefore, aims to understand Thai massage therapists{u2019} and Tuk Tuk drivers{u2019} challenges through the COVID-19 pandemic in order to promote equal assistance for every informal occupation. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19, coping strategies, and recovery over five years (2017 {u2013} 2022). The timeframe was divided into three periods: prior COVID 19 pandemic (2017 - 2020), during the COVID-19 Pandemic (January 2020 {u2013} June 2022), and post COVID-19 Pandemic (July 2022 {u2013} December 2022). The qualitative method was employed and two districts in Bangkok city: Phra-NaKhon District and Wattana District were selected to conduct in-depth interviews for 20 Informal workers (10 Tuk-Tuk drivers in Phra-NaKhon District and 10 Thai massage therapists in Wattana District). The informant interviews were also conducted with 3 related government officials and 3 civil society organizations. To analyze data, an interpretative phenomenological analysis by individual and grouping approaches was applied. The finding shows that the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis mentioned most were loss of income, and the impact on mental health conditions such as the fear of getting COVID-19 infection and feeling hopeless, stressed, and anxious due to lack of income. During the coping period, most informal workers applied the problem-focused coping mechanism. However, existing informal workers{u2019} assistance did not cover all informal occupations, especially not including Thai massage therapists and Tuk-Tuk drivers. some workers could not access related COVID-19 information, and due to informal status, the workers{u2019} data were missing from government relief programs. Furthermore, their challenge during the recovery period was an increase in consumer price inflation which could worsen their livelihood. v Based on the findings, the possible policy recommendations for governmental assistance during the COVID-19 crisis are providing various types of assistance as a short-term coping mechanism, evolving the representative of informal workers from many different jobs in designing and implementing the responses and assistance, expanding the governmental assistance to cover every occupation of informal employment, building partnerships between government and related civil society organizations, and integrating informal labour data from multiple sources across organizations and developing one main database. Recommendations on informal workers{u2019} long-term development are supporting recovery periods, providing training on financial literacy, upgrading the benefits of the social security system and expanding to cover every informal occupation, strengthening the informal workers{u2019} networks and the connection of informal workers{u2019} organizations, developing national retirement funding for informal employment, and promoting the transition to formality.