Minimum Daily Wage Raised

[george]

Minimum daily wage raised

BANGKOK: -- The Labour Ministry is aiming to raise the minimum daily wage by Bt1 to Bt8 in the provinces while the Thai Labour Reconciliation Committee (TLRC) claimed the Bt2Bt4 hike for Bangkok was not enough to meet the high living costs, as prices of fish sauce to cooking gas will rise in December.

Labour Congress of Thailand (LCT) chairman Panas Thailuan Wednesday spoke as a member of the ministry's subcommittee to scrutiny minimum wage proposals, and said that 65 provinces had so far submitted their requests for wage rises next year.

However, 18 northeastern provinces - except Loei - and northern provinces such as Nan, Phayao and Mae Hong Son, that had the country's lowest wage of Bt143 a day, did not request a raise, Panas said.

The provincial subcommittee's reasoned that the economy was slow and they did not want to impact on business operators.

They also preferred an elected government to consider their wage hike, he added.

Panas said his subcommittee planned to propose wage rises as suggested by the provincial subpanels ranging from Bt1 to Bt8.

Bangkok's initial request for a Bt7 hike was adjusted by the provincial subpanel toBt2 on the grounds that workers currently received a Bt191 daily wage and another Bt7 would be too high, said Panas. His subcommittee thought Bt4 hike would be more appropriate.

The Bangkok daily wage would be further discussed so it would not be inequitable to provinces in the vicinity, such as Samut Prakan that requested as Bt6 hike, Panas said.

Ayutthaya and Loei asked for Bt8, while other provinces asked for Bt3 to Bt7, he added.

Panas said his subcommittee would scrutinise the provincial proposals for minimum wage raises on October 16, before submitting the figures for the Central Wage Committee's consideration and the Cabinet's consideration for the implementation from January 1, 2008.

The subcommittee would take into consideration factors such as employers' ability to pay such wages, industrial production, inflation rate, employment and the national GDP, he added.

TLRC president Wilaiwan Saetia yesterday noted that if Bangkok only got a Bt2Bt4 hike, it would be not sufficient to cope with the workers' high living costs and, more importantly, the authorities intention to increase the price of fish sauce, sugar and cooking gas in December.

The government should review its pricing policies and raise the Bangkok daily wage to Bt223 a day, she said and warned that the Bt2Bt4 hike would lead to labour movements against the government.

--TNA 2007-10-15

[londonthai]

Minimum daily wage raised

Labour Congress of Thailand (LCT) chairman Panas Thailuan ... thought Bt4 hike would be more appropriate.

a 1, 2 or even 4 baht inrease is about 1-2% - with the inflation of some 10% is a joke from those of the bottom of the thai economy.

the future 'democratically' elected government or the present military junta both play to the hands of the thai ruling class - if they can squeeze more from the workers they will do

[Heng]

There should be a minimum daily wage inflation index established: comprised of prices of rice, mackeral, pak boong, and fish sauce and maybe a "luxury" item like instant ramen; basically "all the bottom of the Thai economy" need ...and should want from life. 4 Baht may indeed be too generous a wage hike if you consider the relatively slow price curve of these items over the years.

[Mid]

"all the bottom of the Thai economy" need ...and should want from life.

and my prayer is that this is where you find yourself next life .........................

[lazeeboy]

"all the bottom of the Thai economy" need ...and should want from life.

and my prayer is that this is where you find yourself next life .........................

the thai wages are a joke ,no wonder they have to turn to the entertainment proffesion ,i was paying these kind of wages 12 years ago

[quiksilva]

and should want from life.

That's a bit uncalled for Heng. Its exactly this sort of attitude that keeps the rich in control and ultimately holds Thailand back. The truth is that Thailand desperately needs talent to compete in this increasingly global economy. The problem is that talent is not a resource that is limited to the urban elite that enjoys the privileges that a strong financial position affords (i.e. a decent education). Talent comes from all walks of life, but it is exceptionally difficult for a nation to harness and leverage without support.

To hear you say that the only luxuries the poorest section of society should aim for is instant ramen noodles, makes me feel quite sad for Thailand, it is akin to saying that you support the stifling of ambition in the working classes, which is just the opposite of what this country needs to move to the next level of national development.

Thailand can no longer get by simply by being cheaper than its neighbours, to compete Thailand needs move up the value chain by doing things better. Raising the minimum wage should be supported, it provides the working class with more opportunities to receive a better education (amongst many other things). As others have indicated it may not even go far enough given true inflation rates

[lazeeboy]

and should want from life.

That's a bit uncalled for Heng. Its exactly this sort of attitude that keeps the rich in control and ultimately holds Thailand back. The truth is that Thailand desperately needs talent to compete in this increasingly global economy. The problem is that talent is not a resource that is limited to the urban elite that enjoys the privileges that a strong financial position affords (i.e. a decent education). Talent comes from all walks of life, but it is exceptionally difficult for a nation to harness and leverage without support.

To hear you say that the only luxuries the poorest section of society should aim for is instant ramen noodles, makes me feel quite sad for Thailand, it is akin to saying that you support the stifling of ambition in the working classes, which is just the opposite of what this country needs to move to the next level of national development.

Thailand can no longer get by simply by being cheaper than its neighbours, to compete Thailand needs move up the value chain by doing things better. Raising the minimum wage should be supported, it provides the working class with more opportunities to receive a better education (amongst many other things). As others have indicated it may not even go far enough given true inflation rates

when you see how most thai families live in there shacks ,you wonder why theres not more crimes ,the thai's in general are an honest race ,raise the pay so they can live and not just survive .

[lazeeboy]

There should be a minimum daily wage inflation index established: comprised of prices of rice, mackeral, pak boong, and fish sauce and maybe a "luxury" item like instant ramen; basically "all the bottom of the Thai economy" need ...and should want from life. 4 Baht may indeed be too generous a wage hike if you consider the relatively slow price curve of these items over the years.

its all they need cause its all they can afford

[marginline]

I'm curious - these guys mandating how much Thais should be paid - how much do they earn. For example Kuhn Panas Thailuan, Chairman of the Labour Congress of Thailand (LCT) - how much is his annual salary please - anybody?

[hammered]

The minimum wage needs to be reassessed to a higher level and then have adjustment mechanisms built in. In many urban areas throughout the country the minimum wage will only attract (usually illegal) Khmer, Burmese and Lao workers. This is another potential time bomb with Thai workers losing their jobs and employers quite willing to employ cheap non-Thai labour with few rights rather than pay more for one of their countrymen afforded a few minimum rights.

[FarangNoi21]

the minimum wage should be whatever the minimum amount of money a person demands to do their job.

you guys might want to google it or something but raising the minimum wage isn't as cut and dry as "poor people get more money"... there are of course negative consequences.

ok, i am in a nice mood so i will explain for you like you are a child.

1. increase in wage means people get fired. it also means an increase in illegal workers who can be mistreated in a foreign country.

2. an increase in unemployment causes an increase in crime.

3. higher price for workers, means higher price for goods, which means goods get more expensive.

4. hurts small businesses and helps big business

5. more people get a job at a higher minimum wage instead of going to school

Edited October 16, 2007 by FarangNoi21

[TAWP]

As touched upon in the previous post, the minimum wage doesn't affect the poorest (the illegal immigrants) and a raise might only increase the ratio of illegal workers being used.

[AlexLah]

My company is very generous.

I get 3% increase every year.........

[blizzard]

what holding los back is it lacks a good edukated work force. and the monkey buznit kind of government that cums with it so i hear.

i dont know about los but in west raising min. wage dont affect a whole bunch of workers coz most of em make more than that anyway.

wot % of thais actually work for minimum wage?

Edited October 16, 2007 by blizzard

[JimsKnight]

Minimum wage is a good and bad thing. The good reasons are obvious; you know exactly the amount you're guarantee'd to be paid no matter what (usually).

The bad ones, well I'll use the UK as an example. When they brought it into the UK a lot of companies had to drop a lot of pay rates for the skilled workers (ie the ones who've been tradesmen for years on end/university graduates etc).

When I got into the construction game a while back I'd often here the cry 'Why is there less money in the contracts these days??' And the answer was 'Because of the minimum wage has being forced on companies, forcing them to cap the profits and money to the workers!' All the low skilled jobs suddenly had to be paid what was a floating rate to a fixed rate that flat-lined promotion and pay scales.

Also with a minimum wage a company can suddenly drop the rates it's paying to encourage immigrants who will work for peanuts and fck the locals out of a job. This has already happened in the UK. It is likely to happen (or has happened already) in Thailand.

[TAWP]

what holding los back is it lacks a good edukated work force. and the monkey buznit kind of government that cums with it so i hear.

i dont know about los but in west raising min. wage dont affect a whole bunch of workers coz most of em make more than that anyway.

wot % of thais actually work for minimum wage?

Surely you jest when you complain about education and spell like you do?

[Heng]

"all the bottom of the Thai economy" need ...and should want from life.

and my prayer is that this is where you find yourself next life .........................

If God felt I deserved it, I'm sure he would have put me there in THIS life.

[Heng]

and should want from life.

That's a bit uncalled for Heng. Its exactly this sort of attitude that keeps the rich in control and ultimately holds Thailand back. The truth is that Thailand desperately needs talent to compete in this increasingly global economy. The problem is that talent is not a resource that is limited to the urban elite that enjoys the privileges that a strong financial position affords (i.e. a decent education). Talent comes from all walks of life, but it is exceptionally difficult for a nation to harness and leverage without support.

To hear you say that the only luxuries the poorest section of society should aim for is instant ramen noodles, makes me feel quite sad for Thailand, it is akin to saying that you support the stifling of ambition in the working classes, which is just the opposite of what this country needs to move to the next level of national development.

I think you took my post a little too seriously.

As for ambition in the working classes... IMO they stifle their own ambitions enough, without any help from anyone else. As for their wants, those have long been out of control without the matching work ethic to fund those wants.

[Bagwan]

The poo yai's collective response seems to be 'let them eat cake.' I look forward to the appearance of tumbrils and Madame Guillotine.

[Heng]

The problem is that the downtrodden here are also thinking "let us eat cake."

[Bagwan]

The problem is that the downtrodden here are also thinking "let us eat cake."

And why not? If the morons who run this country got their act together there should be more than enough cake to go round.

[Heng]

No doubt they'll continue to sit around on their bums waiting for that to happen.

[Robski]

No amount of smilies can hide the fact that you may be relatively rich in money, but you are impoverished in character.

[Spee]

There should be a minimum daily wage inflation index established: comprised of prices of rice, mackeral, pak boong, and fish sauce and maybe a "luxury" item like instant ramen; basically "all the bottom of the Thai economy" need ...and should want from life. 4 Baht may indeed be too generous a wage hike if you consider the relatively slow price curve of these items over the years.

Yucccckkkkkk!

Government interference in wage and price levels has never done anything but cause problems. It doesn't help the employer and it doesn't help the employee. It doesn't help the producer and it doesn't help the consumer. I challenge anyone to show examples of where wage and price controls are beneficial to a country, businesses and workers over time.

A mandatory 4 baht increase may seem like only peanuts, but the simple fact is that it is probably way too much for the worst of employees and way too little for the best of employees. It essentially f*cks the employer and the good employee and benefits the slackers. In the end, the businesses pass these increases on to the consumer, who may at some point, reach a decision to where the employer's/producer's products are now too expensive.

[cdnvic]

The problem is that the downtrodden here are also thinking "let us eat cake."

Not a popular statement I'm sure, but an accurate one nonetheless.

[Robski]

Oh dear it's a shame to see you supporting such an obviously selfish and imperceptive opinion.

The decision to help guarantee a minimum standard of living for the poorest people in Thai society should be applauded not ridiculed.

[Dakhar]

This sure wont effect the people in my neighborhood. They are all self employed.

"Did you here people with real jobs got a raise?" "Yea, but I heard you have to work to have a job..." "Things sure are screwed up." "Hey you going to swat that fly or not....?" "Nahhh, too much effort..."

[cdnvic]

Oh dear it's a shame to see you supporting such an obviously selfish and imperceptive opinion.

The decision to help guarantee a minimum standard of living for the poorest people in Thai society should be applauded not ridiculed.

Cake is far more nutritious than lip service.

[Heng]

No amount of smilies can hide the fact that you may be relatively rich in money, but you are impoverished in character.

Feeling better now?

[TAWP]

Never mind Robski, he thinks money grows on trees.