Thai workers demand Bt5k monthly pension

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Workers demand Bt5k monthly pension

By The Nation

 

 

Thousands of workers rallied for Labour Day in Bangkok on Wednesday, calling on the government to provide better welfare.

They demanded that the Social Security Office (SSO) pension be no less than Bt5,000 a month.

 

After a merit-making ceremony presided over by Labour Minister General Adul Sangsingkeo at the Royal Thai Army Sports Stadium in Phayathai district, workers from 17 labour organisations marched to the Kilawet 2 Stadium in Din Daeng district. 

 

They held placards demanding better working and living conditions. 

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha presided over the National Labour Day event at Kilawet 2 Stadium and collected the workers' demands from representative Thawee Techateerawat. 

 

The workers demanded SSO coverage to sub-contractors' employees and enforcement of the law to have employers supports the establishing of saving co-operatives and provident funds for their workers.

 

SSO secretary general Ananchai Uthaipattanacheep said his agency had increased benefits for all SSO subscribers and tried to get all "off-system” workers, like freelancers, people who work from home and motorcycle taxis, into its system so they could get compensation for illness, disability and death. 

 

The SSO said that, during April 20, 2018-April 19, 2019, a total of 384,086 people who had previously lost their “voluntary insured status” had been reinstated. These people had lost the status because they fell behind in monthly contribution payments for three months in a row or failed to make a full monthly contribution for nine months in a year. 

 

The ‘voluntary insured person’ refers to those who had been an insured person under Section 33 (an employee who paid the monthly contribution for no less than 12 months) and then resigned from work and applied within a six-month period for designation as an insured person under Section 39 - the status which requires them to pay contributions to the Social Security Fund at a rate of Bt432 per month per head.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30368684

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-05-01

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[Orton Rd]

Let them eat som tam!

[Lacessit]

The natives are restless, and justifiably so.

When my GF's father turned 80, his pension went from 600 baht/month to a munificent 800 baht/month. I'd like to see Prayut live on that.

[nong38]

5000 bts a month is not a lot to live on ut you might just about scrape through with luck and eating from the hedgerows. The current 600bts a month given to those over 60 is a joke have the Government have the gall to let this go on, its been the same over 10 years I think, is beyond me and now they want to raise the age to 65 as well, what an appalling way to treat your own citizens or is it a case of "we have no money" and "I'm alright Jack." ?

[baansgr]

Great stuff, Im entitled when of age as paid enough contributions...

[webfact]

Prayut vague over workers’ demand for Bt5,000 a month pension

By The Nation

 

May Day was marked in Thailand by praising His Majesty the King ahead of his coronation. Workers also called on the government to provide them with better welfare and working conditions. Nation/Ratchanon Intharaksa

 

While Prime Minister Prayut Chanocha claimed that his military government has done its best for workers with a very low unemployฌment rate over its five years in office, thouฌsands of workers called for better welfare and working conditions as they rallied for May Day yesterday.
 

The workers demanded that the Social Security Office (SSO) pension be increased to no less than Bt5,000 a month.

 

After a merit-making ceremony presided over by Labour Minister General Adul Sangsingkeo at the Royal Thai Army Sports Stadium in Phya Thai district, workers from 17 labour organisations marched to Kilawet 2 Stadium in Din Daeng district. 

 

They held placards demanding better working and living conditions. 

 

Prayut presided over the National Labour Day event at Kilawet and received the workers’ list of demands from their representative, Thawee Techateerawat. 

 

Some of the demands have already been met, but most were awaiting legal amendments, Prayut said, without elaborating on which of the demands his government had implemented.

 

He told workers that Thailand has the world’s fourth-lowest unemployment rate and that his government had vowed to help raise labour skills to international standards.

 

There were 3.9 million unemployed workers in January, an increase of 41,000 workers from December 2018, according to the National Statistics Office. 

 

The private sector has indicated that the unemployment rate would increase by 1.1-1.2 per cent this year, leaving 450,000 people without a job.

 

Prayut guaranteed that a newly elected government would take office in June to continue his work on behalf of workers.

 

“Bills pending legislative consideration would be passed into law when the new parliament resumes, and everything that has been done over the past five years will continue in the next government,” said Prayut, who is the prime minister candidate for the pro-junta Phalang Pracharat party.

 

The party failed to win a majority of seats in the March 24 election, but has vowed to collect support to form a government. 

 

The former labour deputy minister from the Pheu Thai Party, Ladawan Wongsriwong, said her party could do better for workers if it managed to form a coalition government.

 

Prayut’s government failed to solve labour problems, she said. If the Pheu Thai government under Yingluck Shinawatra had been able to continue its work without the 2014 military intervention, the minimum wage would now be Bt400, said Ladawan. The current minimum wage ranges from Bt308 to Bt325, depending on the region. 

 

The workers demanded SSO coverage for sub-contractors’ employees, along with enforcement of the law that requires employers to support the establishment |of saving co-operatives and provident |funds for their workers.

 

SSO secretary-general Ananchai Uthaipattanacheep said his agency had increased benefits for all SSO subscribers and tried to get all “off-system” workers, including freelancers, people who work from home and motorcycle taxi drivers, into its system so they could get compensation for illness, disability and death. 

 

The SSO said that from April 20, 2018, to April 19 this year, 384,086 people who had previously lost their “voluntary insured status” had had this reinstated. These people had lost the status because they fell behind in monthly contribution payments for three months in a row or failed to make a full monthly contribution for nine months in a year. 

 

A “voluntary insured person” refers to those who had been insured under Section 33 of the Social Security Act (an employee who paid the monthly contribution for no less than 12 months) and then resigned from work and applied within a six-month period for designation as an insured person under Section 39, a status that requires them to pay contributions to the Social Security Fund at Bt432 a month per head.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30368701

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-05-02

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

[thisisrascal]

5,000thb is pretty much nothing! I usually spend that or more on a night out in BKK. 

Edited May 1, 2019 by thisisrascal

[gunderhill]

They really think they get something for  nothing, how  many of them pay any taxes.

Edited May 1, 2019 by gunderhill

[Enoon]

47 minutes ago, thisisrascal said:

5,000thb is pretty much nothing! I usually spend that or more on a night out in BKK. 

 

Try and get things into perspective:

 

Consider it as about half the monthly wage of a moderately well paid lower echelon worker in Thailand

 

Now consider spending half your monthly wage in your own country, on a night out.......in your own country.

 

Would you think that to be "pretty much nothing" as well?

 

Now try making the same sort of adjustments with various other aspects of economic necessity in

Thailand .............compared with your own country.

 

"Nothing is so hard for those who abound in riches as to conceive how others can be in want."
                                                                                                           Jonathan Swift.

 

 

 

[YetAnother]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Prime Minister Prayut Chanocha claimed that his military government has done its best for workers

he claims a lot of things, claims the thai economy is doing well too

[edwinchester]

1 hour ago, gunderhill said:

They really think they get something for  nothing, how  many of them pay any taxes.

There is vat on most products so just about everything they, or for that matter you, buy means they will be contributing tax to the Government's coffers.

[Hayduke]

12 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Workers demand Bt5k monthly pension

 

Thankless rabble…their job is to serve the noble, patriotic generals who are selflessly saving the country from lawlessness. They need to know their place and be content with whatever their betters allow them.

 

 

[Sonhia]

Good for them, I wish them luck.

 

If very lucky, a Thai pensioner may receive less than 1000 THB state pension per month!

 

Paradise...

 

 

 

 

[Emdog]

35 minutes ago, Sonhia said:

Good for them, I wish them luck.

 

If very lucky, a Thai pensioner may receive less than 1000 THB state pension per month!

 

Paradise...

 

 

 

 

Amen to that. Children are the form for social security here, as in most of 3rd world. Next time you indulge in  cheap bar girl delights, perhaps you can comfort yourself knowing some of that cash is going back to family in hinterlands for survival needs. Think Maslow's hierarchy of needs chart

[THAIJAMES]

3 hours ago, gunderhill said:

They really think they get something for  nothing, how  many of them pay any taxes.

Everybody pays taxes in Thailand. VAT.

They may not pay any income tax because they are below the threshold but it doesn't mean they haven't worked all their life helping rich people or corporations make a profit or just keeping the economy going.

 

In this case people paid for social security, I think they should be entitled to more than nine hundred baht a month.

 

[ocddave]

I've been demanding a $1,000,000 a year from SS in the US too, I'll let you know how that pans out.

Edited May 2, 2019 by ocddave

[VocalNeal]

5 minutes ago, THAIJAMES said:

Everybody pays taxes in Thailand. VAT.

 

You do not really think that paying 7% on your purchases helps in any way to provide infrastructure, police, military and all the other government services?  

 

If these "workers" did not pay into any system how can they expect to get anything out?  Sure if they had a "real" job and their employer deducted social fund for 20 tears then maybe, but if they were casual day workers then they probably didn't pay in.

 

 

Edited May 2, 2019 by VocalNeal

[THAIJAMES]

1 minute ago, VocalNeal said:

 

You do not really think that paying 7% on your purchases helps in any way to provide infrastructure and all the other government services?  

 

If these "workers" did not pay into any system how can they expect to get anything out?  Sure if they had a "real" job and their employer deducted social fund then maybe, but if they were casual day workers then they probably didn't pay in.

 

 

I'm pretty sure that VAT revenue is much higher than income tax revenue.

It depends how you define social security.

I paid a lot more in taxes and social security then I will ever get back.

 

 

[DavisH]

Make the rich business owners pay their proper amount of tax. How many of them run two accounting books? - the real one and the one for the tax office? Then there may be more money to contribute towards a pension. 

[ocddave]

3 minutes ago, THAIJAMES said:

It depends how you define social security.

Social Security: (Noun) Highway robbery.

Synonyms

extortion, fleecing, gouging

[VocalNeal]

When i worked here I paid 50,000 a month which was the minimum for an expat with a work permit or so I was told. Maybe it was something to do with owning a company? Don't know.

 

I would have had to spend over 700,000 a month at 7-11 to get even close. 

 

I'm sure there is a sliding scale for income tax for locals. 

 

Apart from the corruption stuff, in most developing countries lack of taxation revenue is a huge factor in why the countries can't or don't develop. 

[VocalNeal]

9 minutes ago, DavisH said:

How many of them run two accounting books?

 

Almost every self employed person in the western world. That's why businesses used to give a discount for cash payments.

 

It is called tax avoidance and is legal in most countries.

Edited May 2, 2019 by VocalNeal

[KhaoYai]

12 hours ago, nong38 said:

5000 bts a month is not a lot to live on ut you might just about scrape through with luck and eating from the hedgerows. The current 600bts a month given to those over 60 is a joke have the Government have the gall to let this go on, its been the same over 10 years I think, is beyond me and now they want to raise the age to 65 as well, what an appalling way to treat your own citizens or is it a case of "we have no money" and "I'm alright Jack." ?

Its not only pensions that are useless, the whole Thai welfare system is inadequate.  But, in the words of a Thai friend who lives in Norway and is hugely impressed by their welfare system "if Thai people want a good welfare system, they're going to have to learn to pay taxes".  She's absolutely correct, governments don't simply print more money when they need it - they raise it through taxes.

[BestB]

33 minutes ago, THAIJAMES said:

Everybody pays taxes in Thailand. VAT.

They may not pay any income tax because they are below the threshold but it doesn't mean they haven't worked all their life helping rich people or corporations make a profit or just keeping the economy going.

 

In this case people paid for social security, I think they should be entitled to more than nine hundred baht a month.

 

Those who paid into social security get it all back upon retiring or in monthly payments.

 

those who never paid , also never paid any income taxes.

[mikebell]

13 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Thousands of workers

A couple of hundred more like.  The general was quaking in his boots at their demands.

[AGareth2]

Does this apply to foreigners paying SS?

[seajae]

maybe when Thailand collects taxes from all the workers/sellers in the country they will be able to pay better pensions etc, it is a cash society here so a lot of people dont pay any tax on what they earn. We cant compare what they pay workers in Thailand with the western world, totally different systems but I think we can all agree the current pensions are pretty bad but again raising taxes is the only way to improve them and better financial management from the govt.

[hansnl]

4 hours ago, YetAnother said:

he claims a lot of things, claims the thai economy is doing well too

Well now, it seems the current government, eying the current world economy, did rather well.

So, he is right claiming that.

Edited May 2, 2019 by hansnl

[hansnl]

2 hours ago, seajae said:

maybe when Thailand collects taxes from all the workers/sellers in the country they will be able to pay better pensions etc, it is a cash society here so a lot of people dont pay any tax on what they earn. We cant compare what they pay workers in Thailand with the western world, totally different systems but I think we can all agree the current pensions are pretty bad but again raising taxes is the only way to improve them and better financial management from the govt.

What about people paying premiums?

Like it is done in several countries?

[THAIJAMES]

3 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

When i worked here I paid 50,000 a month which was the minimum for an expat with a work permit or so I was told. Maybe it was something to do with owning a company? Don't know.

 

I would have had to spend over 700,000 a month at 7-11 to get even close. 

 

I'm sure there is a sliding scale for income tax for locals. 

 

Apart from the corruption stuff, in most developing countries lack of taxation revenue is a huge factor in why the countries can't or don't develop. 

I think you are only paying about five or six thousand baht a month on 50,000 baht income. Add another 750 for social security.

 

The VAT on 700000 baht is almost 50,000 baht. Your whole monthly salary.