Bt425 minimum wage included in new govt policy

[snoop1130]

Bt425 minimum wage included in new govt policy

By The Nation

 

Sontirat

 

The new coalition government’s policies have been drafted and will be confirmed after a joint meeting next week, Phalang Pracharat secretary-general Sontirat Sontijirawong said on Tuesday. 

 

He said that preparing the first draft took a lot of time because policies from different perspectives had to be integrated into one core guideline, which also has to be accommodated by the budget. 

 

A political source said that the government's annoucement to the Parliament has reportedly been scheduled on Jul 24-25. All coaltion parties have been informed to get ministers under their quota to get ready for possible questioning by the opposition.

 

The new policies include a proposed increase in minimum daily wage to Bt425 and the much-debated medical marijuana initiative, he said, adding that existing policies such as government welfare cards will remain unchanged. 

 

Sontirat went on to say that the resignation of MPs who have been given Cabinet portfolios was also discussed, though no decision has been made on what will be done if nobody volunteers to give up either the MP seat or Cabinet job as required by the new Constitution. 

 

He said the appointment of political appointees apart from Cabinet members will only be discussed once the Cabinet is royally endorsed.

 

Sontirat added that members of the Phalang Pracharat Party have reconciled over their differences and those seeking his resignation have now backed off.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30372655

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand  2019-07-09

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

[BigBadGeordie]

2 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Sontirat added that members of the Phalang Pracharat Party have reconciled over their differences and those seeking his resignation have now backed off

Or perhaps "have now been PAID OFF".

Edited July 9, 2019 by BigBadGeordie

[hotchilli]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The new policies include a proposed increase in minimum daily wage to Bt425

Good luck making that a reality, I know many high street shops that will be letting staff go as they will refuse to pay that sum. 

[pornprong]

12 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Good luck making that a reality, I know many high street shops that will be letting staff go as they will refuse to pay that sum. 

It is very easy to make it a reality in the formal economy, regardless of what the "high street" shop owners desire.

 

Where it is almost impossible to enforce is in the huge informal economy. Particularly where foreign workers from neighbouring countries are involved. Thailand hasn't even managed to eliminate slavery amongst this sector so minimum wage increases are a mere fantasy as far as they are concerned. 

 

Whats is of particular interest though, is the deafening silence of business owners when compared to their belligerent outrage when Yingluck had the temerity to raise minimum wage to B300 per day back in 2011.

[FritsSikkink]

7 minutes ago, pornprong said:

Whats is of particular interest though, is the deafening silence of business owners when compared to their belligerent outrage when Yingluck had the temerity to raise minimum wage to B300 per day back in 2011.

Maybe because it is just make public and they need time to read it?

[fforest1]

No way .....Businesses will not accept a 425 a day minimum wage.. 

Edited July 10, 2019 by fforest1

[Eric Loh]

Don't expect much originality in their economy policies. Just copy from previous administration.  

[digger70]

21 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

No way .....Businesses will not accept a 425 a day minimum wage.. 

Down here in the South it's still THB 200 and 250 for the low end workers be that in a shop or building sites.

[overherebc]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Good luck making that a reality, I know many high street shops that will be letting staff go as they will refuse to pay that sum. 

Wait till you call the local builder in next week and 100% he'll quote you a 'minimum' of 425 for each worker plus his %.

[Andycoops]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Good luck making that a reality, I know many high street shops that will be letting staff go as they will refuse to pay that sum. 

Not to mention another nail in the coffin for the farmers who find it hard enough paying the current 300 baht a day.

[holy cow cm]

If they do this they are killing the export business. Easier to uplift and go to another supplier in Vietnam for many products, or plainly cancel orders because price increases will not be accepted by retail buyers. It also raised the domestic retail prices as well so in general hurts the inner economy. Too many wage increase in the last 5 years already.

[pornprong]

1 hour ago, FritsSikkink said:

Maybe because it is just make public and they need time to read it?

Try again. 

It was actually a policy that PPRP campaigned on in the March 24th "election", so it has been public for quite some time.

 

Here is an quote from an economist in a newspaper back in March.

 

I fail to see how raising minimum wages could be realistically done under current circumstances. Forget the campaign promises. It is more important to save Thai manufacturers from rising costs, which stem from weak demand and the baht's appreciation. Let me repeat. This is a luxury that Thailand cannot afford.

 

The difference now is that the above is somewhat of a lone voice whilst during Yingluck's time the attacks against her proposal to raise the minimum wage were abundant, relentless and fierce from the press and the business community.

 

Why is it so different now I wonder?

 

 

Edited July 10, 2019 by pornprong

[expatfromwyoming]

36 minutes ago, holy cow cm said:

If they do this they are killing the export business. Easier to uplift and go to another supplier in Vietnam for many products, or plainly cancel orders because price increases will not be accepted by retail buyers. It also raised the domestic retail prices as well so in general hurts the inner economy. Too many wage increase in the last 5 years already.

Minimum wage in Vietnam is a lot higher than here at VND 4,180,000 (US$ 180)

They seem to be doing fine- With Thailand effects on exports have little to do with wages and more to do with a lack of quality

Edited July 10, 2019 by expatfromwyoming

[FritsSikkink]

3 minutes ago, pornprong said:

Try again. 

It was actually a policy that PPRP campaigned on in the March 24th "election", so it has been public for quite some time.

A campaign policy isn't a law yet, or do you believe everything politicians promise you during their campaign?

[FritsSikkink]

2 minutes ago, expatfromwyoming said:

Minimum wage in Vietnam is a lot higher than here at VND 4,180,000 (US$ 180)

They seem to be doing fine- With Thailand exports have little to do with wages and more to do with a lack of quality

180USD is a lot less then the minimum wage in Thailand. 

[FritsSikkink]

42 minutes ago, Andycoops said:

Not to mention another nail in the coffin for the farmers who find it hard enough paying the current 300 baht a day.

Then they should farm something else which gives better profits. As a farmer you should make business decisions and not just do what your parents and grandparents did. 

Edited July 10, 2019 by FritsSikkink

[pornprong]

6 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

A campaign policy isn't a law yet, or do you believe everything politicians promise you during their campaign?

Campaign policies are indeed not law and politicians are not always true to their word, however, if you are opposed to a particular policy is it wiser to speak out BEFORE the policy becomes law or AFTER it becomes law? Seems like you think shutting the gate after the horse has bolted is an effective course of action. It isn't. In Yingluck's day, the opposition was strongest prior to implementation of her minimum wage hike, during the 2011 election - why is it different now?

Edited July 10, 2019 by pornprong

[FritsSikkink]

1 minute ago, pornprong said:

 In Yingluck's day, the opposition was strongest prior to implementation of her minimum wage hike, why is it different now?

Maybe because the current opposition were the ones who wanted to raise the minimum wage from the start.

[pornprong]

12 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Maybe because the current opposition were the ones who wanted to raise the minimum wage from the start.

Of course the current opposition aren't going to oppose the policy.

The question is why has the business community remained so silent, after all, the policy is a transfer of wealth from them to their workforce.

Why is big business reacting in completely the opposite fashion they did when the last elected government was in power?

Edited July 10, 2019 by pornprong

[fforest1]

30 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

180USD is a lot less then the minimum wage in Thailand. 

Thailands minimum wage is already 240 dollars a month 60 dollars a month higher than Vietnam....

[robblok]

57 minutes ago, pornprong said:

Try again. 

It was actually a policy that PPRP campaigned on in the March 24th "election", so it has been public for quite some time.

 

Here is an quote from an economist in a newspaper back in March.

 

I fail to see how raising minimum wages could be realistically done under current circumstances. Forget the campaign promises. It is more important to save Thai manufacturers from rising costs, which stem from weak demand and the baht's appreciation. Let me repeat. This is a luxury that Thailand cannot afford.

 

The difference now is that the above is somewhat of a lone voice whilst during Yingluck's time the attacks against her proposal to raise the minimum wage were abundant, relentless and fierce from the press and the business community.

 

Why is it so different now I wonder?

 

 

Just like with YL i don't think its a good idea to raise wages when your not raising productivity. So why did you support it before and now your against  it ? Does your opinion vary depending on who has the idea ?

 

I think its stupid and will cause inflation and more companies to leave Thailand. It raised inflation when YL did it all  prices went up, we will see the same again.

[holy cow cm]

57 minutes ago, expatfromwyoming said:

Minimum wage in Vietnam is a lot higher than here at VND 4,180,000 (US$ 180)

They seem to be doing fine- With Thailand effects on exports have little to do with wages and more to do with a lack of quality

The only thing higher in quotes from Vietnam is when duties to like the US are concerned. Otherwise everything else is cheaper. 

[Cadbury]

1 hour ago, expatfromwyoming said:

Minimum wage in Vietnam is a lot higher than here at VND 4,180,000 (US$ 180)

They seem to be doing fine- With Thailand effects on exports have little to do with wages and more to do with a lack of quality

For clarification. Vietnam minimum wage is US$180 per month = $6/day

  Thai minimum wage is 425 baht per day x 30 = 12750 baht per month = US$410 = $14/day

So Thailand based manufacturers pay more than double Vietnamese wages and likely get a lot less productivity than they would in Vietnam.

That should help make the decision easier for potential foreign manufacturing investors.

I wonder if the Junta Party (aka Phalang Pracharat Party) thought this through when they went out vote buying with such a policy?

Vietnam is presently the "go to" Asian country for foreign manufacturers. 

Edited July 10, 2019 by Cadbury

[DLock]

1 hour ago, expatfromwyoming said:

Minimum wage in Vietnam is a lot higher than here at VND 4,180,000 (US$ 180)

They seem to be doing fine- With Thailand effects on exports have little to do with wages and more to do with a lack of quality

 

Vietnam minimum wage is USD$126 - USD$180, so at least get the range right.

 

And Thailand at 425baht per day x 24 work days per month = USD$320 per month.

 

How is $180 less that $320?

[poohy]

Im 100km south of Hua Hin doubtful apart from 7/11 Homepro macro and like anyone gets even 300 THB now

[Eric Loh]

I am for raising wage but the timing can’t be worse when the economy is bad. You wouldn’t get productivity when the production output is curtailed by slowing revenues and rising costs. Policies will have to be included to medicate these issues. Grants and training for automation, reducing corporate tax, financial packages to encourage companies to seek more international markets and government equal efforts to negotiate more trade with non traditional markets. 

 

The increase in wage will not only assist the poor, it will also benefit domestic consumption. 

[Brigand]

Minimum wage increases like this are not the panacea many think they are. Retailers will just see it as an excuse to raise prices and in reality the money just ends up in the pockets of greedy corporations. If workers even get the raise then it'll help only for a short time (like a few weeks or month) before prices start edging up. People think that everything will stay the same other than they have an extra 42% money each day ... dream on as it's probably already being worked out how it can be relieved from these workers by slight-of-hand. It will only really benefit those who know how to be thrifty and save ... which are few at that end of the work force.

[luk AJ]

Most of the car factories will move to Vietnam. It is economical suicide to increase daily wages to 425 Thb. Vietnam will most probably also offer better tax conditions.
The GDP of Thailand is already the lowest in the region, combined with a strong baht, this will probably result in a serious economic meltdown.



Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[pornprong]

1 hour ago, robblok said:

Just like with YL i don't think its a good idea to raise wages when your not raising productivity. So why did you support it before and now your against  it ? Does your opinion vary depending on who has the idea ?

 

I think its stupid and will cause inflation and more companies to leave Thailand. It raised inflation when YL did it all  prices went up, we will see the same again.

You really do have comprehension issues don't you?

 

Not a single one of my posts today indicates whether or not I support or oppose raising the minimum wage either now on back when Yingluck was PM.

 

No wonder Suthep and Prayuth have so easily fooled you into advocating their nonsense for so many years.

 

What I have questioned is why the business community has had such a vastly different reaction this time whilst Prayuth is PM as opposed to when they got so hysterical when Yingluck introduced a very similar policy.

 

For the record, I support raising the minimum wage in Thailand, both then and now.

How does being a sweatshop for foreign companies raise the living standards of the Thai masses?

 

It says a lot about you that, given Thailand is the MOST unequal country on the planet, you oppose the one policy that will do the most to redress the situation.

[Srikcir]

3 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

 

 

Edited July 10, 2019 by Srikcir
delete repitious