War erupts over Pheu Thai’s ฿600 minimum wage plan with the economy as the key election issue

[webfact]

 

 

Paetongtarn Shinawatra (centre) was front and centre at the unveiling of a broad brush view of the Pheu Thai Party’s economic policy platform on Wednesday. 

 

by Joseph O' Connor

 

An academic with Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) welcomed the proposal in broad terms as beneficial to newly graduated students taking up employment but expressed his concern about the danger of stoking inflation and called for a policy also over the course of the next government, to control the cost of living.

The Pheu Thai party began this week to set out its stall for the 2023 General Election with a promise of a ฿600 a day minimum age for all Thai workers by 2027 and a minimum monthly salary of ฿25,000 for graduates with a bachelor’s degree. Within hours, the proposal was attacked by government parties and in particular the Minister of Labour, Suchart Chomklin who described it as a bomb being thrown at businesses in Thailand just in middle of an as yet fragile economic recovery.

 

However, the plan has drawn support from a key labour rights activist who praised the policy as both beneficial and credible while lashing out at the Palang Pracharat Party-led government. On Thursday, Minister Suchart also faced a strong attack from Pheu Thai Party spokeswoman, Treechada Srithada who hit out at the minister’s lack of understanding for those suffering under current economic conditions in Thailand.

 

Full story: https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/12/09/war-over-pheu-thais-600-baht-minimum-wage-plan/

 

-- © Copyright Thai Examiner 2022-12-09

 

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[OneMoreFarang]

With all big political decisions and promises there should be impact studies before anything is promised or introduced.

Obviously it's nice if everybody gets double the money. But is it realistic? 

 

Unfortunately the gullible don't know and don't care. Yes, I want double the money. Give it to me. And the other parties who don't promise all that extra money most obviously be rich greedy bastards...

 

Somehow I hope another party will promise 3 times more money. And then maybe someone from PT will point out that that won't work. And then the question is in the open: if 3 times doesn't work is 2 times realistic?

[MrMojoRisin]

11 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

With all big political decisions and promises there should be impact studies before anything is promised or introduced.

Obviously it's nice if everybody gets double the money. But is it realistic? 

 

Unfortunately the gullible don't know and don't care. Yes, I want double the money. Give it to me. And the other parties who don't promise all that extra money most obviously be rich greedy bastards...

 

Somehow I hope another party will promise 3 times more money. And then maybe someone from PT will point out that that won't work. And then the question is in the open: if 3 times doesn't work is 2 times realistic?

PT are, no doubt, putting forward the maximum realistic number they believe is achievable and beneficial to the country - your straw man argument is redundant to all but the most gullible anti democracy neophyte.

[Elkski]

Ms Thanaporn Wichan of the Labour Network, Very direct and pointed words.   Seeing so many wealthy flaunting money it's hard to deny that things are not fair.  

[Eric Loh]

If you read the 10 points plan put forward by PTP, the minimum wage in stages by 2027 is palatable. To attain the wage target, PTP pledge that the economy will grow by at least 5% annually in the next 4 years. I wouldn't bet against that as they have shown in the past under various party names that they can achieved more than 5% GPD growth. Thailand has a chronic consumer debt problem accumlated for a long time mainly due to low wages and weighed heavily on the domestic economy. In the plan, PTP pledged to break up monopolies particularly in the liqour industry to open opportunities for small craft brewers and distilleries and land reclamation along the Gulf of Thailand to prevent flooding in Bangkok. Bold manifesto and progressive. 

[khunPer]

Where does the money for the pay rises come from..?

[billd766]

5 minutes ago, khunPer said:

Where does the money for the pay rises come from..?

Less new cars and mia noi's for the obscenely rich.

[Orinoco]

12 minutes ago, khunPer said:

Where does the money for the pay rises come from..?

Easy,  They will put 250 baht more effort in every day they work. 

[kingstonkid]

4 hours ago, MrMojoRisin said:

PT are, no doubt, putting forward the maximum realistic number they believe is achievable and beneficial to the country - your straw man argument is redundant to all but the most gullible anti democracy neophyte.

Remember this is the same party that promised to buy all the rice at a set price.  Remember how that worked out.

 

A 25k guaranteed wage will make BA grads unemployable.

Yes some businesses may hire a few but there will be more that will not.  The wage will make them unemployable at hotels tourism locations and rotten Ronny and other fast food or stores.

[spidermike007]

Though their hearts may be in the right place, it is amazing how the opposition party seems to consistently drop the ball on messaging and the ability to win hearts and minds. They seem to be as broken as the democratic party is in the US. And I speak as a Democrat! 

[MrMojoRisin]

22 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

Remember this is the same party that promised to buy all the rice at a set price.  Remember how that worked out.

 

A 25k guaranteed wage will make BA grads unemployable.

Yes some businesses may hire a few but there will be more that will not.  The wage will make them unemployable at hotels tourism locations and rotten Ronny and other fast food or stores.

If the policy is no good, then PT will lose the following election and then the newly elected government will get a chance to implement their policies which, if they prove to be successful will get them re-elected.

 

No coups required.

[MrMojoRisin]

12 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Though their hearts may be in the right place, it is amazing how the opposition party seems to consistently drop the ball on messaging and the ability to win hearts and minds. They seem to be as broken as the democratic party is in the US. And I speak as a Democrat! 

Strange comment, given PT are favourites to win the upcoming election (and the Democrats just had the best mid term election results in decades for a party with the sitting President.

[Cake Monster]

2 hours ago, khunPer said:

Where does the money for the pay rises come from..?

All salaries have to be linked to productivity.

This is a concept that really is not palatable in Thailand, as the workers are not productive enough to be driven in this manner.

The Boss,s have to Invest in more modern and efficient Machinery, which makes this policy even more unpalatable to them, over and above paying extra Salaries for the same productivity., so the lay offs will start.

[ikke1959]

Put the one who are opposing this plan for 3 months on living on 10k a month and see how many will change their opinion. Easy to say if you don't have to struggle because you have a good salary and all kind of bebefits. Andbe fair if people have more to spend indeed the prices will go up as businesses are never willing to have less profits but people can buy more and that will increase the economy.

[MrMojoRisin]

23 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

All salaries have to be linked to productivity.

This is a concept that really is not palatable in Thailand, as the workers are not productive enough to be driven in this manner.

The Boss,s have to Invest in more modern and efficient Machinery, which makes this policy even more unpalatable to them, over and above paying extra Salaries for the same productivity., so the lay offs will start.

 

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, MrMojoRisin said:

Strange comment, given PT are favourites to win the upcoming election (and the Democrats just had the best mid term election results in decades for a party with the sitting President.

The Democrats won because of the issues at stake. The Supreme Court moral bankruptcy and takeover motivated the people to vote. And alot are tired of the GOP weakness and unwillingness to distance themselves from the failed ex-prez. That includes alot of Republicans 

[billd766]

2 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

Remember this is the same party that promised to buy all the rice at a set price.  Remember how that worked out.

 

A 25k guaranteed wage will make BA grads unemployable.

Yes some businesses may hire a few but there will be more that will not.  The wage will make them unemployable at hotels tourism locations and rotten Ronny and other fast food or stores.

Why did that party offer to buy the rice at that price? To help the poor farmers.

 

This is the same party that was subjected to yet another military coup and the current government sold the rice off for a small loss.

 

What has this current government done for the poor farmers? Nothing at all and little or nothing for the poor people of Thailand.

 

What have the done for the military? Squandered billions of baht buying useless things like submarines and now they want to buy 2, count them 1, 2. F35 stealth fighters with no weapons systems. 

[OneMoreFarang]

19 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Why did that party offer to buy the rice at that price? To help the poor farmers.

Really?

And did the farmers get the biggest part of that money?

Or did the middlemen, who always make money, just make more money?

And the middlemen are exactly those local influential people who make sure the poor people vote for the "correct" party.

[zzaa09]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Though their hearts may be in the right place, it is amazing how the opposition party seems to consistently drop the ball on messaging and the ability to win hearts and minds. They seem to be as broken as the democratic party is in the US. And I speak as a Democrat! 

Hmmm.....

Perhaps these supposed opposition parties aren't true opposition whatsoever, yet play that piper as if they might be. 

As is the case, most are easily fooled and manipulated.

[zzaa09]

20 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Really?

And did the farmers get the biggest part of that money?

Or did the middlemen, who always make money, just make more money?

And the middlemen are exactly those local influential people who make sure the poor people vote for the "correct" party.

Same as it ever was....

[MrMojoRisin]

29 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Really?

And did the farmers get the biggest part of that money?

Or did the middlemen, who always make money, just make more money?

And the middlemen are exactly those local influential people who make sure the poor people vote for the "correct" party.

Wrong……again.

 

The rice scheme bypassed the middlemen by allowing farmers to sell (mortgage) their rice directly to the government.

 

Your blind anti democracy obsession is causing you to post embarrassing inaccuracies even against the easiest of targets such as Yingluck’s flawed rice scheme.

????????????

[hotchilli]

21 hours ago, webfact said:

The Pheu Thai party began this week to set out its stall for the 2023 General Election with a promise of a ฿600 a day minimum age for all Thai workers by 2027 and a minimum monthly salary of ฿25,000 for graduates with a bachelor’s degree.

600 baht per day is more realistic and in sync with the current cost of living, at the moment the minimum wage is so low people are driven into poverty or debt which in turn will cripple the country.

Better the rise and people will have money to spend, keeping the economy moving.

The companies etc will all shout they can't afford it, yet sit on millions in the bank...

some elite families with trillions of savings.

[futsukayoi]

18 hours ago, khunPer said:

Where does the money for the pay rises come from..?

Unemployment of all the workers who are no longer worth what they would have to be paid so that their jobs are automated or move to more competitive countries with cheaper labor so that the goods nd services they produce are cheaper.

 

[kingstonkid]

15 hours ago, billd766 said:

Why did that party offer to buy the rice at that price? To help the poor farmers.

 

This is the same party that was subjected to yet another military coup and the current government sold the rice off for a small loss.

 

What has this current government done for the poor farmers? Nothing at all and little or nothing for the poor people of Thailand.

 

What have the done for the military? Squandered billions of baht buying useless things like submarines and now they want to buy 2, count them 1, 2. F35 stealth fighters with no weapons systems. 

You forget all the corruption that was caused by the scheme.  Also, farmers did not do as well as you think they did.  If they had they would have voted in the PT.

 

The problem is that the PT wants to lead the country with a girl that has no political or business knowledge but is the mouth piece for her dad.

 

Every party has promised great things

 

I can remember the great deal that the Dems offered for the tax rebate is you bought a new car.  Sounded great people were going to get 200K  Problem was that people that could not afford cars bought them.  When they could not make the payments, they were repossessed then the tax man denied them the money.

 

PT has promised great things to remember the iPad for every student.

going to bring prosperity to the farmers with rice production.

 

The people of Thailand need to wake up and not look at the shiny pie in the sky but at what this country actually needs.

 

A party that tells it like it is and a party that promises to be corruption free and sticks to it.

 

As much as that is what the U.S. needs. There is a definite need for a new party in teh the U.S. as well.  How do you become a multi-millionaire being an elected person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MrMojoRisin]

1 hour ago, kingstonkid said:

You forget all the corruption that was caused by the scheme.  Also, farmers did not do as well as you think they did.  If they had they would have voted in the PT.

There was a coup bro, the farmers did not get a chance to vote for anyone.

 

BTW - the reason for the coup was because PT would have won an election.

[billd766]

2 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

You forget all the corruption that was caused by the scheme.  Also, farmers did not do as well as you think they did.  If they had they would have voted in the PT.

 

The problem is that the PT wants to lead the country with a girl that has no political or business knowledge but is the mouth piece for her dad.

 

Every party has promised great things

 

I can remember the great deal that the Dems offered for the tax rebate is you bought a new car.  Sounded great people were going to get 200K  Problem was that people that could not afford cars bought them.  When they could not make the payments, they were repossessed then the tax man denied them the money.

 

PT has promised great things to remember the iPad for every student.

going to bring prosperity to the farmers with rice production.

 

The people of Thailand need to wake up and not look at the shiny pie in the sky but at what this country actually needs.

 

A party that tells it like it is and a party that promises to be corruption free and sticks to it.

 

As much as that is what the U.S. needs. There is a definite need for a new party in teh the U.S. as well.  How do you become a multi-millionaire being an elected person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do know that the farmers and ALL the poor people have fared much worse since it had been led unwillingly by a general that has no political or business knowledge.

 

If the Thai people are ever allowed a free and fair vote, they will either vote for the PTP or not, but it will be THEIR choice, not yours, mine or any jumped up general.

 

The general promised many things when he stole Thailand from the people. How have HIS promises worked out so far? What has he actually achieved in the last 8 years that have benefitted Thailand and the Thai people?

 

quote "The people of Thailand need to wake up and not look at the shiny pie in the sky but at what this country actually needs."

 

Here I agree with you. However, "The people of Thailand need to wake up and not look at the shiny pie in the sky but at what this country actually doesn't need as well."

 

Thailand and the Thai people do not need a clump of dinosaurs who have little idea of the real real world running the country.

 

What it needs is younger and fresher people to lead the country.

[khunPer]

5 hours ago, futsukayoi said:

Unemployment of all the workers who are no longer worth what they would have to be paid so that their jobs are automated or move to more competitive countries with cheaper labor so that the goods nd services they produce are cheaper.

Your comment is in level with what I also think; i.e. if a worker is not having productivity or skills enough to be worth 600 baht per day, the worker will become unemployed.

[khunPer]

21 hours ago, Cake Monster said:

On 12/9/2022 at 8:09 AM, khunPer said:

Where does the money for the pay rises come from..?

All salaries have to be linked to productivity.

This is a concept that really is not palatable in Thailand, as the workers are not productive enough to be driven in this manner.

The Boss,s have to Invest in more modern and efficient Machinery, which makes this policy even more unpalatable to them, over and above paying extra Salaries for the same productivity., so the lay offs will start.

I.e. the money for 600 baht minimum salaries per day are not there...

[khunPer]

7 hours ago, hotchilli said:

600 baht per day is more realistic and in sync with the current cost of living, at the moment the minimum wage is so low people are driven into poverty or debt which in turn will cripple the country.

Better the rise and people will have money to spend, keeping the economy moving.

The companies etc will all shout they can't afford it, yet sit on millions in the bank...

some elite families with trillions of savings.

But the cost of living will go up when minimum salaries raise – that was the experience when the minimum salary was raise from around 200 baht per day to 300 baht per day – that kind of government salary jump might rather be fuel for escalating local inflation.

Company millions in the bank and elite families' trillions of savings will not end up in a higher minimum salary, they will rather move for investment somewhere, where the work force is worth its salary.

[zzaa09]

23 hours ago, MrMojoRisin said:

Wrong……again.

 

The rice scheme bypassed the middlemen by allowing farmers to sell (mortgage) their rice directly to the government.

 

Your blind anti democracy obsession is causing you to post embarrassing inaccuracies even against the easiest of targets such as Yingluck’s flawed rice scheme.

????????????

Yet there's nothing that grates against any such democratic order than to be forced into doing business with the government mafia oligarchy en lieu of a open and free market.