Thai Labour Groups Say Minimum Wage Policy Not What Was Promised

[webfact]

Labour groups say minimum wage policy not what was promised

By The Nation

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's policy declaration to the parliament yesterday, that the government would ensure workers to earn at least Bt300 income per day and the bachelordegree holders to earn at least Bt15,000 income per month as according to the person's productivity and efficiency, made labour advocates unhappy, as they felt it was to avoid fulfilling the Pheu Thai Party's promise for Bt300 minimum daily wage.

President of the Thai Labor Solidarity Committee (TLSC) Charlie Loysung said yesterday that such declaration was a diversion from the party's promise during the voterwooing campaign at Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium and a lie to the people who voted for them, most of whom did so because of the Bt300 daily wage policy.

Saying that he would give the government six months to work, he said that the workers wouldn't take it, if the minimum wage weren't hiked to Bt300 by next January. Charlie said he was asking to see Labour Minister Phadermchai Sasomsab to get some clarity regarding this matter.

Lamenting that the commodity prices were on rise whilst the minimum wage remained the same, say Bt215 per day in Bangkok, Charlie said the government hit a second blow by linking the wage hike to labour skills.

"So what will the new workers do? The government should do as they promised during the votewooing time," he said adding that, under this "labor skillincreasing and the employers' tax decreasing", how many workers would actually get skill development while the private sector immediately got more profits because of the reduced tax.

Prof Lae Dilokwittayarat from the Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, said the premiere's declaration on labour policy wasn't the same as what the party had promised to people during the voterwooing campaign because all people understood that the minimum wage and bachelordegree holders' salary hike was unconditional.

Explaining that the minimum wage had nothing to do with the working efficiency because it was the basic right of workers to maintain the sufficiently dignified living condition, he said that, after the workers already started working then the labour skill development to boost productivity and work efficiency would follow.

Expressing concerns over how to properly assess bachelor degree graduates' quality for the entitlement to Bt15,000 salary, Lae said the government's labour policy would not tackle problems at the root.

He said the major challenge for the government to tackle was to hike the workers' wages for better life quality and without having to do overtime (OT) and to ratify the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 87 and 98, which would enable workers, without the risk of being fired, to set up labour unions to bargain with their employers for welfare and benefits.

He also urged the government to bring the offsystem workers into the legal systems so they are protected while also registering immigrant workers fast and with transparency.

Thailand Development Research Institute's labour development research director, Yongyuth Chalaemwong, said the policy declaration showed that the government has included suggestions from private sector such as the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Chamber of Commerce into the policy draft.

The policy declaration was an income guarantee for workers, not the minimum wage hike and not as written in the voterwooing signs of Pheu Thai Party, hence it might make some workers upset due to appointment. However, he said that the government did this possibly after assessing that the minimum wage hike to Bt300 was difficult and would cause many SMEs to shut down and many people to loose their jobs.

-- The Nation 2011-08-24

[patjem]

In other words, "we voted PT because we believed their lies".

[siampolee]

Prof Lae Dilokwittayarat from the Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, said the premiere's declaration on labour policy wasn't the same as what the party had promised to people during the voter wooing campaign because all people understood that the minimum wage and bachelordegree holders' salary hike was unconditional.

PTP talk doublespeak to garner votes and the gullible electors fell for it.

Edited August 23, 2011 by siampolee

[moe666]

These guys are surprised heheeh. When will they learn never believe a politician and never ever believe a Shinawattra

[Buchholz]

In other words, "we voted PT because we believed their lies".

Throw in their backtracking now on suspending the Oil Fund in their ever-growing pile of campaign untruths.

.

Edited August 24, 2011 by Buchholz

[whybother]

So, it's no longer going to be called "Minimum Wage" policy then. It will be called "Skilled Worker Wage" policy.

The government will ensure that all those skilled workers, that are usually already being paid above minimum wage, will get paid above minimum wage.

[REM]

No such thing as a free lunch!!! Also, there are always strings attached!!! Now, are they made cause they didn't get what was promised, or that someone will watch their productivity and efficiency, and their salary isn't guaranteed now, so they have a performance evaluation to get a raise?

Hhhhmmm, seems to me like it is an ok thing. Why pay someone more for the same work? Make them work better with a positive reward, and this is it, a guaranteed raise for better performance, not just a handout for the same ol' thing....

[whybother]

No such thing as a free lunch!!! Also, there are always strings attached!!! Now, are they made cause they didn't get what was promised, or that someone will watch their productivity and efficiency, and their salary isn't guaranteed now, so they have a performance evaluation to get a raise?

Hhhhmmm, seems to me like it is an ok thing. Why pay someone more for the same work? Make them work better with a positive reward, and this is it, a guaranteed raise for better performance, not just a handout for the same ol' thing....

You're correct. That's they way it probably should work in the most part.

But that's not what PTP promised.

[Colin Yai]

Prof Lae Dilokwittayarat from the Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, said the premiere's declaration on labour policy wasn't the same as what the party had promised to people during the voter wooing campaign because all people understood that the minimum wage and bachelordegree holders' salary hike was unconditional.

PTP talk doublespeak to garner votes and the gullible electors fell for it.

Yeah SP you called it right no doubt of that whatsoever, the big question is however, is just what are the electorate who voted for PTP going to do about it when they ultimately find out that they have been well and truly"shafted" big time??

[rametindallas]

No such thing as a free lunch!!! Also, there are always strings attached!!! Now, are they made cause they didn't get what was promised, or that someone will watch their productivity and efficiency, and their salary isn't guaranteed now, so they have a performance evaluation to get a raise?

Hhhhmmm, seems to me like it is an ok thing. Why pay someone more for the same work? Make them work better with a positive reward, and this is it, a guaranteed raise for better performance, not just a handout for the same ol' thing....

Yeah? Who's going to assess and enforce deserved raises? How can they guarantee a deserving worker anything? This is backtracking from a promise. No ifs, ands, or buts.

[Bakseedaa]

Prof Lae Dilokwittayarat from the Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, said the premiere's declaration on labour policy wasn't the same as what the party had promised to people during the voter wooing campaign because all people understood that the minimum wage and bachelordegree holders' salary hike was unconditional.

PTP talk doublespeak to garner votes and the gullible electors fell for it.

Says it all....and Dead right... those fools believe anything a Thaksin tells them.... now it will be Abhisits fault for some reason...

[bushwacker]

"President of the Thai Labor Solidarity Committee (TLSC) Charlie Loysung said yesterday that such declaration was a diversion from the party's promise during the voterwooing campaign at Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium and a lie to the people who voted for them, most of whom did so because of the Bt300 daily wage policy."

What a crock of sh*t. How does he know why 5 million or so Thais voted in the election? Maybe he talked to them all. Hate to see his mobile phone bill!

[nong38]

Sorry the new 300 bt a day wage does not apply to you. Now which bit was you did not understand? This is Thailand?

Now we await the next exciting episode in the drama everyone is watching, dont miss it, the soap to beat all soaps, watch those lips move and see what comes out next and prepare to be amazed as that dashing dandy Taki dances his way around the world whilst spreading wonderful new policices of wealth for all. Marvel at the beautiful Yingi as she sits in front of the mirror looking for inspiration. See the oil fund disappear. This and more coming to a screen near you very soon.

[whybother]

"President of the Thai Labor Solidarity Committee (TLSC) Charlie Loysung said yesterday that such declaration was a diversion from the party's promise during the voterwooing campaign at Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium and a lie to the people who voted for them, most of whom did so because of the Bt300 daily wage policy."

What a crock of sh*t. How does he know why 5 million or so Thais voted in the election? Maybe he talked to them all. Hate to see his mobile phone bill!

Well, this is one of the reasons a lot of people voted for PTP. I'm sure the PTP will be back tracking on some of the other reasons shortly.

[DP25]

You can bet that the rich won't have the same problem with broken promises when it comes to reducing corporate income tax

Rest assured those are the only supporters who matter, the poor are only to be manipulated and exploited. You can be sure that the morning announcement system in the 'red villages' won't be trumpeting the news that there is no new minimum wage or that taxes for the rich have been reduced again.

[rubl]

Did I miss the topic on th government policies made know by PM Yingluck yesterday? Is the lack of news just lazyness on the side of TV, but is it suffering from a mild case of self-censure? There are a few theNation articles and newsflashes to choose from. Just waiting for the debate to finish?

[hammered]

Did I miss the topic on th government policies made know by PM Yingluck yesterday? Is the lack of news just lazyness on the side of TV, but is it suffering from a mild case of self-censure? There are a few theNation articles and newsflashes to choose from. Just waiting for the debate to finish?

The topics seem to ne this and what Abhisit said and the old no bashing one. Im not sure if the Nation did an article on what Yingluck said but it would be interesting to see what the 16 policies are that she put in the one year list and what went in the 4 year list. I am not convinced though that the Nation itself with its bias want to present these as yesterday they got Abhisit's response up as a story on the web before or without even reporting what Yingluck said first.

[OzMick]

Did I miss the topic on th government policies made know by PM Yingluck yesterday? Is the lack of news just lazyness on the side of TV, but is it suffering from a mild case of self-censure? There are a few theNation articles and newsflashes to choose from. Just waiting for the debate to finish?

The topics seem to ne this and what Abhisit said and the old no bashing one. Im not sure if the Nation did an article on what Yingluck said but it would be interesting to see what the 16 policies are that she put in the one year list and what went in the 4 year list. I am not convinced though that the Nation itself with its bias want to present these as yesterday they got Abhisit's response up as a story on the web before or without even reporting what Yingluck said first.

Could it be they're tired of repeating other people's lies?

[KhunBJ]

Did I miss the topic on th government policies made know by PM Yingluck yesterday? Is the lack of news just lazyness on the side of TV, but is it suffering from a mild case of self-censure? There are a few theNation articles and newsflashes to choose from. Just waiting for the debate to finish?

The topics seem to ne this and what Abhisit said and the old no bashing one. Im not sure if the Nation did an article on what Yingluck said but it would be interesting to see what the 16 policies are that she put in the one year list and what went in the 4 year list. I am not convinced though that the Nation itself with its bias want to present these as yesterday they got Abhisit's response up as a story on the web before or without even reporting what Yingluck said first.

The Nation has it's own agenda and so has I assume TV ... just noticed that Pojaman got acquitted in the tax case , wonder when that is being published here ... For Newspapers it is about selling copies, for TV I assume it is about hits...most days 80-90 % of the "News" is about Thaksin and that seem to be what people want to hear about at TV ... gives a lot of hits , does not change much though.

[dave111223]

Finally they've come to their senses and scraped this plan. It would have sent inflation through the roof, and then interest rates would no doubt follow...

I just signed a contract with a house builder and they were so worried about high inflation and the possibility of the wage increase that they were reluctant to even sign a contract on a fix quote four months in advanced of the build date (expecting wages and materials to shoot up very soon).

Hopefully this will bring some confidence back to future of the economy.

[Ricardo]

The Nation has it's own agenda and so has I assume TV ... just noticed that Pojaman got acquitted in the tax case , wonder when that is being published here ... For Newspapers it is about selling copies, for TV I assume it is about hits...most days 80-90 % of the "News" is about Thaksin and that seem to be what people want to hear about at TV ... gives a lot of hits , does not change much though.

"wonder when that is being published here"

The acquital was first posted at 11.00 by Webfact, that's about an hour and a half ago, in the 'Court to Rule on Pojamon' thread.

Edited August 24, 2011 by Ricardo

[smedly]

No such thing as a free lunch!!! Also, there are always strings attached!!! Now, are they made cause they didn't get what was promised, or that someone will watch their productivity and efficiency, and their salary isn't guaranteed now, so they have a performance evaluation to get a raise?

Hhhhmmm, seems to me like it is an ok thing. Why pay someone more for the same work? Make them work better with a positive reward, and this is it, a guaranteed raise for better performance, not just a handout for the same ol' thing....

the point is that the average thai that voted didn't understand the details because they where not disclosed

so most of the ordinary people that thought they where going to get a pay hike won't - they where fooled at any cost for another agenda ..........................Thaksins return

performance related pay has been around in the west for years (except for the banking/sector who get bonuses and pay hikes regardless and when it all falls apart the tax payers foot the bill)

watch inflation climb here in Thailand and the economy spiral out of control...............no brainer

[pisico]

"President of the Thai Labor Solidarity Committee (TLSC) Charlie Loysung said yesterday that such declaration was a diversion from the party's promise during the voterwooing campaign at Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium and a lie to the people who voted for them, most of whom did so because of the Bt300 daily wage policy."

What a crock of sh*t. How does he know why 5 million or so Thais voted in the election? Maybe he talked to them all. Hate to see his mobile phone bill!

Not only that but he put a price tag of THB300 on each and everyone of those millions of voters.

Such faith in his countrymen is awe inspiring.

Obviously he is not one of the pro Bangkok elite but a loyal, upright, respectful and principled democratic member of the proletariat.

[KhunBJ]

The Nation has it's own agenda and so has I assume TV ... just noticed that Pojaman got acquitted in the tax case , wonder when that is being published here ... For Newspapers it is about selling copies, for TV I assume it is about hits...most days 80-90 % of the "News" is about Thaksin and that seem to be what people want to hear about at TV ... gives a lot of hits , does not change much though.

"wonder when that is being published here"

The acquital was first posted at 11.00 by Webfact, that's about an hour and a half ago, in the 'Court to Rule on Pojamon' thread.

Yes you are right, my mistrake ... however they did squeeze it under another title ... would have imagined that in this forum it should have been worthy of a headline ... had she been convicted then I am sure it would have been a headline with lots of posts already ...

[Mosha]

It reminds of the joke about a politician who is killed in an accident, and has to choose between Heaven and Hell. He chooses Hell. and when he asks The Devil what happened, he responds. Yesterday we were campaigning, to day you voted.

[Soi Sauce]

Sent this to the Bkk Post but it didn't get published. However, it gives a realistic timeframe for politicos to be true to their promises;

To all Pheu Thai MPs,

You all promised to raise the minimum wage to 300 baht per day but are now blaming big business for opposition to doing so. This after one of your spokesman said it was only election speak.

However, as a sign of good faith to the Thai poor and to prove you were not all lying, it would not be difficult for you all to a) immediately raise the pay of all your maids, cleaners, drivers, gardeners, etc, to the promised minimum, and to immediately raise the pay to the thousands who work in businesses you either own, control, or have a major stake in, ex hotels, manufacturing, construction. After all, PTP MPs do control a large chunk of the country's economy.

Please, when you have done this, it should not take more than a month, let the people know. If you do not, please tell them why.

It's easy to let the tax-payer pay for the rises to civil servants as it's not your money. By doing the above, you will show your sincerity and concern for the poor. Or is there neither when it is your money involved?

[scotto]

This relates to another post here today

Are the uneducated and poor stupid??

Enough said i think? but i would not call them stupid just fools,

to believe a politician.

As no matter where you are in the world they all are liars (politicians).

[yoshiwara]

Sent this to the Bkk Post but it didn't get published. However, it gives a realistic timeframe for politicos to be true to their promises;

To all Pheu Thai MPs,

You all promised to raise the minimum wage to 300 baht per day but are now blaming big business for opposition to doing so. This after one of your spokesman said it was only election speak.

However, as a sign of good faith to the Thai poor and to prove you were not all lying, it would not be difficult for you all to a) immediately raise the pay of all your maids, cleaners, drivers, gardeners, etc, to the promised minimum, and to immediately raise the pay to the thousands who work in businesses you either own, control, or have a major stake in, ex hotels, manufacturing, construction. After all, PTP MPs do control a large chunk of the country's economy.

Please, when you have done this, it should not take more than a month, let the people know. If you do not, please tell them why.

It's easy to let the tax-payer pay for the rises to civil servants as it's not your money. By doing the above, you will show your sincerity and concern for the poor. Or is there neither when it is your money involved?

Given Thaksin's political aliiance with the North-Eastern landowners, there was absolutely no way that he was going to empty their pockets to pay a substantial minimum wage. None. Emptying state coffers however is an easier pathway. Watch how the forum Thaksin cheerleaders oh so keen to trumpet PT as the spearhead of class politics and champions of the poor go ever so quiet as the truth of the pre-election BS sinks in. Will they revolt? Hell, not one. Their class politics was always a sham, just a veil for their Thaksin apologetics. No shift there then.

[rubl]

Did I miss the topic on th government policies made know by PM Yingluck yesterday? Is the lack of news just lazyness on the side of TV, but is it suffering from a mild case of self-censure? There are a few theNation articles and newsflashes to choose from. Just waiting for the debate to finish?

The topics seem to ne this and what Abhisit said and the old no bashing one. Im not sure if the Nation did an article on what Yingluck said but it would be interesting to see what the 16 policies are that she put in the one year list and what went in the 4 year list. I am not convinced though that the Nation itself with its bias want to present these as yesterday they got Abhisit's response up as a story on the web before or without even reporting what Yingluck said first.

It's really a pity, we'd all have a field day with it. The other newspaper had a flash yesterday on PM Yingluck delivering her government statement. The description mentioned that the Pheu Thai led government would deliver on eight policies, with the first one being 'the urgent policies to be introduced in the first year in office' and seven relatively distinct policies. Mind you 'economical policy' without further details is a wee bit vague. The urgent policies grouped were not named.

[REM]

You guys are right, they were lied to, and I remember many people saying the people will get the government they deserve, and I think they got it. They didn't think about what they were doing, just about a number. Well, this should be something for them to consider about being uneducated, as Jutaporns hot topic is nowadays.