Poll Says Government Policies Are Unraveling

[Buchholz]

Approval Awaiting to Let Vocational Students Assemble Tablet PCs

BANGKOK, 29 August 2011 (NNT)-The Vocational Education Commission (VEC) is voicing its support for the government’s One Tablet PC Per Child policy and asking for permission to let vocational school students assemble them.

Secretary-General of the Office Ms. Sasithara Pichaichannarong insisted that their education was focused on electronics design and technology and that each one of them must apply their skills in a student workshop as required by the curriculum.

Ms. Sasithara claimed the students were the great human resource available for the job; however, to complete the process, the government needed to supply them with electronics parts and instructions on how to assemble them.

According to the Secretary-General, general knowledge for Grade 1 students and information on vocational education would be contained in the tablet.

Meanwhile, vocational colleges across the country has a joint production plan for the tablet PCs which has already been approved and would be ready for execution once the government has given the nod. Each institution will also be responsible for the maintenance of the tablets they produce.

-- NNT 2011-08-29

[whybother]

They can't be serious, can they?

Will they be paying the students 300 baht per day to do the assembly?

[Artisi]

I would think that the vast majority who voted them in wouldn't ever know, care or understand that the policies are falling apart / flawed .

Edited August 30, 2011 by Artisi

[Norcan]

They can't be serious, can they?

Will they be paying the students 300 baht per day to do the assembly?

I would have thought they would be too busy kicking the sh1t out of each other on or around public transport to have time to do anything constructive.

I've been wrong before though!

[Buchholz]

Approval Awaiting to Let Vocational Students Assemble Tablet PCs

BANGKOK, 29 August 2011 (NNT)-The Vocational Education Commission (VEC) is voicing its support for the government’s One Tablet PC Per Child policy and asking for permission to let vocational school students assemble them.

They can't be serious, can they?

Will they be paying the students 300 baht per day to do the assembly?

If the vo-tech students do the assembly, hopefully they'll get more than that from the per annual 6 Billion Baht budget.

but wait, it's a new week and now they are talking about an entirely different budget allocation...

sad to see they haven't a clue about much of this scam.

.

Edited August 30, 2011 by Buchholz

[Buchholz]

Education Ministry sets aside 3 Billion Baht for free tablet PC policy

BANGKOK, 30 August 2011 (NNT) – The Ministry of Education has initially prepared a budget of 3 billion THB for the one tablet PC per child policy while allowing the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to be in charge of the content.

Speaking of the one tablet PC per child policy of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, Education Minister Woravat Auapinyakul insisted that the policy required collaboration with many related sides. He said the Ministry had conferred with the ICT Ministry about the preparation of the content and the latter had agreed to be responsible for the matter.

Initially, the Education Ministry plans to spend a total of 3 billion THB on the procurement of the tablet PCs. It is being considered whether the Office of Vocational Education Commission should be tasked with handling the assembly process. The Minister reaffirmed that the devices would be strictly distributed to students through schools. However, the schools, which will oversee the maintenance of the tablets, will be the ones to decide whether or not the students can take the devices home.

Mr Woravat then emphasized the importance of the content, which will become part of the curricula, citing that the tablet PCs would be of no use unless the content was fully ready.

-- NNT 2011-08-30

[Crushdepth]

Finance Ministry: Govt Can't Force Private Sector to Raise Minimum Wage

The Finance Ministry insists the government has no authority to force the private sector to adjust minimum wages.

Finance Minister Teerachai Phuvanatnaranubala reaffirmed that the government has no authority to force the private sector to abide by the government's policy to increase daily minimum wage to 300 baht and to adjust new-graduate's starting salary to 15,000 thousand baht per month.

However, he said the pilot project would be implemented with the state sector and then state-enterprises.

The ministry will ask for cooperation from listed companies on the stock exchange to alter their wages.

Currently, the ministry is rushing to draft details of the project to present to the Cabinet for approval.

Meanwhile, he declined to express his opinion regarding criticism against the Pheu Thai Party, that the party cannot fulfill its promise given during the election campaign of a guaranteed 300 baht daily minimum wage.

-- Tan Network 2011-08-30

Does that mean that the private sector doesn't have to pay the current minimum wages either?

"Can't" or "won't"? They could force the private sector to pay it - it's called legislation, they are the government and Thailand does actually have fairly strong labour courts.

Oh and would some of the compulsive government apologists care to try and explain the backtrack on the 300 baht minimum wage? I am in need of some light humour. Thank you.

Edited August 30, 2011 by Crushdepth

[kraplung]

If the government is unable to enforce it's proposals why bother proposing them anyway? Anyone would think they were simply trying to con their potential voters?

[Buchholz]

and now, yet another government policy is "unraveling"...

[Buchholz]

Tax rebate for first car not doable: Boonsong

The Pheu Thai Party's campaign pledge on Bt100,000 tax rebate for first-car buyers might not be implemented in its entirety, Deputy Finance Minister Boonsong Teyaphirom said on Wednesday.

"The tax rebate can not be applied to all first-car buyers as pledged by Pheu Thai," he said.

The campaign pledge would have to be modified, he said.

-- The Nation 2011-08-31

[whybother]

and now, yet another government policy is "unraveling"...

If the rebate is to be paid as a form of income tax deduction, then the beneficiaries would be only tax payers in the high income bracket.

The rich score another one ... Rich 8 - Poor 0

[Cayenne]

Education Ministry sets aside 3 Billion Baht for free tablet PC policy

[Content shortened]

Initially, the Education Ministry plans to spend a total of 3 billion THB on the procurement of the tablet PCs. It is being considered whether the Office of Vocational Education Commission should be tasked with handling the assembly process. The Minister reaffirmed that the devices would be strictly distributed to students through schools. However, the schools, which will oversee the maintenance of the tablets, will be the ones to decide whether or not the students can take the devices home.

-- NNT 2011-08-30

3 billion baht divided by the projected 800,000 students who will use this = 3,750 baht per tablet. But the actual costs will be much more than this- with this amount you will have to cover the cost of the components (and if it is to assembled locally it will have to factor in assembly costs as well too), maintenance and support costs (will the school have to allocate more of their already meagre budgets to do this?), and finally logistics costs (how are you going to ship tablets to upcountry schools). And this is even without the development costs needed for content. Finally you will need to build a network infrastructure to support these tablets i.e. 3G/Wifi etc (no guesses as to who will benefit from this)

I am reminded of the 1 million PC project 6 years ago by the Thaksin government...another flop and waste of tax payers' money in the end.

[Buchholz]

Education Ministry sets aside 3 Billion Baht for free tablet PC policy

[Content shortened]

Initially, the Education Ministry plans to spend a total of 3 billion THB on the procurement of the tablet PCs. It is being considered whether the Office of Vocational Education Commission should be tasked with handling the assembly process. The Minister reaffirmed that the devices would be strictly distributed to students through schools. However, the schools, which will oversee the maintenance of the tablets, will be the ones to decide whether or not the students can take the devices home.

-- NNT 2011-08-30

3 billion baht divided by the projected 800,000 students who will use this = 3,750 baht per tablet. But the actual costs will be much more than this- with this amount you will have to cover the cost of the components (and if it is to assembled locally it will have to factor in assembly costs as well too), maintenance and support costs (will the school have to allocate more of their already meagre budgets to do this?), and finally logistics costs (how are you going to ship tablets to upcountry schools). And this is even without the development costs needed for content. Finally you will need to build a network infrastructure to support these tablets i.e. 3G/Wifi etc (no guesses as to who will benefit from this)

I am reminded of the 1 million PC project 6 years ago by the Thaksin government...another flop and waste of tax payers' money in the end.

The 3 billion is a contradiction to that which was said just a mere 12 days ago... in fact, then they spoke of twice that amount when it was said the government will squander spend 6 Billion Baht

I am less enthusiastic about the tablet scheme now that I know they will spend 10% of the national education budget on it.

Yes, that was the news today. 6 BILLION BAHT per year.

The new Education Minister went on to say that it would come out of the budget that was previously devoted to providing free school uniforms for students as well as free textbooks

The clueless guy EM Worawut, who obviously has never come close to caring for school-aged children, said, "This will not affect students and the overall education program because... uniforms do not need to be changed to new ones every year."

What a moron.

Another gem from the Chief of Educating the Youth of Thailand, "The tablets will not completely replace textbooks. They will act like calculators the help the student to calculate faster."

Education Minister Worawat Ua-apinyakul previously was the genius as Culture Minister, when he came up with idea of producing black magic amulets, including phallus and buffalo-shaped ones, as souvenirs for tourists.

Phallus Symbols And Buffaloes To Attrract More Tourists

Edited August 31, 2011 by Buchholz

[whybother]

First-time Eco-friendly Car, Truck Buyers to Get Tax Deduction

First-time buyers of eco-friendly cars and pick-up trucks will be eligible for a tax deduction of up to 100,000 baht, for the next five years.

The program is expected to be launched in October.

Deputy Finance Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom said regarding the tax break for first-time car buyers that buyers of new fuel-efficient cars and pick-up trucks valued at less than one million baht will be allowed to deduct the excise tax from their personal income tax.

The deduction will be available for five years, and is limited to 100,000 baht.

Boonsong said the Revenue Department is holding discussions with the Excise Department to finalize the details of the program.

Boonsong added that he intends to table the proposal for the Cabinet's consideration as soon as possible, so that the program can go into effect in October.

-- Tan Network 2011-08-31

What types of cars are classed as "new fuel-efficient cars" and is it "fuel-efficient pick-up trucks" as well?

[Buchholz]

Higher Salary Feared to Hamper Job Opportunities

The results of Bangkok Poll's latest survey show most college students support the general idea of raising the starting salary for bachelor degree holders to 15,000 baht a month.

However, over 90 percent of the respondents fear the higher pay will mean jobs will be harder to find.

The Bangkok Poll conducted a survey on over 1,800 4th year college students in Bangkok and surrounding areas for their say on the idea of paying a starting salary of 15,000 for bachelor degree holders.

The poll shows that 40 percent of the would-be college graduates prefer to work for private companies, 26 percent plan to start their own business, 18 percent want to work in government agencies and another 16.5 percent want to work in state enterprises.

According to the survey, 42 percent are not sure if the new government will be able to implement the policy while 19.5 percent of the respondents are confident the policy is feasible.

It's not surprising to see that most of the survey respondents support the idea of paying bachelor degree holders a starting salary of 15,000 baht per month.

Nearly 62 percent of the 4th year college students surveyed said they support the idea.

More than half of those surveyed, in fact, agree an employee's ability should be taken into consideration when it comes to who'll get paid the 15,000 baht starting salary.

It's also interesting to note that nearly 70 percent fear that the policy will make it hard for fresh graduates to land a job.

They fear the qualification requirements will become tougher.

Thirty percent of the respondents believe companies may be less willing to hire bachelor degree graduates due to the higher cost.

Nearly 18 percent of the respondents believe they won't be able to find a job at all.

The Pheu Thai-led government has included its plan to raise the starting monthly salary for bachelor degree graduates in the governmental sector to 15,000 baht a month.

The government hopes the private sector will raise the minimum starting salary to match that of state offices.

-- Tan Network 2011-09-06

[hammered]

Higher Salary Feared to Hamper Job Opportunities

The results of Bangkok Poll's latest survey show most college students support the general idea of raising the starting salary for bachelor degree holders to 15,000 baht a month.

However, over 90 percent of the respondents fear the higher pay will mean jobs will be harder to find.

The Bangkok Poll conducted a survey on over 1,800 4th year college students in Bangkok and surrounding areas for their say on the idea of paying a starting salary of 15,000 for bachelor degree holders.

The poll shows that 40 percent of the would-be college graduates prefer to work for private companies, 26 percent plan to start their own business, 18 percent want to work in government agencies and another 16.5 percent want to work in state enterprises.

According to the survey, 42 percent are not sure if the new government will be able to implement the policy while 19.5 percent of the respondents are confident the policy is feasible.

It's not surprising to see that most of the survey respondents support the idea of paying bachelor degree holders a starting salary of 15,000 baht per month.

Nearly 62 percent of the 4th year college students surveyed said they support the idea.

More than half of those surveyed, in fact, agree an employee's ability should be taken into consideration when it comes to who'll get paid the 15,000 baht starting salary.

It's also interesting to note that nearly 70 percent fear that the policy will make it hard for fresh graduates to land a job.

They fear the qualification requirements will become tougher.

Thirty percent of the respondents believe companies may be less willing to hire bachelor degree graduates due to the higher cost.

Nearly 18 percent of the respondents believe they won't be able to find a job at all.

The Pheu Thai-led government has included its plan to raise the starting monthly salary for bachelor degree graduates in the governmental sector to 15,000 baht a month.

The government hopes the private sector will raise the minimum starting salary to match that of state offices.

-- Tan Network 2011-09-06

How many in the private sector start on less than 15K now? I know a few who do but most have started on more. In the public sector they start on less that is for sure. However, this is the East and in those I know in north with degrees work elsewhere.

I will leave others to point out some weird discrepencies in the numbers which may just be down to bad reporting

[ginjag]

I would think that the vast majority who voted them in wouldn't ever know, care or understand that the policies are falling apart / flawed .

If you were not telling lies during your election campaign ==PAY UP..........stop trying to skirt around and make amendments here and there. 300 bht to all-min wage NOW..................tablets to all the age group you promised NOW.....................15,000 to the uni students as per vote pledge ............and all the rest.

Of course your going to implement, true to your word, and we would never doubt that would we ??????

[tominbkk]

3 billion baht divided by the projected 800,000 students who will use this = 3,750 baht per tablet. But the actual costs will be much more than this- with this amount you will have to cover the cost of the components (and if it is to assembled locally it will have to factor in assembly costs as well too), maintenance and support costs (will the school have to allocate more of their already meagre budgets to do this?), and finally logistics costs (how are you going to ship tablets to upcountry schools). And this is even without the development costs needed for content. Finally you will need to build a network infrastructure to support these tablets i.e. 3G/Wifi etc (no guesses as to who will benefit from this)

I am reminded of the 1 million PC project 6 years ago by the Thaksin government...another flop and waste of tax payers' money in the end.

I'm sure nobody is really surprised by this farce, and if they are, then they have the rose colored glasses super-glued to their skulls.

[lannarebirth]

Higher Salary Feared to Hamper Job Opportunities

The results of Bangkok Poll's latest survey show most college students support the general idea of raising the starting salary for bachelor degree holders to 15,000 baht a month.

However, over 90 percent of the respondents fear the higher pay will mean jobs will be harder to find.

The Bangkok Poll conducted a survey on over 1,800 4th year college students in Bangkok and surrounding areas for their say on the idea of paying a starting salary of 15,000 for bachelor degree holders.

The poll shows that 40 percent of the would-be college graduates prefer to work for private companies, 26 percent plan to start their own business, 18 percent want to work in government agencies and another 16.5 percent want to work in state enterprises.

According to the survey, 42 percent are not sure if the new government will be able to implement the policy while 19.5 percent of the respondents are confident the policy is feasible.

It's not surprising to see that most of the survey respondents support the idea of paying bachelor degree holders a starting salary of 15,000 baht per month.

Nearly 62 percent of the 4th year college students surveyed said they support the idea.

More than half of those surveyed, in fact, agree an employee's ability should be taken into consideration when it comes to who'll get paid the 15,000 baht starting salary.

It's also interesting to note that nearly 70 percent fear that the policy will make it hard for fresh graduates to land a job.

They fear the qualification requirements will become tougher.

Thirty percent of the respondents believe companies may be less willing to hire bachelor degree graduates due to the higher cost.

Nearly 18 percent of the respondents believe they won't be able to find a job at all.

The Pheu Thai-led government has included its plan to raise the starting monthly salary for bachelor degree graduates in the governmental sector to 15,000 baht a month.

The government hopes the private sector will raise the minimum starting salary to match that of state offices.

-- Tan Network 2011-09-06

How many in the private sector start on less than 15K now? I know a few who do but most have started on more. In the public sector they start on less that is for sure. However, this is the East and in those I know in north with degrees work elsewhere.

I will leave others to point out some weird discrepencies in the numbers which may just be down to bad reporting

In this society you need a college degree (for what that's worth) to be a cashier at Tesco-Lotus. I don't t think they're making 15k/ mo.

[animatic]

The article was disturbinbing in it's entirety, but IMO the most disturbing part was this:

Up to 42% of the respondents feel that the 300 baht minimum wage adjustment is unsettling. The policy will directly send repercussions to investors which may affect the local workforce. Companies may seek for expatriate instead.

It would seem to speak volumes as to how highly Thais regard themselves.

There's an article in today's Bangkok Post that says the Finance Minister stated the govt has no authority to force the private sector to increase the minimum wage to 300 baht; however, the govt will enforce the new rate for govt workers....and the govt will then ask the state enterprises and companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand to also provide a minimum wage of 300 baht. So, for now, it looks like some lower paid govt workers will be getting a raise while lower paid private sector workers may not. That's sure going to make a lot of folks mad; but I expect the govt will come up with means of making it happen in the private sector also.

As stated the Govt cannot force the private sector to adopt the MW ,so if many private sector employers just say they cannot afford the increase ,due to competition from other Countries who are already selling their products cheaper than the Thai Company's are selling theirs ,just what can the Govt do?, the answer is quite plain ,nothing at all.

It can if the legislature votes it into law.

Minimum wage laws are forced on the private sector world wide.

[Thai at Heart]

Is having a two tier minimum wage constitutional? Surely it is discriminatory? Then where does it end?

Does a cleaner working for the government get 300 a day? What about a contractor carrying out a government contract building roads? A biiiiiig can of worms opening up here.

Edited September 7, 2011 by Thai at Heart

[Buchholz]

Bt15,000 pay plan 'unfair'

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has recommended the comprehensive salary restructure in the public sector if the government is going to enforce its Bt15,000 salary for all bachelor degree holders.

"It will not be fair if only the new recruits enjoy the higher pay rate," a source at the CSC said yesterday.

Presently, bachelor degree holders who have joined the civil service are given Bt8,700 starting salary plus a living allowance of up to Bt1,500.

During its election campaign, the Pheu Thai Party promised Bt15,000 salary for all bachelor degree holders.

After it successfully formed the government, it instructed the Finance Ministry to work on a plan to give at least Bt15,000 salary to all civil servants.

While this plan will not increase the government's budget burden much, it clearly will be unfair to those joining the civil service before the new pay rate take effect. The move, if implemented, will mean thousands of civil servants with years of service will see the newcomers earning the same rate.

"The salary of all civil servants must be adjusted," the CSC source thus insisted, "The government must recognise work experiences of the current civil servants too".

It added that for the restructure of the civil servants' salary, the government must issue a royal decree or amend the 2008 Civil Servant Act.

The Federation of Teachers Association of Thailand suggested that the government increase the salary of all civil servants by an amount equivalent to the gap between the current starting salary and the new starting salary for the bachelor degree holders.

"The concept is simple. The government should raise the salary for all civil servants (not just newcomers or those earning less than Bt15,000 a month)," the federation's Secretary-General Prawit Beungsai said.

A source said the Finance Ministry had also considered an option of giving the monthly income of Bt15,000, not the salary, to all bachelor degree holders.

"This option will do away with the complications related to the government's contributions to the Government Pension Fund and military pension," it said.

Deputy Finance Minister Viroon Tejapaibul has recently disclosed that it was not yet concluded as to whether the Bt15,000 should be the salary or monthly income.

He, so far, tried to point out that procedures involved were going to be less complicated if the issue was about the monthly income.

Viroon said he expected this policy to take effect from January onward.

Ammar Siamwalla, former chair of the Thailand Development Research Institute, declined to comment on whether the government should honour this election policy of the Pheu Thai Party.

"But I must say that the salary of civil servants is not low if their welfare is also taken into account," he said.

Civil Service Association of Thailand president Jadoon Apichartbut expressed support for the higher pay for civil servants. So far, he said he was worried that the living cost might rise too.

"This is a concern of all civil servants," he said.

-- The Nation 2011-09-10

Edited September 9, 2011 by Buchholz

[rubl]

Bt15,000 pay plan 'unfair'

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has recommended the comprehensive salary restructure in the public sector if the government is going to enforce its Bt15,000 salary for all bachelor degree holders.

"It will not be fair if only the new recruits enjoy the higher pay rate," a source at the CSC said yesterday.

Well, as some here have it, suing the government is not a proper way to tackle this issue. Better to hit the roads and protest

[Buchholz]

Bt15,000 pay plan 'unfair'

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has recommended the comprehensive salary restructure in the public sector if the government is going to enforce its Bt15,000 salary for all bachelor degree holders.

"It will not be fair if only the new recruits enjoy the higher pay rate," a source at the CSC said yesterday.

Well, as some here have it, suing the government is not a proper way to tackle this issue. Better to hit the roads and protest

However for maximum impact, they'll need to wait until the provincial halls that the Red Shirts burned down are rebuilt... before they burn them down again.

.

[nurofiend]

as long as the majority (yes, before the nitpickers arrive, by that i mean the majority of thai's that voted for one party over any other) are happy, then people should stop moaning

nothing crazy has happened, there's been no huge issues since PTP have been in power

let's just see how it pans out without ridiculing extremely minute issues!!!

[hammered]

as long as the majority (yes, before the nitpickers arrive, by that i mean the majority of thai's that voted for one party over any other) are happy, then people should stop moaning

nothing crazy has happened, there's been no huge issues since PTP have been in power

let's just see how it pans out without ridiculing extremely minute issues!!!

In real terms that is indeed a realistic analysis. I am sure if anything upsets the people enough they will soon be in the streets. After all the history of the past few years shows this to be true. Im not sure though whether people will end up on the streets to demonstrate government or to demonstrate against attempts to undermine the government they elected this time. However, lets hope governance can go smoothly with a popularly elected government this time and hopefully the opposition will play their part too with an eye on the next election rather than the next court case or the next military putsch.

[rubl]

If all policies announced in the election campaign and those confirmed in the government's statement had been fleshed out before ... ...

If only the government would play their part rather than pussyfooting around any type help for a single person and a pardon for k. Thaksin, may be the implementation of their policies could be done in a planned, controlled, gradual way causing as less pain and anxiety as possibly

[siampolee]

We need to remember though, that today's actions are tomorrows history.

It would seems as if the Thai people have not looked back at their political history and yesterdays lessons at all, nor the moral standards and honesty of their (self serving) elected representatives.

No lessons have been learnt as we see yet again the same old political roundabout keeps on turning with the average man and woman being the people picking up the bill for the fat cats whose self indulgence regarding money and absolute power is indeed shameless, irrespective of what political persuasion those fat cats may be.

Sad to say "there will be action replays of the not so long gone days of violence, the pot is bubbling and it will soon boil over."

One wonders how the current administration will deal with that eventuality , "Red Shirt vigilantes, Police, Military , a descent into total anarchy and mass civil unrest, indeed a nasty conundrum for all the involved parties."

Cassandra must be delighting in this particular scenario.

Edited September 10, 2011 by siampolee

[Buchholz]

.

More "unraveling" today with the 300 baht minimum wage.

Commerce Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong related no private employers can be forced to comply with PTP's promise.

He said that while PTP wants to have their promise fulfilled, he admits their government is powerless to demand compliance.

.

Edited September 11, 2011 by Buchholz

[Buchholz]

ABAC Poll: Thais less happy with politics and economy

BANGKOK, 11 September 2011 (NNT) - The ABAC Poll indicats that Thais are most happy with the monarchy institution at present, while they are less happy with the political and economic aspects of the country.

A recent survey by Assumption University Research Centre (ABAC Poll) was conducted on the Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH) for Thai people.

Under the first phase of the Yingluck government, the Poll said Thais were less satisfied with politics when compared to the period of the Abhisit government.

Over the past month, the Poll added people were not happy with the government’s handling of flood disasters. With the neutral point at 100, the GDH on politics is at 85, which means very unhappy.

People are also not happy with all categories under economy from income, living costs, and the overall economy. The figure stands at 78 points.

-- NNT 2011-09-11