Minimum Wage Should Be Bt500, Dhanin Says

[smedly]

ok lets reduce this debate to very simple (stuff that an idiot would understand) logic

In a car production line in Germany - the person that bolts the engine into place earns 600 euros per week so in a car production line in Thailand the person that bolts the engine into place should be earning 24,000baht per week, anyone here understand why this doesn't happen................................if you do then you might just be grasping the the principle of relativity in global economics, thais are funded locally - falangs are funded from outside thailand.......not too many thais in the line for a 600baht lump of bread with cheese on top and quite frankly niether am I but you get the idea

[tlansford]

ok lets reduce this debate to very simple (stuff that an idiot would understand) logic

In a car production line in Germany - the person that bolts the engine into place earns 600 euros per week so in a car production line in Thailand the person that bolts the engine into place should be earning 24,000baht per week, anyone here understand why this doesn't happen................................if you do then you might just be grasping the the principle of relativity in global economics, thais are funded locally - falangs are funded from outside thailand.......not too many thais in the line for a 600baht lump of bread with cheese on top and quite frankly niether am I but you get the idea

Smedley, at the risk of ignoring the advice in your signature, let's put this in simple terms ... stuff that an idiot would understand...

Minimum wage in Germany is not 6€/day....

then ...

"anyone here understand why this doesn't happen................................if you do then you might just be grasping the the principle of relativity in global economics"

Your factory worker in Germany is not earning minimum wage, is he/she? So what does this have to do with the gentleman in this op-ed suggesting that min wage should be a bit more than 300 B? I am curious as to your reasoning.

[tlansford]

This guy is just trying to get the support of the poor who cannot think of the big picture. 500 baht a day would send prices soaring. It would not just be the lowest paying jobs getting paid more but you would have to adjust all pay since now the lowest qualified people will be earning the same or more as one with a college degree and then once their salaries go up what about those holding a degree and having many years experience?

It would appear as if "this guy" does not need the support of the "poor who cannot think of the big picture". Actually, it would appear to be the case that he employs a large number of them and thinks that the gov't should raise the minimum wage - a position that he is taking despite the fact that it would impact his business directly.

It might be the case that we have here an example of some one who "can think of the big picture"... what do you think?

[BookMan]

IMHO 500 THB a day is complete madness! I know quite a few farang that would love to have 500 THB a day! IF this 500 THB would become the minimum in Thailand, ALL wages would go up. There would a lot of unemployment, as many people (thai and farang) could not afford to hire personel, so all prices would go etc etc.

In the end it would create a situation that everything would be so much more expensive that the buying power of 500THB would be the same as the buying power of, let's say, 200 THB now... same same, only the baht would be worthless!

Very bad idea!!!

Agreed. If they hike it to 500 baht I'm certain we'll see a lot more farang working here illegally at menial jobs.

You think there will be lots of farang run noodle carts?

[Macmundi]

why dont all the people who complain about the higher wage hike trying living on 240/300 THB a day, including paying bills !, christ it would be stretch to live on 500 THB a day !, in the western world the min wage is around 250THB AN HOUR !, and most people cannot live off that, yet apart from accomdation , most things in thailand cost the same as the west, and companies in thailand EARN the same as the west !, IE tesco, cashier in thailand gets 5,000 THB a month odd, yet in the UK they get 50,000 THB, yet both thailand and the UK make the same profit margins on goods sold? , but thailand is more profitable as they dont pay high wage

With noodle costing only 25 Baht a meal, 300 Baht a day is already too muct for the Thai people.

Besides, not all people get paid the minimum. Most are paid a lot more.

Fresh grad working in PTT/SCC/CP already gets 50,000 Baht per month.

Yes true, but pizza cost 600 baht which is 2 days work. Must they always have noodle? Do you have a link to show starting salaries of these companies for college grads?

600 Baht pizza must be some big mother of a pizza... a real nice Neapolitana or a very tasty Calzone will only cost 100bahts here in Hua Hin.. and so still 200bahts of my pay remains for beer and ciggs....

I wonder what kind of crap they put in a 100 bht pizza...

[FOODLOVER]

ok lets reduce this debate to very simple (stuff that an idiot would understand) logic

In a car production line in Germany - the person that bolts the engine into place earns 600 euros per week so in a car production line in Thailand the person that bolts the engine into place should be earning 24,000baht per week, anyone here understand why this doesn't happen................................if you do then you might just be grasping the the principle of relativity in global economics, thais are funded locally - falangs are funded from outside thailand.......not too many thais in the line for a 600baht lump of bread with cheese on top and quite frankly niether am I but you get the idea

But by the time you got the Pizzas from the assembly line and delivered, would they not be cold? So yes i understand your logic, there is absolutely no way you could charge that much for a cheese pizza. Nor should the pizza makers be paid the same as their pizzas are not comparable in quality. The restaurants that produce the 'Pizzas" here don't cost much to build and have extremely low over head, thus the Thai Pizza is less expensive and the chefs make less money proportionally. I think the real economic principle here is that while robots may be an initiail expenditure they surely could take over the pizza production line with a few mods and start producing in bulk the pizzas, which could be sold by the truck load to all the Thai villages at a reasonable price since they no longer have jobs at the German pizza factory. Well done, you are right! I do understand.

[Ricardo]

This guy is just trying to get the support of the poor who cannot think of the big picture. 500 baht a day would send prices soaring. It would not just be the lowest paying jobs getting paid more but you would have to adjust all pay since now the lowest qualified people will be earning the same or more as one with a college degree and then once their salaries go up what about those holding a degree and having many years experience?

It would appear as if "this guy" does not need the support of the "poor who cannot think of the big picture". Actually, it would appear to be the case that he employs a large number of them and thinks that the gov't should raise the minimum wage - a position that he is taking despite the fact that it would impact his business directly.

It might be the case that we have here an example of some one who "can think of the big picture"... what do you think?

Perhaps his 'big picture' includes a future-career in Thai politics, then his comments make more sense, perhaps ? He wouldn't be the first Thai businessman, to want to be CEO of the whole country, it can be very lucrative.

Meanwhile he can demonstrate his sincerity by paying his own workers his proposed 500B/day, can't he ?

But I wouldn't hold my breath ...

[cutter007]

CP conglomerate enjoys a near-monopoly position on a large series of consumer products.

Calling for higher wages in the sector when you are the leader will hit your competitors (lower profitability with similar process) harder than you and may reinforce your position in the long run.

If this is the reason, we are far from the big heart humanism we may see in it.

By far this is the smartest post here.

Most of the other posts are absolutely clueless.

Someone actually suggested that tesco lotus target market was "farangs" and rich Thais. I printed that one out, I am going to show it to the tesco purchasing guys next time we meet. I am sure they will have a good laugh, opening up branches in places like Sam chuk suphanburi and selling to only farangs and rich Thais.

Most of the other posters wouldn't sound so ignorant if they understood that with the minimum wage hike they are also dropping the corporate tax rate from 30% to 23% then to 20%.

Companies will actually be moving here not moving out, and thats not speculation that's straight from the mouths of senior management at at least a half dozen billion dollar companies in thailand.

[cutter007]

I wonder what kind of crap they put in a 100 bht pizza...

It's a form of cheese flavored cookable mayo, as a substitute for some of the cheese.

[billd766]

I found this link to the minimum working wages in Europe but oddly enough they don't mention Germany.

http://www.google.co.uk/publicdata/explore?ds=ml9s8a132hlg_&met_y=minimum_wage&idim=country:uk&fdim_y=currency:eur&dl=en&hl=en&q=minimum+wage+in+the+uk#ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=minimum_wage&fdim_y=currency:eur&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=country&idim=country:uk&ifdim=country&hl=en&dl=en

[tlansford]

This guy is just trying to get the support of the poor who cannot think of the big picture. 500 baht a day would send prices soaring. It would not just be the lowest paying jobs getting paid more but you would have to adjust all pay since now the lowest qualified people will be earning the same or more as one with a college degree and then once their salaries go up what about those holding a degree and having many years experience?

It would appear as if "this guy" does not need the support of the "poor who cannot think of the big picture". Actually, it would appear to be the case that he employs a large number of them and thinks that the gov't should raise the minimum wage - a position that he is taking despite the fact that it would impact his business directly.

It might be the case that we have here an example of some one who "can think of the big picture"... what do you think?

Perhaps his 'big picture' includes a future-career in Thai politics, then his comments make more sense, perhaps ? He wouldn't be the first Thai businessman, to want to be CEO of the whole country, it can be very lucrative.

Meanwhile he can demonstrate his sincerity by paying his own workers his proposed 500B/day, can't he ?

But I wouldn't hold my breath ...

" includes a future-career in Thai politics, then his comments make more sense, perhaps ?"

that is speculation on your part, isn't it?

"demonstrate his sincerity by paying his own workers his proposed 500B/day, can't he ?"

That is not necessary.

IMO, both statements are just tools to deflect the discussion from the issue of the minimum wage by attempting to drag the person in to the discussion, assign him thoughts and motives, and then attack the person for these allegations.

In other words, "maybe he is just a self-promoting CEO who might become a politician and this is just self-serving nonsense, besides if he really meant it, he would jack up his wages to 500B/day... oh, he doesn't pay that much? OK, he obviously is just a lot of hot air..."

Besides the fact that this is a line of discussion that is a bit ridiculous, where is the issue in all that? The minimum wage?

In spite of the sometimes sloppy, biased reporting of The Nation, the man is still able to make some points - he supports 300B/day, feels that this is still too low, and understands that farmers are often victims of not only market forces, but bad (but often well-intentioned) government policies. Those are some interesting points.

Additionally, this is a good example of the "local-business" kind of international company that is never going to go to Vietnam because of the minimum wage changes in Thailand.

[tlansford]

I found this link to the minimum working wages in Europe but oddly enough they don't mention Germany.

http://www.google.co...try&hl=en&dl=en

Thanks. And you're right - strange about the omission of Germany.

[scorecard]

This guy is just trying to get the support of the poor who cannot think of the big picture. 500 baht a day would send prices soaring. It would not just be the lowest paying jobs getting paid more but you would have to adjust all pay since now the lowest qualified people will be earning the same or more as one with a college degree and then once their salaries go up what about those holding a degree and having many years experience?

It would appear as if "this guy" does not need the support of the "poor who cannot think of the big picture". Actually, it would appear to be the case that he employs a large number of them and thinks that the gov't should raise the minimum wage - a position that he is taking despite the fact that it would impact his business directly.

It might be the case that we have here an example of some one who "can think of the big picture"... what do you think?

Would higher salaries actually have a big affect on his business. CP has close to a monopoly on many things, and they are big enough to control / direct the market.

And they already have an advantage over their competition in many products areas because they have engaged for some time in vertical integration aimed at strongly reducing the price they pay for raw materials etc.

Many of their competitors don't have the resources to seriously compete, advertise, etc., so CP continues to gain the lion share of revenues without having to worry too much about having the lowest price.

[Ricardo]

Perhaps his 'big picture' includes a future-career in Thai politics, then his comments make more sense, perhaps ? He wouldn't be the first Thai businessman, to want to be CEO of the whole country, it can be very lucrative.

Meanwhile he can demonstrate his sincerity by paying his own workers his proposed 500B/day, can't he ?

But I wouldn't hold my breath ...

" includes a future-career in Thai politics, then his comments make more sense, perhaps ?"

that is speculation on your part, isn't it?

"demonstrate his sincerity by paying his own workers his proposed 500B/day, can't he ?"

That is not necessary.

IMO, both statements are just tools to deflect the discussion from the issue of the minimum wage by attempting to drag the person in to the discussion, assign him thoughts and motives, and then attack the person for these allegations.

In other words, "maybe he is just a self-promoting CEO who might become a politician and this is just self-serving nonsense, besides if he really meant it, he would jack up his wages to 500B/day... oh, he doesn't pay that much? OK, he obviously is just a lot of hot air..."

Besides the fact that this is a line of discussion that is a bit ridiculous, where is the issue in all that? The minimum wage?

In spite of the sometimes sloppy, biased reporting of The Nation, the man is still able to make some points - he supports 300B/day, feels that this is still too low, and understands that farmers are often victims of not only market forces, but bad (but often well-intentioned) government policies. Those are some interesting points.

Additionally, this is a good example of the "local-business" kind of international company that is never going to go to Vietnam because of the minimum wage changes in Thailand.

"that is speculation on your part, isn't it "

Indeed, hence the 'question-mark', and the words "can't he ?", making it clear that I'm speculating, trying to suggest a possible alternative explanation, and responding to your own question "What do you think ?", isn't that permitted ?

You're free to think "that this is a line of discussion that is a bit ridiculous", we're both free to have our different opinions, aren't we ?

And surely it's not necessary to "drag the person into the discussion" as you suggest, because he's already there, it's his comments which form the basis for the story ?

[Buchholz]

Additionally, this is a good example of the "local-business" kind of international company that is never going to go to Vietnam because of the minimum wage changes in Thailand.

The company is already in Vietnam:

Charoen Pokphand Vietnam Co., Ltd.

http://investing.bus...vcapId=52999729

[tlansford]

scorecard/ricardo :

I am a fan of the min wage increase. I think that it is needed and that it will improve people's lives in a real way.

Being a businessman, I also believe that there will be some businesses which will be affected, but I do not believe that there will be a disaster in the business community nor in the economy regarding this increase.

This CEO proposes an even higher minimum wage. You are dismissing the idea not by discussing the idea, but by essentially smearing and questioning the motives of the CEO.

If you knew that he had ulterior motives, that would be a valid point in the argument, but you don't know that. So instead of talking about the minimum wage, you slam the source... It is the same as Warren Buffet when he recently suggested the ultra rich should pay more taxes in the USA - Fox slams Buffet rather than addressing the issue. Just a way to dismiss the idea without addressing it.

Personally, it surprises me to see him suggest 500 B / day. The man knows how that would impact his business and other businesses, but still he proposes it and defends his position. As he is clearly not an idiot, it gives me reason to consider the difference from 300->500B/day. 500B/day would be about 13,000 / month and not 7800 / month ... from the standpoint of the employee, a pretty significant difference. The costs differences are pretty important to a business which uses a lot of low-paid workers.

But it puts the 300B proposal into perspective a bit. Paying 60B/day more per employee. I'd like to see the job which a company says is not worth 60B more per day. Be honest, if it is not worth more than 240 B / day to a company for a job to be done, then the company should eliminate the need for that job altogether and do something of more value with their people.

[Bagwan]

I retired over 21 years ago so I don't even want to think about economics or how to run a business. My tee shirts from all that were worn out many years ago. However if a rise in the minimum wage is brought about how will the extra bahts in the pocket be spent? A new motor bike rather than keeping the existing one in good nick? Pappa will spend more time in the bar and come home even more out of his mind or spend it on a younger mai noi? What is the prospect of the extra being deposited in the bank so that capital is built up and purchases made without resorting to hire purchase or the crooked money lenders?

Please God that it isn't spent on pizzas - the Italian equivalent of toasted bread and cheese. There are more than enough 'fatties' around already.

[thaicbr]

This guy is just trying to get the support of the poor who cannot think of the big picture. 500 baht a day would send prices soaring. It would not just be the lowest paying jobs getting paid more but you would have to adjust all pay since now the lowest qualified people will be earning the same or more as one with a college degree and then once their salaries go up what about those holding a degree and having many years experience?

It would appear as if "this guy" does not need the support of the "poor who cannot think of the big picture". Actually, it would appear to be the case that he employs a large number of them and thinks that the gov't should raise the minimum wage - a position that he is taking despite the fact that it would impact his business directly.

It might be the case that we have here an example of some one who "can think of the big picture"... what do you think?

Perhaps his 'big picture' includes a future-career in Thai politics, then his comments make more sense, perhaps ? He wouldn't be the first Thai businessman, to want to be CEO of the whole country, it can be very lucrative.

Meanwhile he can demonstrate his sincerity by paying his own workers his proposed 500B/day, can't he ?

But I wouldn't hold my breath ...

" includes a future-career in Thai politics, then his comments make more sense, perhaps ?"

that is speculation on your part, isn't it?

"demonstrate his sincerity by paying his own workers his proposed 500B/day, can't he ?"

That is not necessary.

IMO, both statements are just tools to deflect the discussion from the issue of the minimum wage by attempting to drag the person in to the discussion, assign him thoughts and motives, and then attack the person for these allegations.

In other words, "maybe he is just a self-promoting CEO who might become a politician and this is just self-serving nonsense, besides if he really meant it, he would jack up his wages to 500B/day... oh, he doesn't pay that much? OK, he obviously is just a lot of hot air..."

Besides the fact that this is a line of discussion that is a bit ridiculous, where is the issue in all that? The minimum wage?

In spite of the sometimes sloppy, biased reporting of The Nation, the man is still able to make some points - he supports 300B/day, feels that this is still too low, and understands that farmers are often victims of not only market forces, but bad (but often well-intentioned) government policies. Those are some interesting points.

Additionally, this is a good example of the "local-business" kind of international company that is never going to go to Vietnam because of the minimum wage changes in Thailand.

" the man is still able to make some points - he supports 300B/day, feels that this is still too low, and understands that farmers are often victims of not only market forces, but bad (but often well-intentioned) government policies. Those are some interesting points. "

The above is taken from your post. He supports 300b/day YET he is NOT currently paying his workers that figure.. And he STILL proposes that it SHOULD be 500b/day.

Something smelly there.

(i do believe that wages SHOULD rise in Thailand but slowly over 2 years not in a huge jump. Because it's not JUST the minimum wage that will have to go up the other salary's have to go up in line with that)

[TAWP]

tlansford has convinced me, there is nothing negative about minimum wage increases. I propose we raise it to 10,000B/day so I get a little more too. And everyone will be happy.

[tlansford]

- sniper -

It would appear as if "this guy" does not need the support of the "poor who cannot think of the big picture". Actually, it would appear to be the case that he employs a large number of them and thinks that the gov't should raise the minimum wage - a position that he is taking despite the fact that it would impact his business directly.

It might be the case that we have here an example of some one who "can think of the big picture"... what do you think?

Perhaps his 'big picture' includes a future-career in Thai politics, then his comments make more sense, perhaps ? He wouldn't be the first Thai businessman, to want to be CEO of the whole country, it can be very lucrative.

Meanwhile he can demonstrate his sincerity by paying his own workers his proposed 500B/day, can't he ?

But I wouldn't hold my breath ...

" includes a future-career in Thai politics, then his comments make more sense, perhaps ?"

that is speculation on your part, isn't it?

"demonstrate his sincerity by paying his own workers his proposed 500B/day, can't he ?"

That is not necessary.

IMO, both statements are just tools to deflect the discussion from the issue of the minimum wage by attempting to drag the person in to the discussion, assign him thoughts and motives, and then attack the person for these allegations.

In other words, "maybe he is just a self-promoting CEO who might become a politician and this is just self-serving nonsense, besides if he really meant it, he would jack up his wages to 500B/day... oh, he doesn't pay that much? OK, he obviously is just a lot of hot air..."

Besides the fact that this is a line of discussion that is a bit ridiculous, where is the issue in all that? The minimum wage?

In spite of the sometimes sloppy, biased reporting of The Nation, the man is still able to make some points - he supports 300B/day, feels that this is still too low, and understands that farmers are often victims of not only market forces, but bad (but often well-intentioned) government policies. Those are some interesting points.

Additionally, this is a good example of the "local-business" kind of international company that is never going to go to Vietnam because of the minimum wage changes in Thailand.

" the man is still able to make some points - he supports 300B/day, feels that this is still too low, and understands that farmers are often victims of not only market forces, but bad (but often well-intentioned) government policies. Those are some interesting points. "

The above is taken from your post. He supports 300b/day YET he is NOT currently paying his workers that figure.. And he STILL proposes that it SHOULD be 500b/day.

Something smelly there.

(i do believe that wages SHOULD rise in Thailand but slowly over 2 years not in a huge jump. Because it's not JUST the minimum wage that will have to go up the other salary's have to go up in line with that)

"The above is taken from your post. He supports 300b/day YET he is NOT currently paying his workers that figure.. And he STILL proposes that it SHOULD be 500b/day. Something smelly there."

Why is there something smelly there? That is crazy logic. Warren Buffet thinks capital gains in the US should be around 18% not 15%, but he is not already paying 18% in order to set an example. If Warren Buffet did that, people would think that he was nuts.

Secondly, of course there are workers who are making a lot more than 500 B / day in a company of - what was it - 20-30,000 employees. And some are making the current minimum wage.

Looking at CP's reports and website, the company does its best to promote its social responsibility. It has policies which are developed based on respecting local laws. That could just be a pretty picture painted by the communications department, but placing his comments in the OP in the context of the annual reports and the website content, it looks like the company (at least tries to) practices what it preaches.

And for how fast - if it is going to be the 300 B level, doing it in one shot should be OK for most companies, they have had half of a year to adapt already. If the level were to be taken to 500B/day, then it would be reasonable IMO to phase in a change. But no one is talking seriously about that at this time.

[pastitche]

I retired over 21 years ago so I don't even want to think about economics or how to run a business. My tee shirts from all that were worn out many years ago. However if a rise in the minimum wage is brought about how will the extra bahts in the pocket be spent? A new motor bike rather than keeping the existing one in good nick? Pappa will spend more time in the bar and come home even more out of his mind or spend it on a younger mai noi? What is the prospect of the extra being deposited in the bank so that capital is built up and purchases made without resorting to hire purchase or the crooked money lenders?

Please God that it isn't spent on pizzas - the Italian equivalent of toasted bread and cheese. There are more than enough 'fatties' around already.

I assume that you retired well before the accepted age, so congratulations (it's an excellent idea that I followed myself). Keeping wages low has never been the way to a prosperous economy although it has been adopted by many international companies who mistakenly believe that moving production to a country with low labour costs will improve their profits, Japan, Taiwan and Korea were the original countries who saw the flaw in that reasoning and instead of being the source of cheap labour are now rich economies. In my opinion, the real answer is to increase productivity and quality; that is the way that western economies have survived the downturns/crises that they have faced over the past century. Since the cataclysmic effects of both World Wars, coupled with the horrendous costs of re-unification, Germany has a successful manufacturing industry still while the UK no longer has. How many BMWs or Mercs do you see in Thailand? In spite of the fact that they have to be modified to drive on the "wrong side of the road" for the producer?

I believe that Thailand should strive to have a high productivity, industrial economy and thereafter the question of subsistence wages would not be a problem; but as long as the belief continues that growing the world's best rice is the major part of the economy, then we will always see these crazy suggestions that 300Baht is too big an increase to be sustainable.

[skippybangkok]

This guy is just trying to get the support of the poor who cannot think of the big picture. 500 baht a day would send prices soaring. It would not just be the lowest paying jobs getting paid more but you would have to adjust all pay since now the lowest qualified people will be earning the same or more as one with a college degree and then once their salaries go up what about those holding a degree and having many years experience?

It would appear as if "this guy" does not need the support of the "poor who cannot think of the big picture". Actually, it would appear to be the case that he employs a large number of them and thinks that the gov't should raise the minimum wage - a position that he is taking despite the fact that it would impact his business directly.

It might be the case that we have here an example of some one who "can think of the big picture"... what do you think?

Did not want to say so.... But that's what was going through my head

[soomak]

why dont all the people who complain about the higher wage hike trying living on 240/300 THB a day, including paying bills !, christ it would be stretch to live on 500 THB a day !, in the western world the min wage is around 250THB AN HOUR !, and most people cannot live off that, yet apart from accomdation , most things in thailand cost the same as the west, and companies in thailand EARN the same as the west !, IE tesco, cashier in thailand gets 5,000 THB a month odd, yet in the UK they get 50,000 THB, yet both thailand and the UK make the same profit margins on goods sold? , but thailand is more profitable as they dont pay high wage

Just a few corrections:

1. Tesco-Lotus cahiers make 8,000 baht, not including overtime (saw a wanted add about a month ago)

2. Some western countries do not have a minimum wage (e.g. Germany, Denmark, Finland, and more)

3. Most things in Thailand do not cost the same as the UK (taxis, bus rides, accomodation, services (such as cleaning), cheap food, etc)

Apart from that I agree that 300 per day is only enough to survive on a very basic level.

However, raising minimum wage to 500 per day will mean that a lot of the unnecessary employees we see in every department store and supermarket will be fired.

[Buchholz]

If the level were to be taken to 500B/day, then it would be reasonable IMO to phase in a change. But no one is talking seriously about that at this time.

No one in the government is even seriously talking about the 300 baht change. Otherwise, 70 provinces wouldn't be waiting for 2015 to implement it.

.

[OzMick]

Bring in the B300/day first, let the inflation spiral start to work, and quite soon he will get his wish.

Good ole TL makes another invalid comparison. Paying above the minimum can have benefits for both the employer and the workers, paying excess tax will gain you nothing.

Is it possible that the proposer has a significant amount of debt locked into fixed interest loans? Great position to be in if inflation takes off, an expensive piece of insurance if it stays low.

[Buchholz]

Bring in the B300/day first

We can all revisit this thread then in 2015.

.

[osiboy]

why dont all the people who complain about the higher wage hike trying living on 240/300 THB a day, including paying bills !, christ it would be stretch to live on 500 THB a day !, in the western world the min wage is around 250THB AN HOUR !, and most people cannot live off that, yet apart from accomdation , most things in thailand cost the same as the west, and companies in thailand EARN the same as the west !, IE tesco, cashier in thailand gets 5,000 THB a month odd, yet in the UK they get 50,000 THB, yet both thailand and the UK make the same profit margins on goods sold? , but thailand is more profitable as they dont pay high wage

........and the building costs are 25% of a set up in europe , no health and safety to worry about, ...........thats what is stopping europe from competing , its gone too far now, in the EU . i was once told i could not use a beer crate to stand on while working on a building site, i had to put scaffolding up to inspect a ceiling fitting , took me an hour to get it myself and return it {se} , this crap happens 100 times a day in the uk, i expect germany , holland,sweden,denmark , and others are similar , ..it would'nt happen in asia, ........they build sky scrapers with bamboo scaffolding <deleted> !,.....rant over; YES ,........sure , anything that helps the poorest is needed everywhere , why should'nt a hardworking thai deserve a house and car same as westerners have grown too familiar with , ......most work far too many hours anyway,............it will damage tourism though , and inflation will go thru the roof , but if it helps the less well off to benifit for a while im all for it , even tho i will be worse off .

[thaicbr]

'tlansford'

you look at financial reports. I ask people working for CP.

well one person anyway.

Other companies have already started paying the 300b per day. Yet here we have an owner stating it should be 500b but he is NOT paying the minimum 300b per day at the moment.. thats what is smelly.

If they did the 300b across the country (which they have realised is impossible all at once) then it could almost double the salary of that person (pai. 168b/day)

I am all for an increase BUT it has to be done gradually.

Because when the minimum wage goes up then the other wages will have to go up as well THAT could be a HUGE increase in the wage bill.

If companies are paying 300b now for semi skilled workers and then they find unskilled workers are getting the same then they will want more...simple really... and you are naive if you think differently.

Edited January 24, 2012 by thaicbr

[osiboy]

IMHO 500 THB a day is complete madness! I know quite a few farang that would love to have 500 THB a day! IF this 500 THB would become the minimum in Thailand, ALL wages would go up. There would a lot of unemployment, as many people (thai and farang) could not afford to hire personel, so all prices would go etc etc.

In the end it would create a situation that everything would be so much more expensive that the buying power of 500THB would be the same as the buying power of, let's say, 200 THB now... same same, only the baht would be worthless!

Very bad idea!!!

Agreed. If they hike it to 500 baht I'm certain we'll see a lot more farang working here illegally at menial jobs.

errrrr,...........NOOOO,.... not westerners anyway ,............everything else will be more expensive , ...they are now !,.... for a farang living in the city {BKK} , its not cheap,....if they live on a farm, or a country village you can eat for 100b p day easy , grow their own fruit,veg, catch their own fish too , you CAN live here cheap , .... but menial jobs wont pay for the work permit ! , ....looking good for more X-ussr hookers though !,

............if thats your thing !, .......wonder if anyone would give me a work permit forrrrr.... dancing ???? ? ? ? , sure i'm handsom,... but i .." flop about a bit " i do take care of a thai family though , does that count ? ,.or do i need a sex change , or is working in a brothel suffice ?,........y do they let these ppl stay here ahead of guys married to thais ? WHY DO THEY GIVE US SUCH A HARD TIME ????.... mkj loeyyyyyyy !!

Edited January 24, 2012 by osiboy

[Ricardo]

scorecard/ricardo :

I am a fan of the min wage increase. I think that it is needed and that it will improve people's lives in a real way.

Being a businessman, I also believe that there will be some businesses which will be affected, but I do not believe that there will be a disaster in the business community nor in the economy regarding this increase.

This CEO proposes an even higher minimum wage. You are dismissing the idea not by discussing the idea, but by essentially smearing and questioning the motives of the CEO.

If you knew that he had ulterior motives, that would be a valid point in the argument, but you don't know that. So instead of talking about the minimum wage, you slam the source... It is the same as Warren Buffet when he recently suggested the ultra rich should pay more taxes in the USA - Fox slams Buffet rather than addressing the issue. Just a way to dismiss the idea without addressing it.

Personally, it surprises me to see him suggest 500 B / day. The man knows how that would impact his business and other businesses, but still he proposes it and defends his position. As he is clearly not an idiot, it gives me reason to consider the difference from 300->500B/day. 500B/day would be about 13,000 / month and not 7800 / month ... from the standpoint of the employee, a pretty significant difference. The costs differences are pretty important to a business which uses a lot of low-paid workers.

But it puts the 300B proposal into perspective a bit. Paying 60B/day more per employee. I'd like to see the job which a company says is not worth 60B more per day. Be honest, if it is not worth more than 240 B / day to a company for a job to be done, then the company should eliminate the need for that job altogether and do something of more value with their people.

I too support an increase in the minimum wage, although believe it would be better spread over a couple of years, as the Dems had proposed, rather than the large immediate national increase which PTP campaigned-on, but have now pulled back from delivering.

My sense of justice is appalled at the way that decision was taken & announced, not by PTP or the government or PM, but by the 'big boss' living far away. It is cheating the voters, who aren't getting what they were promised, and voted for. That's wrong.

I'd like to see the existing promises honoured, before looking at what further improvements might be made, one step at a time seems to me more-likely to achieve progress, rather than a greater leap than what has already been promised & then retracted.

But as an ex-businessman myself I would also expect companies to shed some labour, rather than reallocate it, because if there were many new opportunities worth paying 300B/day to the workers employed on them, I think they would already be developing those opportunities. And a lower-paid job is better than no job at all IMO.

I also think it's perfectly reasonable and relevant, when the CEO of CP proposes an even-higher minimum-wage, to ask whether he already pays the 300B/day to all his workers. Is he 'voting with his feet', to support the idea he's proposing, or not ? That's not a smear, but a valid question, asked by several posters in this thread.

I do also still believe there might be other reasons why he might support a general increase in wage-levels, the commercial-benefits of putting more money into consumer hands (what used to be called Thaksinomics ?) and possible political aspirations being but two possibilities. Is speculation not allowed ?

This story is interesting, partly because of who is saying these things, so it's impossible IMO to divorce him from the idea.

Perhaps I would be less cynical, if there weren't already a fairly-recent example of a Thai businessman proposing political-policies to benefit the poor, but which then also helped increase his own personal wealth dramatically, over only a few years. The emergence of Thai businessmen who have their workers' interests at heart would be welcome, but I don't yet see the likes of Sir Titus Salt or Lord Leverhulme here, perhaps I'm wrong.