Minimum Wage Should Be Bt500, Dhanin Says

Lite Beer · January 21, 2012

Minimum wage should be Bt500, Dhanin says

The Nation on Sunday

Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) chairman and CEO Dhanin Chearavanont has suggested that Thailand's daily minimum wage should be as high as Bt500.

The Yingluck government is planning to boost the minimum wage to Bt300 per day nationwide to implement the ruling Pheu Thai Party's election pledge.

In the first stage, the Bt300-per-day minimum wage will be enforced in Bangkok and six other provinces from April this year.

In support of the government's policy, Dhanin said he believed the minimum daily wage should be even higher - at Bt500, not Bt300 - because of price rises and higher cost of living.

Judging by the current cost of living, Dhanin said Bt300 was still relatively low as a minimum daily wage.

However, some businessmen have complained that Bt300 is too high as Bangkok's current minimum wage is only about Bt240 per day, while other provinces have lower wages.

They want the government to raise wages gradually so employers have time to adjust.

But Dhanin, who also champions high farm prices, said at a seminar entitled '35 years of Nongwa and sustainable development': "A higher minimum wage policy should be supported because it will help farmers enjoy higher income. Labourers are not slaves.''

The CP boss - a billionaire who is one of the richest men in Thailand - said Thai farmers were poor because bureaucrats and politicians did not understand farmers and their circumstances; they created and implemented policies that did not support them.

"You can see that whenever prices for agricultural goods rise, the Commerce Ministry will issue a policy to push down the price, fearing city people will suffer from the price rise,'' he said.

"Whenever the egg price rises, the government imports eggs to help consumers, but farmers who have little capital aren't able to survive [for this reason],'' he said.

-- The Nation 2012-01-22

Boater · January 21, 2012

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

kartman · January 21, 2012

Tesco in the UK would pay their cashiers Thai wages if they could.

FOODLOVER · January 22, 2012

Maybe the billionaire could cut his profits. Just a thought.

sparebox2 · January 22, 2012

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.

attrayant · January 22, 2012

So they should be paid just enough to subsist, and not one single baht more?

siampolee · January 22, 2012

The conglomerate he heads is of course already breaking new ground and leading by example by already paying all of its employees at least the daily minimum wage of 500 baht as he has proposed ?

FOODLOVER · January 22, 2012

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?

Edited January 22, 2012 by FOODLOVER

scorecard · January 22, 2012

Another amsterdam grdauate.

IsaanUSA · January 22, 2012

That's what minimum wage is. Get a roommate. Share stuff. Nobody needs a mobile phone, computer, tv, etc.

arthurwait · January 22, 2012

So how did he get so rich ?

Is he already in politics or just planning to be soon to get richer ?

Ricardo · January 22, 2012

We're discussing the implementing of a higher minimum-wage, not a maximum wage, as you suggest.

There's nothing to stop CP from unilaterally implementing a 500B/day pay-rate, for all its workers, have they done so ? I would doubt it, so this is just posturing, with no risk of ever coming to pass, at least in the next few years.

Meanwhile the government was elected (just) on a firm promise of an immediate national minimum-wage of 300B/day, it's now six months overdue, promised in another three months time, oh and most provinces and workers will have to wait a lot longer than that !

So perhaps your indignation might be targeted elsewhere ? Dubai perhaps ?

Bakseedaa · January 22, 2012

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....

hellodolly · January 22, 2012

All true in Farong land trying to live up to western standards and completely ignoring the Thai standards.

Go to a Thai market if you don't like the prices in Tesco or other western chains.

bobl · January 22, 2012

Comparing wages in Thailand to those of the western world is beyond pointless, but a very common mistake.

If your UK colleague is a smoker he's paying 10,000 baht a month for that habit, for example. Yes I know somebody on 5,000 a month is unlikely to be spending 1,800 a month on a pack a day so it's another pointless example - but you get my drift - 1,800 vs 10,000. He might be paying another 10,000 a month just for the bus fare to/from work and he's certanly not going to find many meals for 30 baht.

I do agree that 5000 baht a month would be very difficult to live on even in Thailand, but don't make the mistake of comparing it to anything outside of Thailand.

hellodolly · January 22, 2012

I can hardly wait for when they try to give the field hands in the rice paddies 300 baht a day.

Will 7 11s still have three staff at a time or will they cut back and add to the unemployment.

Ricardo · January 22, 2012

I suspect the latter, but their jobs are quite safe, as long as the orders from Dubai remain to not fulfill this particular promise, which helped get the new government their lucrative new jobs, although many appear to be on 6-month-contracts !

Hurrah for Distant Leader, Hero of the Workers, for keeping their jobs safe !

Edited January 22, 2012 by Ricardo

FOODLOVER · January 22, 2012

Yes,i get the triple crust with sausage, fake cheese wrapped in fake bacon. Large. Quite lovely. A must for "Meat" lovers.

sirchai · January 22, 2012

You gotta be kidding! Have you ever thought about your words before writing them?

Hope you'll have to live on 200 baht a day, as it seems to be too much for you already.

nong38 · January 22, 2012

A lot would be happy too much to get 300 bts a day!

nong38 · January 22, 2012

I wish someone would give me 500 bts a day! Where do I apply?

Oberkommando · January 22, 2012

Most Thais on the lower end of the wages spectrum are not worth 300thb per day let alone 500thb.

A Burmese or Cambodian will work harder and longer for a third of that.

givenall · January 22, 2012

Just because you want do not mean you deserve.. Looking at some worker around me they do not even deserve 100B/day

victor15 · January 22, 2012

It always make me smile when they push up the wages here in Thailand (we all like higher wages I agree), but a small shop/firm with ten workman paying THB 5,000 per person has a wage bill of THB 50,000, if all of a sudden they have to pay THB 300 per day, then their wage bill for ten persons is THB 90,000 per month.

Now they have a choice lay off two workers to reduce their bills or put up their prices and if everyone puts up their prices then the 300 THB has the same value as THB 200

rotary · January 22, 2012

B500 a day wages will have factories moving out of the country at record rates. In fact B300 a day will make lots of working for transport in moving factory equipment. I am not saying it is too high, I am saying other countries are cheaper so thats where business will go.

Crushdepth · January 22, 2012

Salaries in Thailand are high compared to Myanmar, Cambodia, China, Lao and Vietnam, and productivity is lower (with possible exception of Lao). A 500 baht minimum wage will mean less jobs and more unemployment and it will be those at the bottom of the economic ladder who will suffer the most. The only way to make the change happen without creating social disruption is to do it gradually.

The standard of living in Thailand has improved substantially over the past few decades, and the rate of poverty has been significantly reduced, it is one of the 'success' stories of Asia, at least so far. To keep it that way a lot of other stuff has to be improved at the same time, dare I say the education system and the pathetic state of governance.

Pseudolus · January 22, 2012

It will just mean more people paid off the books, thus saving the pull on the social security system.

cxxis · January 22, 2012

F.Y.I., Taksin was walking the evening market in Luang Prabang on the 19 of Jan. and was still there yesterday. Maybe a plan to reunite Isaan and Lao?

smedly · January 22, 2012

100% correct, it's amazing just how foolish people are posting on this thread, seriously if you don't understand then don't bother offering an opinion it just makes you look like a fool, this minimum wage will have many many effects on Thailand most of which will be negative for most people.

It will fuel hyper inflation

It will fuel Tax increases

It will drive the lower paid or out of work into extreme poverty in a country where there is no welfare

It will drive unemployment up as foreign companies move their operations elseware

It will drive tourism down as Thailand becomes too expensive

It will increase crime rates from the lower paid extreme poverty group/population

Government Debt will inrease out of control

This country is heading for disaster

khunPer · January 22, 2012

A high rise of the minimum wages may give a lot of votes, but in long terms, it will be a step back or like »shooting yourself in the foot«. Take for example a look at Europe.

Higher minimum wages means the companies want more efficient workers and lay some workers off, to keep the costs down. Major companies in Thailand pay extra 10% of the wage in Social Security, which gives a number of benefits for the workers, among other six-month unemployment support. If the numbers of unemployed workers rise, the SS employer fee may well go up, adding more costs to the workforce and demand for more efficient workers etc.

At the moment companies in Thailand can afford to offer workers with lower skills a job, like the man handing out cards for cars at a shopping center parking space. Some places he has unfortunately already been replaced by a video camera – cheaper investment on long terms than paying a salary. In Europe that kind of jobs has been gone for long and replaced by unemployment support financed over taxes or SS fees.

Production moves out from high wage areas, because the consumers demand the cheapest products. Thailand is still among the areas, where it is worth to produce some kind of products. Officially Thailand has a low unemployment rate and a high number of migrant workers. Europe lost a lot of their production and has a high number of unemployed, supported by the taxpayers.

It is dangerous to compare an hour rate from for example UK just converting currency, i.e. 5 Pounds will be some 250 baht. With Western eyes it looks unfair, that one-hour work equals one days work. However in UK the worker pay income tax and higher VAT etc. Life style and livings costs are very different. Look at the salary after income tax and compare prices of basic needs, like the price of eggs. 40 to 50 baht an hour may be more like it. And yes, a foreigner in Thailand living like in his homeland pays a lot for the unusual imported products, so do a Thai living in Europe, where the imported Thai products ends up at five times the price of here, if calculated in bath.

A natural rise of salary will be healthier in long terms. Workers are always paid more, when the unemployment is low and skilled workers always have a high value. To my knowledge, supermarket chains do not pay as low as 5,000 baht a month anymore – I know of BigC paying 8,000 baht and up for assistants placing goods of the shelf’s, presuming an employee working cash line is having more. The 300 baht a day may not change a lot for the skilled workers – they already make it – but some of the ones with less skill may be laid off or not replaced when leaving. Who are going to pay for them? What happens when the minimum wage rise to 500 baht a day? More inflation, higher living cost, less production, less tourists etc.?

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