Wage Hike For State Employees

[george]

Wage hike for state employees

BANGKOK: -- The Thai cabinet, surrounded by more than 100,000 protestors calling for the resignation of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, on Tuesday pushed through a salary hike for state enterprise employees, many of whom had joined the anti-government demonstration.

The 5 per cent salary hike, effective retroactively from October 1, 2005, was apparently designed to placate thousands of state enterprise employees who have joined the swelling ranks of Thais determined to see Thaksin step down.

More than 100,000 anti-Thaksin protestors were camped outside Government House, where the Cabinet was meeting on Tuesday, vowing to stay put until the premier resigns.

"Some 30,000 state enterprise workers from all parts of Thailand have joined the demonstration," claimed Sirichai Mai-ngarn, a union leader of the state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT).

He said the state enterprise workers, chiefly from EGAT and metropolitan and provincial electricity authorities, had called in sick on Tuesday to participate in the mass protest against Thaksin.

"The salary hike is a small matter," Sirichai told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. "Our main concern is privatization."

Thaksin, a billionaire telecommunications tycoon who first became prime minister in 2001 and was voted back to office in February, 2005, has seen his once immense popularity take a beating, especially in Bangkok, over the past year.

One of his policies that sparked widespread criticism last year was an effort to privatize EGAT through a public offering of its shares on the stock market.

The privatization push was eventually shelved amid protests and accusations that the share listing had been designed to benefit cabinet members and Thaksin cronies.

Privatization of state enterprises, where employees enjoy higher salaries and better benefits than most private companies, has always been a politically sensitive issue in Thailand.

Past governments have been trying to partially privatize EGAT for decades.

--DPA 2006-03-14

[Tywais]

The 5 per cent salary hike, effective retroactively from October 1, 2005, was apparently designed to placate thousands of state enterprise employees who have joined the swelling ranks of Thais determined to see Thaksin step down.

So that explains my pay raise. Was notified last week I would be getting a 5% increase retroactive October 1 but assumed it was a performance increase. They never explain anything to me here, but not complaining that much.

[cclub75]

Of course this decision won't have any inflationary effect.. The BOT is going to be happy.

Bravo mister Thaksin, another "panic-mode" and pathetic move.

On another hand, it's much easier to do that, rather to give a 500 THB bill to each farmer upcountry to convince them to come to rally in BKK or to vote.

Much more effective.

[britainmal]

Mr. Sirichai Mai-ngarn, a union leader of the state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) is against privatization not Mr. Thaksin.

How is the privatization of EGAT designed to benefit cabinet members and Thaksin cronies? Who owns the Company? Thaksin or the Thai Gov't?

Privatization of state enterprises, where employees enjoy higher salaries and better benefits than most private companies, has always been a politically sensitive issue in Thailand.

Are they thinking back in the Soviet Times, when state enterprises where the best thing in the world. They are obvious short on money, so how can the Union Leader solve that problem? Another issue of mixing poltics and Business. They just don't mix.

[george]

Salary rise for South's medical staff

BANGKOK: -- Medical staff, particularly those working in the three violence-plagued southern provinces, will receive more money to encourage them to remain in the state healthcare system, the Ministry of Public Health said yesterday.

Eleven groups of healthcare workers, including doctors, will receive higher bonuses on top of their salaries.

The incentives will raise their incomes to 60 to 80 per cent of those of their private-sector counterparts, said the ministry's acting permanent secretary, Dr Pratch Boonyavongviroj.

Incentives for doctors will rise to Bt5,000 to Bt15,000 for the fiscal year beginning last October, compared to Bt4,600 to Bt13,500 in the previous fiscal year. The exact payment will be based on workload, proficiency and how far from a city the workplace is.

Health workers in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat will receive an additional bonus, said Pratch. Medical doctors and dentists who have worked in one of the three provinces from one to three years will receive an additional Bt2,200. This will rise to Bt5,000 in the fourth year.

--The Nation 2006-03-15

[h90]

privatization can make the profit that way. It goes on the stock market very cheap, it is oversigned and only toxin and the cronies gets the shares and are so owner of it for low costs....

I guess it is meant somehow like that.

Mr. Sirichai Mai-ngarn, a union leader of the state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) is against privatization not Mr. Thaksin.

How is the privatization of EGAT designed to benefit cabinet members and Thaksin cronies? Who owns the Company? Thaksin or the Thai Gov't?

Privatization of state enterprises, where employees enjoy higher salaries and better benefits than most private companies, has always been a politically sensitive issue in Thailand.

Are they thinking back in the Soviet Times, when state enterprises where the best thing in the world. They are obvious short on money, so how can the Union Leader solve that problem? Another issue of mixing poltics and Business. They just don't mix.

[cdnvic]

Does this mean that the cost of "non-ticketed traffic infringements" will also rise by 5%?

cv