Private sector calls on Yingluck to step down

[Mosha]

No worry about the 300 baht minimum wage. They just give those jobs to the Burmese, and they get 200 baht... maximum.

Not where I live, and there are laws to cover it.

[SamMunich]

binjalin moaned:

typical elitist clap trap

let's get rid of the minimum wage so we can further keep the peasants controlled

horrible and heartless

Oops, peasants don't earn a wage or minimum wage. And those huired farmhands never get anything close to the level of minimunm wages. So take your horrible etc. clap trap and head back to school...

[Sheryl]

Flaming posts have been deleted, the 2 parties involved are hereby warned to cease and desist.

[penwithcris]

What every economy requires to grow is stability. It inspires investor confidence.

What the treasonable Suthep has managed to achieve in his thirst for self aggrandisement is to seriously undermine global confidence in the country he purports to love

The quoted business forum's true interests are unmasked by it's criticism of the 300 baht minimum wage

£6 or $10 a day - far too excessive for the needs of the uneducated tranche of largely Pheu Thai supporters.

It has been evinced Worldwide that a reasonable minimum wage (not necessarily a 'living' wage) has little impact on the profitability of businesses, in fact paying a decent minimum wage encourages the work force to work more diligently and to remain loyal to the company

If the business community wants to restore confidence in Thailand it should be calling for an immediate cessation of the crippling protests that have been going on for far too long

[century21]

What People fail to see is according to current constitution; if she resigns as care-taker prime minister; she'll have to be in jail with immediate effect. And not only that she isn't crazy to not know that part of the check-mate plan; to have no government.

[soalbundy]

a good story except for not liking the minimum wage..all business bosses hate workers having a living wage...they moaned in the uk but it had no impact ...sorry that was off topic..its a concern if big business is not happy,

I'm a "business boss" (80+ employees) and I'm in favor of workers have a better than living wage. The problem is that the minimum wage was raised to 300 baht without considering the resulting impact on the costs of goods and services. I live in an ordinary working-class Thai neighborhood because it's a 200 meter walk to my office. Prices of food alone (small shops on the soi) have increased more than 25% in the past year. Most of my neighbors say that although wages were increased, they are worse off than before,

Am i right in thinking that the minimum wage increased from 200 to 300 Baht ? that's a 50% increase so if prices have gone up 25% then they are still 25% better off......or not?

[soalbundy]

What People fail to see is according to current constitution; if she resigns as care-taker prime minister; she'll have to be in jail with immediate effect. And not only that she isn't crazy to not know that part of the check-mate plan; to have no government.

She knows where the airport is,she can resign via Facebook

Edited February 24, 2014 by soalbundy

[Soutpeel]

What a joke!

1. The private sector is that part of the economy, which is run by private individuals or groups. How is this <deleted> representative of 'the private sector'? What a stupid & irresponsible headline!

2. "showed that there was an armed group which does not accept the state power" How about the southern insurgency?

Does your mummy know you use naughty words like this...now be a nice little boy before I tell your mother, she might wash your mouth out with soap...

A teacher....LOL you have appear not to have the vocabulary of a real teacher, you cant express yourself without having to resort to using words like this dear boy, sure your not a DHSS scrounger on holiday ?

[Piichai]

Anyone recall which day she promised to pay the farmers off? IIRC, she promised this week and they turned their tractors around. Why if there is no money to pay? What's the "cut off" date?

Give her until Friday.

[WhizBang]

Another black eye for the muppet.

He said if she refused to step down and insisted to cling on to power, then the country could plunge into anarchy.

Could? You mean, we are not there already?

[bigbamboo]

Yawn! Another branch of the ruling elite are wheeled out to fan the dying embers of mr. Sutheps insurrection. Only the courts can save him now.

How has the state of emergency harmed the economy? It is the daily protests that have harmed the economy.

Effectively this group supports Suthep because he says he'll reduce the minimum wage. I don't know how people manage on 300 ฿ a day, let alone any less. The minimum wage is a populist policy according to the ruling elite. It's a populist policy that allows millions of Thais to live with some dignity. Not much, but some, and now the RE would like to take it away. No wonder PT keep winning elections!

Imagine you own a bar/restaurant with 5 employees who used to get 200 a day and now you have to pay 300 a day. That is 500 a day on your daily wage bill, or, 15,000 per month. You would need to sell a lot of beer, pies and Sunday roasts to recoup that. That's assuming you were breaking even in the first place.

So the worst case scenario is you go out of business and x5 Thais are unemployed.

Best case scenario is you convince them to stick with the 200 rate

It was a big hike and what happened in most places was either the staff agreed to a compromise increase or the number of staff was cut. Of course you also have to remember that the previous minimum wage had been place for many years and it's true worth had been eroded over time by inflation. Tough for small businesses and workers alike.

But cutting corporation tax by 25 per cent (withour delay) wasn't too subtle though.

[Neurath]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Yawn! Another branch of the ruling elite are wheeled out to fan the dying embers of mr. Sutheps insurrection. Only the courts can save him now.

How has the state of emergency harmed the economy? It is the daily protests that have harmed the economy.

Effectively this group supports Suthep because he says he'll reduce the minimum wage. I don't know how people manage on 300 ฿ a day, let alone any less. The minimum wage is a populist policy according to the ruling elite. It's a populist policy that allows millions of Thais to live with some dignity. Not much, but some, and now the RE would like to take it away. No wonder PT keep winning elections!

When did Suthep say that he'll reduce the minimum wage?

As far as I know he never ever did. Nor has the PDRC said anything about this. Their concerns are minimally economic and maximally Shinawatra. I'm not aware of anyone or any research showing, I mean showing not just saying or using anecdotal evidence, that the daily wage increase to THB300 has led to a higher lever of unemployment in Thailand either. By any measure, Thailand's unemployment rate is still exceedingly low. I'm not aware of any Employer body anywhere in the world that has supported increases in minimum wages either. If business had it's way it would pay only for whatever calories a worker expends in a day's work. Even then they'd be pointing to other countries where workers ate less and arguing that in order to compete workers need to eat less here.

[Neurath]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Yawn! Another branch of the ruling elite are wheeled out to fan the dying embers of mr. Sutheps insurrection. Only the courts can save him now.

How has the state of emergency harmed the economy? It is the daily protests that have harmed the economy.

Effectively this group supports Suthep because he says he'll reduce the minimum wage. I don't know how people manage on 300 ฿ a day, let alone any less. The minimum wage is a populist policy according to the ruling elite. It's a populist policy that allows millions of Thais to live with some dignity. Not much, but some, and now the RE would like to take it away. No wonder PT keep winning elections!

Imagine you own a bar/restaurant with 5 employees who used to get 200 a day and now you have to pay 300 a day. That is 500 a day on your daily wage bill, or, 15,000 per month. You would need to sell a lot of beer, pies and Sunday roasts to recoup that. That's assuming you were breaking even in the first place.

So the worst case scenario is you go out of business and x5 Thais are unemployed.

Best case scenario is you convince them to stick with the 200 rate

Best case scenario might be that the owner of the restuarant takes home 375,000 clear per month rather than 400,000 clear per month.

[rickirs]

Suthep shuts down government operations for prolong periods, closes main throrougfares of commerce, fosters and attracts violence, invades places of businesses that interferes with the normal conduct of businesses. And Yingluck is blamed for not doing enough to stop those interferences? How about a little attention given to Suthep to be fair about the matter. How about getting back some public law and order on the streets, and letting the government doe the job for which it was elected to perform.

[whoisyourdaddy]

a good story except for not liking the minimum wage..all business bosses hate workers having a living wage...they moaned in the uk but it had no impact ...sorry that was off topic..its a concern if big business is not happy,

When and if you ever have a business in Thailand, ONLY then you can express your opinion what the wages should be

Business bosses, hate having to pay 30% more but receive just as much if not less than before, while at the same time being pressured to keeping the prices down

[whoisyourdaddy]

Suthep shuts down government operations for prolong periods, closes main throrougfares of commerce, fosters and attracts violence, invades places of businesses that interferes with the normal conduct of businesses. And Yingluck is blamed for not doing enough to stop those interferences? How about a little attention given to Suthep to be fair about the matter. How about getting back some public law and order on the streets, and letting the government doe the job for which it was elected to perform.

How about Shin clan stops raping the country and its people

[SamMunich]

bloody hell i wish i never bought the minimum wage into it...anyway getting back to yingluck..

This minimum wage hike was a truly bungled thing!

Workers can (and do!) earn much more than the 300 Baht, if their productivity is high enough. Unfortunately the average Thai productivity is among the lowest in the region. Most workers think they get paid fo the time being on the job, not for the work they are supposed to do. And I'm not making this up, that is my experience in several Thai companies over several years.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not only siding with the protesters, I'm also all for people getting enough money to make their living (and then some more), but the way in which this minimum wage has been implemented has been the worst possible kind.

It was announced a full two years before it was actually enforced (well, relatively) and the first thing that happened? The prices of everyday goods like food etc. were soaring up some 40% or 50%, even before the higher wages were introduced. Reason: "You get a new, higher salary/wage, so we must raise the prices" was, what you could hear everywhere. So not only was there no gain for the workers because the cost of living jumped up to the same level as their new minimum wage. Even worse, the prices were up long before the people could pay the new prices.

So in fact, the Yingluck government totally screwed up this minimum wage raise. But on her level of income you don't know about these things... And one thing to keep it this way is the condition, that anybody standing for parliament has to have a university degree, so you all stay among yourself. And screw the poor!

[Cnxforever]

".....cited the bomb attack in That province on Saturday which he said was so violent and merely showed that there was an armed group which does not accept the state power and that her caretaker government could not do anything to deal with the situation."

So human lives in the far south are worth less than human lives in Trat then? I haven't seen any "Private sector" getting excited about the carnage there!

Or have people just gotten used to innocent children, women and men getting murdered and ripped to pieces on a daily basis? Yes Mr. Sommart there are armed groups there "who do not accept the state power" - since many years - in case you have not noticed yet! where is the "private sectors" outrage??

Maybe Mr.Sommart Kunset should focus on business more than on politics - and on how much does he think should a Thai worker survive a day on - 50 Baht maybe? So Mr. Sommart and Co. can get richer and richer while the majority of Thais scrap a living just enough to survive every day.

If the "private sector" can not compete in a free market than they are just not good enough in business - who cares somebody else will take these businesses place who can!

Thai businesses and their corruption and protectionism is taking the Thai people to the cleaners every single day by not allowing real competition into the country and businesses having created quasi monopolies they are forced to pay ridiculous prices for services and goods.

Consumer protection and and after sales care are virtually non existent. Maybe the "private sector" should focus on these things rather than playing politics!

Thinking outside the box and innovation (not copying) makes you successful in business today - not whining about minimum wages and politics - good business people see opportunities whatever the situation!

And if you have not noticed yet Mr. Sommart it is Suthep and the people behind him who are plunging the country into anarchy - not the PM!

[BlueNoseCodger]

bloody hell i wish i never bought the minimum wage into it...anyway getting back to yingluck..

This minimum wage hike was a truly bungled thing!

Workers can (and do!) earn much more than the 300 Baht, if their productivity is high enough. Unfortunately the average Thai productivity is among the lowest in the region. Most workers think they get paid fo the time being on the job, not for the work they are supposed to do. And I'm not making this up, that is my experience in several Thai companies over several years.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not only siding with the protesters, I'm also all for people getting enough money to make their living (and then some more), but the way in which this minimum wage has been implemented has been the worst possible kind.

It was announced a full two years before it was actually enforced (well, relatively) and the first thing that happened? The prices of everyday goods like food etc. were soaring up some 40% or 50%, even before the higher wages were introduced. Reason: "You get a new, higher salary/wage, so we must raise the prices" was, what you could hear everywhere. So not only was there no gain for the workers because the cost of living jumped up to the same level as their new minimum wage. Even worse, the prices were up long before the people could pay the new prices.

So in fact, the Yingluck government totally screwed up this minimum wage raise. But on her level of income you don't know about these things... And one thing to keep it this way is the condition, that anybody standing for parliament has to have a university degree, so you all stay among yourself. And screw the poor!

Yet we have near 100% employment. So the minimum wage did not price workers out of the market. Price on food soared 40%??? No they didn't, that's fiction.

If you want to see Suthep & Abhisits latest round in government, take a look here:

(Source).

They botched it so badly, it sent the economy into recession and the first thing Yingluk had to do was that fiscal stimulus package, the cash discount if you buy a car+condo first time program that was needed to rescue the economy. Worked too, look at the chart.

Seriously, it's 300 baht, it's a StarBucks Mochachino and a chocolate chip cookie money. Isn't this the real problem with Suthep's lot? It was like an extra 40 baht a day, and you begrudge them even the 40 baht??

Then the democrats wonder why poor people don't vote for them!

Edited February 24, 2014 by BlueNoseCodger

[trogers]

a good story except for not liking the minimum wage..all business bosses hate workers having a living wage...they moaned in the uk but it had no impact ...sorry that was off topic..its a concern if big business is not happy,

I agree with you, it is about the only good thing this government has done, I can also understand the VP of Thai Industries saying his member do not like it, they have to compete in markets where there is no minimum wage.

The reality in my village is there is less work than before, because local employers of labour and low skilled cannot afford to pay. So business is down. They have priced themselves out of the market. More unemployment. Add to this the the associated increase in the cost of living ( substantial ) the rural poor are I fact poorer because of the barking mad 33% increase. Harsh reality is evident for all to see in truly rural Thailand. I wouldn't mind betting small businesses all over will not be able to cope with the increase either. Folly, stupid populist policy.

The minimum wage should have been increased to Bt1000/day so that an unskilled Thai worker can have the same income as one from the West.

So what if unemployment shoots up to 70%. The few jobs available can be fought by the many applicants who then will wise up that they need to be skilled or knowledgeable to survive.

[pmugghc]

Fine to raise the min wage but it should have been a gradual raise, not 50% abruptly.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[whatsupdoc]

Fine to raise the min wage but it should have been a gradual raise, not 50% abruptly.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

You are absolutely right. Those who disagree and say the raise was OK probably do not have any experience in running a business.

[JoeThePoster]

This guy is a failed cheap shoes manufacturing manager.

Who cares what comes out of his mouth on the subject of governing Thailand?

Of course he doesn't like the minimum wage: he says it forced him to shut down his international operations at Pan Asia Footwear because he could no longer compete with China and Vietnam.

Just when he thought he was winning the rat race, along came faster rats.

[geriatrickid]

Bravo! And it would be quite a stretch to label the Federation of Thai Industries as pro-PDRC.

Why?

The Federation is not the "private sector". It is one group with a vested interest. It has its opinion.

Federation of Thai Industries vice president Sommart Kunset says that caretaker government could not do anything to deal with the situation.

Unfortunately, that is 1/2 the truth. The judiciary and the military have blocked the civilian government from acting.

He said there was only one choice for her to take and that was her and all her caretaker cabinet minister to resign en masse.

Well, they did that, when they called a new election. Some people did not like the results. What does the VP of the Thai Federation of industries want? No election and a dictatorship?

[geriatrickid]

Fine to raise the min wage but it should have been a gradual raise, not 50% abruptly.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

You are absolutely right. Those who disagree and say the raise was OK probably do not have any experience in running a business.

I have experience running a business. I know the pressures of meeting payroll and paying fixed costs. I also know the headache of employees. No employer likes higher wage requirements. However, the way in which to deal with an increased labour cost is to increase efficiency and productivity. Thai business have been spoilt by relying on a cheap labour base to the point where they neglected investment in proper production machinery, and an improvement in work methods. Improving work methods requires a business to invest in training and worker skills. I am amazed that Thailand white collar operations have so many people doing non essential work. Does an office really need a tea girl, or a staff boy to fetch lunch or run errands for the executives? How many drivers does the company need? One of my former employers, ditched its fleet of chauffer driven vehicles and drivers and told the executives to get a grip on reality. It was a smart budget cut. I commend the Dutch divisional head for saying to the redundant staff, we will give you an opportunity to upgrade your skills. He did that and several of the staff have improved their lot in life. The local managers couldn't believe it.

Thailand is the land of making a quick baht. Thai manufacturers with the exception of foreign multinationals are years behind when it comes to up to date production machinery and efficient work methods. The foreign multinationals for the most part have paid higher wages and offered better benefit packages than Thai owned and operated businesses. The foreign multinationals also have higher production efficiencies and usually more reliable products. The change in minimum wage, gavea living wage to workers and it has forced businesses to start improving efficiency.

[noitom]

This Thai Federation has had a lot of in fighting and management turnover themselves since 2012. One group proposes changes another group opposes them - they set a meeting to slug it out and the group at the top "cancels' the meeting to stonewall it.

Sound familiar?

[BlueNoseCodger]

This Thai Federation has had a lot of in fighting and management turnover themselves since 2012. One group proposes changes another group opposes them - they set a meeting to slug it out and the group at the top "cancels' the meeting to stonewall it.

Sound familiar?

Really? That might explain the website.

I notice their 'Committee members page' went from 344 names in 2012 to nothing in 2013, and still is nothing today, see Wayback machine entry for it. Seems to have been a lot of editing in 2012.

[added] Ahh, OK, I get it, it is about the minimum wage for him I think.

I notice that he is Sommart Kunset Pan Asia Footware, (PAF on the stock market).

They've struggled, you can see he's made losses every year for the last 4.

If you read PAF's 'Company Business Restructuring stock market release from August 2013, he says

Recently, refer to the company’s situation, PAF has

been facing that the customers pull out order from a past 3-4 years. And as customer pull out order from

Thailand, increased labor rate and less purchasing order than capacity, therefore, PAF is experiencing

accumulate loss in nowadays....(Mr.Sommat Khunset) Director and Chief Administrative Officer

So he does blame the minimum wage, and it does look like it is just him saying that.

Edited February 24, 2014 by BlueNoseCodger

[Crushdepth]

No worry about the 300 baht minimum wage. They just give those jobs to the Burmese, and they get 200 baht... maximum.

So true. This is where the BS creeps in to the argument. Let's increase the minimum wage for the poor...and acquire some more slaves to do sub-minimum wage jobs.

We can throw them overboard when finished.

Edited February 24, 2014 by Crushdepth

[DavidBonnie]

Of course business leaders want her to stand down, they are the very people supporting the protests and extolling the courts to bring charges against her. Why can't anybody see that?

Some people here just keep bringing up Taksin. Was he the first corrupt politician in Thailand? Was Abasit less corrupt? I think not.

Taksin, Taksin, Taksin . . the media and the protest leaders keep singing that same song . . even though he is no longer the prime minister.

Suthep, suthep, Suthep keeps talking as the media give him so much air time . . . .strange, if indeed the courts and the civil servants are so straight how is it that charges against Yingluck are made and about to be heard all in the space of a month but Suthep and Abasit . . . . . charged with murder . . . . . . nothing . . . . . .

Anyone who supports the Dems, Suthep and the protests is about three times worse than those who vote Tory in the UK.

Different country but same right wing, self serving neo-facism and ammart ass kissing ideology

[BlueNoseCodger]

This Thai Federation has had a lot of in fighting and management turnover themselves since 2012. One group proposes changes another group opposes them - they set a meeting to slug it out and the group at the top "cancels' the meeting to stonewall it.

Sound familiar?

Really? That might explain the website.

I notice their 'Committee members page' went from 344 names in 2012 to nothing in 2013, and still is nothing today, see Wayback machine entry for it. Seems to have been a lot of editing in 2012.

[added] Ahh, OK, I get it, it is about the minimum wage for him I think.

I notice that he is Sommart Kunset Pan Asia Footware, (PAF on the stock market).

They've struggled, you can see he's made losses every year for the last 4.

If you read PAF's 'Company Business Restructuring stock market release from August 2013, he says

Recently, refer to the company’s situation, PAF has

been facing that the customers pull out order from a past 3-4 years. And as customer pull out order from

Thailand, increased labor rate and less purchasing order than capacity, therefore, PAF is experiencing

accumulate loss in nowadays....(Mr.Sommat Khunset) Director and Chief Administrative Officer

So he does blame the minimum wage, and it does look like it is just him saying that.

Just to contrast Sommat Khunset's PAF business with the rest of the SET stock market:

(Set Historic index from 2011 to today)

You can see we were roaring ahead till late 2013, then a drop since then... Suthep and his protests.

I read through his press releases. Really he needs to add value to the shoe business, otherwise he's just competing with Bangladesh on price and he'll never win that. Take a leaf out of PRANDA, the Thai Jewelry maker, who've opened a subsidiary in Europe now and make high end gold jewerly. Very successfully. They don't try to compete on price, they compete on the pureness of Thai gold vs ordinary shops to add value.

Or perhaps he can eject Yingluk, somehow magically drive Thailand to poverty and make shoes at 100 baht/day again...

Edited February 24, 2014 by BlueNoseCodger