Low-paid Thai govt workers may get salary boost

[webfact]

Low-paid govt workers may get salary boost
Suphannee Pootpisut
The Nation

Finance Ministry, Comptroller-General to finalise plan

BANGKOK: -- The Finance Ministry intends to complete discussions with the Comptroller-General's Department this week in relation to the National Council for Peace and Order's policy to raise the monthly salary of state officials who earn Bt9,000 or less.

Finance Ministry permanent secretary Rungson Sriworasat said that if the talks did conclude and the relevant law was amended to support the salary increase, it could be introduced in October.

He said the state budget was sufficient to accommodate the pay rise.

The 2015 fiscal budget is currently being determined and could be amended to serve the salary increase. If the law governing state salaries cannot be amended in time, the central budget could be used to support the plan.

Rungson said that when the salary of officials with a bachelor's degree was raised to Bt15,000, it was not excessively expensive, costing Bt16 billion per year. Therefore, this pay rise is unlikely to require a considerable outlay.

State Enterprise Policy Office director-general Kulit Sombatsiri said that in general, the salaries of state-enterprise employees were considerably higher than those of government officials, but some were still low-paid. He questioned whether state-enterprise employees receiving low salaries should also get a pay rise if the salaries of state officials increased.

The NCPO had reportedly expressed its intention to improve the pay packets of state officials by 8 per cent across the board. They would also receive a higher allowance to ensure a better standard of living.

Currently, state officials receive a Bt1,500 monthly allowance.

The government has 1.77 million officials, including 150,000 contract workers, which costs the state Bt345 billion a year in overheads. Of the amount, Bt50 billion is for the salaries of low-ranking officials.

"Although the last time the salary was increased by 6 per cent, it wasn't able to cover the faster rise in the cost of living," Manas Jamveha, director-general of the Comptroller-General's Department, said yesterday.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Low-paid-govt-workers-may-get-salary-boost-30240223.html

[thenation]2014-08-05[/thenation]

[MaxLee]

 

 

Low-paid govt workers may get salary boost

 

in other words, another hike in the daily necessities (staple food, commodities, etc...)   

[jonclark]

I just find it impossible to comprehend how people survive on 9'000 baht a month- rent,  food,bills, school costs if they have children- Wonder how long 9'000 baht would last the average TVF poster? 

 

[chainarong]

I cant see Thailand becoming a consumer lead economy in the short term, not with the wages paid to anyone in Thailand.

[winstonc]

they need to be culling the dead wood that sit there doing nothing all day first..that would pay for said rise..

[Pib]

Good.  Trying to live on a Bt9,000/month salary is very hard.  I've got in-laws who only make about Bt10,000/month and they really struggle.  Yes, good the workers are getting a salary raise.

[dddave]

I just find it impossible to comprehend how people survive on 9'000 baht a month- rent,  food,bills, school costs if they have children- Wonder how long 9'000 baht would last the average TVF poster? 

 

 

I expect that many live in family homes passed down generation to generation so rent is not an issue for them but even taking that into account; B9000/mo is very low.

[CWMcMurray]

I just find it impossible to comprehend how people survive on 9'000 baht a month- rent,  food,bills, school costs if they have children- Wonder how long 9'000 baht would last the average TVF poster? 
 

The short answer is they don't ....

Many complain about corruption. And rightly so... But the first step in any real crack down on corrupt officials must be a raise in salary.

No one should ever "get rich" working on a government salary, but it needs to at least be a livable wage

At the same time as wage increase, there should be a serious commitment to crack down on corruption

[ebean001]

Low wages encourage corruption at the low level. New Orleans police were paid $4.95/hours about 15 years ago. That is not a long time ago. They were the most corrupt police force in the world. Low pay means i do not care if i lose my job therefore ----

[alant]

the spiral has started, increased minimum wage has lead to huge rises in foodstuffs leading to further increases. Already there have been  marketing terms for tax increases and some creative reasoning. So get rid of corruption also at the low levels and leave public servants like the police to survive on their basic salary. That is a tough one to solve.

[Eric Loh]

well well, the NCPO is on the same page as previous government on the necessity to raise wages. This among other initiatives like the infrastruture projects that lambasted by the Dem. Now they look rather foolish. Perhaps their Party Deputy leader Nipit is right that they will never win next year election.

[keestha]

to raise the monthly salary of state officials who earn Bt9,000 or less.

 

I thought the nation wide minimum salary was Bt9,000, so how can state officials earn less than that?

[Zeegator]

they need to be culling the dead wood that sit there doing nothing all day first..that would pay for said rise..

 

Like to enlarge on who are the 'said' doing nothing all day?

[noitom]

The math doesn't jive here. The dots don't connect. On one hand he says the raise to 15K from 9K would cost 16Billion per year so it's not excessive. Later they say Thai low level workers aggregate to 50Billion. So this appears to be almost a 33% increase.

[h90]

I just find it impossible to comprehend how people survive on 9'000 baht a month- rent,  food,bills, school costs if they have children- Wonder how long 9'000 baht would last the average TVF poster? 

 

 

Condo 1200 Baht per month: 2 people=600 Baht per month

One meal 30 Baht x 2= 60 Baht per day x 30=1800

One meal self cooked 20 bahtx30 is 600 Baht

Total 3000 Baht

 

Have left 6000 Baht for transport beer and cigarettes.

[Pib]

to raise the monthly salary of state officials who earn Bt9,000 or less.

 

I thought the nation wide minimum salary was Bt9,000, so how can state officials earn less than that?

There is fine-print in the law for govt workers and how certain benefits can be calculated in to determine if the minimum level is being complied with.

[chongtak]

As a teacher, I earn around 15.000 a month working 18 hours a week. Luckily I don't have a girlfriend.

[KhunBENQ]

to raise the monthly salary of state officials who earn Bt9,000 or less.

 

I thought the nation wide minimum salary was Bt9,000, so how can state officials earn less than that?

 

I am not aware of a monthly minimum wage, only about a 300 Baht/day minimum wage (heavily disputed and undermined by the employers).

To make 9000 one would have to work 30 (!) days a month.

And I have seen income tables (in Thai language) of government agencies starting at 9000 Baht for the simplest of jobs (moving around the files or the like).

Edited August 5, 2014 by KhunBENQ

[jonclark]

 

I just find it impossible to comprehend how people survive on 9'000 baht a month- rent,  food,bills, school costs if they have children- Wonder how long 9'000 baht would last the average TVF poster? 

 

 

Condo 1200 Baht per month: 2 people=600 Baht per month

One meal 30 Baht x 2= 60 Baht per day x 30=1800

One meal self cooked 20 bahtx30 is 600 Baht

Total 3000 Baht

 

Have left 6000 Baht for transport beer and cigarettes.

 

 

I guess you must walk around naked and live in the dark as clearly you don't buy clothes nor pay bills - which is odd as your computer which you use  to post here requires electricity - , neither can do you have children, eat fruit, or buy anything. And god forbid you become sick or have to send any money to relatives upcountry. 

Edited August 5, 2014 by jonclark

[ezzra]

The government has 1.77 million officials, astonishingly, that means roughly 1 "worker" for each 35 people in Thailand,

did I get it right calculating the Thai population at 60 millions?

[worgeordie]

None of the jobs here seem to quote the wages you can

expect,one of the first things i would want to know if looking

for employment.

 

My daughter is looking for a job,after 4 years at UNI ,every

employer is quoting 9 k per month,6 days week,6DAY holiday,

time they take of Social security payment,and cost of actually

getting to work,theres not much left,her friend is working at a

company,that expects you to work O/T,BUT will not pay for it,

they say she must help the company !

 

I keep wondering how much these people with the new cars

are earning ?

regards Worgeordie

[billd766]

None of the jobs here seem to quote the wages you can

expect,one of the first things i would want to know if looking

for employment.

 

My daughter is looking for a job,after 4 years at UNI ,every

employer is quoting 9 k per month,6 days week,6DAY holiday,

time they take of Social security payment,and cost of actually

getting to work,theres not much left,her friend is working at a

company,that expects you to work O/T,BUT will not pay for it,

they say she must help the company !

 

I keep wondering how much these people with the new cars

are earning ?

regards Worgeordie

 

My niece aged 22 left uni last year with a degree in businees studies and now has a job at 13,000 baht a month. She lives at her granddads house.

 

My nephew is now 18 and was so clever he quit school at 16 and we managed to get him a job with the Forestry Dept up here at Mae Wong. He earns 6,500 baht a month and is so financially astute that he was paid 6,500 on July 1st and having paid all his debts to the outside (but not to the family) he had 500 bant left for the month which includes getting to work, smoking and enjoying himself. His job is hanging by a thread as he is late for work about 50% of the month and lazy when he is there.

 

The family had a heart to heart talk with him last week and pointed out to him bluntly that if he blew his job he would be sent back to BKK to his family who dumped him onto us 2 years ago as a last resort. Since then he has got up earlier and got to work early every day so far but he is still out every night. He doesn't have the brains of a box of rocks even though we told him to stay at home every night for a month and save what little money he has.
 

[HUAHIN62]

Civil servants are getting an 8% plus increase according to the Bangkok post while the official inflation rate is +-2,5%. This is on the back of subsidised holidays for civil servants and a revised pension scheme that will cost the country billions in future. No mention of increasing productivity to justify this spending spree.

[kuiburi]

300 THB is a dream for many at the moment , still many waiters and waitresses earn 5000 a month ( some less , some a bit more ), there little extra comes from tips .

So be generous and give them a decent tip .

12000 should be a minimum wage for government employees .

[GarryP]

None of the jobs here seem to quote the wages you can

expect,one of the first things i would want to know if looking

for employment.

 

My daughter is looking for a job,after 4 years at UNI ,every

employer is quoting 9 k per month,6 days week,6DAY holiday,

time they take of Social security payment,and cost of actually

getting to work,theres not much left,her friend is working at a

company,that expects you to work O/T,BUT will not pay for it,

they say she must help the company !

 

I keep wondering how much these people with the new cars

are earning ?

regards Worgeordie

I hear you on this. My son is in the same boat.

[DrTuner]

As should always be done with public offices: cut down to the bare minimum and raise the salaries of the survivors. Quality, not quantity.

[zig]

I just find it impossible to comprehend how people survive on 9'000 baht a month- rent,  food,bills, school costs if they have children- Wonder how long 9'000 baht would last the average TVF poster? 

 

Considering only the basic food, I spend only half of that amount per month. It is the rent and many unnecessary luxuries that makes it go many times over that amount... 

[belg]

so this on top for pensions for farmers, what is next and who will pay for all this new "crap"

[horsewell]

The minimum wage thing is a tough one. We would like it to be enough to live on but it seems that it's either greed by the owners, who want huge profit, the lack of profit to come from the enterprise or lack of value by the staff that keeps most on minimum wage. I've heard of people getting a few thousand Baht extra just for being at work on time over the course of the month and more for not taking a day off.

 

It's a choice by the workers and employers. Obviously, enough people are excepting the low wages to keep the businesses going. If people didn't accept them the employers would have to raise their offer!? I think it's why Thailand is a country with lots of small businesses. Thai people are very accepting, generally, of things that if pressed they would say they don't like. They generally don't make a fuss about most things, so that probably has a lot to do with what is going on too.

 

I read that wages for most work (not professions) are stagnate or don't keep up with inflation in western countries so I would assume it's the same in Thailand.

[kimamey]

they need to be culling the dead wood that sit there doing nothing all day first..that would pay for said rise..

 

I don't know about sitting doing nothing all day but from my experience in the office of someone I know in civil government it's not exactly non stop work all day that's for sure.

 

Still on the bright side Rungson Sriworasat is on the case now and his knowledge and expertise will be extremely useful.

 

He's the man who replaced Supa Piyajitti as chair of the audit committee because he felt the estimates for the losses for the rice scheme were about 36 billion baht a year compared to audit committee who went for 200 billion baht a year. His estimates seemed to take no account of storage amongst other things. I don't know who was right in the end but having suggested her estimate was about 455% too much (I think that's correct) then said she would still work with him.

 

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/677428-rungson-vows-to-review-rice-scheme-loss/