Thailand to Scrap Nationwide Minimum Wage

[djjamie]

"The wage is not in line with current labour market situation or inflation rate"

This means the minimum wage will be reviewed. It may go up or it may go down.

The agenda driven would be all over this like white on rice with their illogical baseless arguments proclaiming doom and gloom under the NCPO.

I for one hope it does not go up again as this cost is transferred onto the price of goods and services. If the minimum wage was 1000 baht a day imagine the price of Tom Yum on the street!

Remember what yingluck said when the price of goods and services went up after the last minimum wage increase..."There is no inflation, you are imagining it due to the hot weather and the children returning to school". One word to describe that statement. Contempt. Goodness only knows what the doomers and gloomers reaction would have been if Prayut said that.

Well done to the government for aligning and linking the wage scale to economic conditions instead of a populist knee jerk reaction to win votes and make the price of my wife's Tom Yum go up. This increase negated any wage increase and works still got the same goods and services that they did before the wage hike.

​About time we had some sensible well thought out, planned and economically aligned proposals.

​"About time we had some sensible well thought out, planned and economically aligned proposals."

Yes, scrap the minimum wage ! Let's suggest that to Britain, Australia and the EU countries ! Let's see how people cheer on this sensible idea in those democratic nations !

(sorry, I myself am being a send-up of whatever poltical group).

Nothing to say on the "it is hot weather" excuse? Nothing to say on basing minimum wage on economic indicators as opposed to knee jerk voting analysis?

Didn't think so either...

I assume you support the PTP wand use beliefs to argue your cause....

Edited June 6, 2015 by djjamie

[Thai at Heart]

Which begs the question. Why? They have deflation. Maybe they will increase it.

What odds on that?

[casualbiker]

I have nothing but contempt for PTP and the way they manipulated and exploited those who supported them but the minimum wage was about the only good thing they did. To scrap it is wrong.

Now raising it, well then that would be a good move....

30 baht health care doesn't do it for you??

Ask him again when they propose to scrap that. I wouldn't mind betting that's in the pipeline.

they floated that trial balloon about a year ago.... I guess it could come back into discussion...

There hasn't been a 30 baht health care scheme since 2011 when the interim government made it FREE, Yingluck's government ACTUALLY tried bringing back the 30 baht charge ( even though it had been proven to cost more to get the 30 baht)

I believe the Ministry of Health did a survey thingy and proposed that for those that could afford it ( probably tax payers) a minimum charge be applied to try and stop people using hospitals when they should go to their local clinics. But nothing was finalised.

[peterb17]

Returning happiness to the Thai bosses.....................

Try being a boss and having to pay 9000 for someone to sit around, most of the time sleep and when awake play on phone and see how happy you would be.

Keeping in mind the bad bosses usually have 3-5 of those for the job of one.

Maybe if you are a boss and have made an effort to develop a few management skills, and have realised that it takes hard work and intelligence to motivate your team - they might not sleep all day.

[casualbiker]

Returning happiness to the Thai bosses.....................

Try being a boss and having to pay 9000 for someone to sit around, most of the time sleep and when awake play on phone and see how happy you would be.

Keeping in mind the bad bosses usually have 3-5 of those for the job of one.

Maybe if you are a boss and have made an effort to develop a few management skills, and have realised that it takes hard work and intelligence to motivate your team - they might not sleep all day.

Have you managed that for your daily hired staff?

[konying]

Returning happiness to the Thai bosses.....................

Try being a boss and having to pay 9000 for someone to sit around, most of the time sleep and when awake play on phone and see how happy you would be.

Keeping in mind the bad bosses usually have 3-5 of those for the job of one.

Maybe if you are a boss and have made an effort to develop a few management skills, and have realised that it takes hard work and intelligence to motivate your team - they might not sleep all day.

May be if you actually visited Thailand and worked with the locals, you might then have some clue, otherwise you do sound totally clueless

[konying]

Returning happiness to the Thai bosses.....................

Try being a boss and having to pay 9000 for someone to sit around, most of the time sleep and when awake play on phone and see how happy you would be.

Keeping in mind the bad bosses usually have 3-5 of those for the job of one.

Maybe if you are a boss and have made an effort to develop a few management skills, and have realised that it takes hard work and intelligence to motivate your team - they might not sleep all day.

Have you managed that for your daily hired staff?

You think he even been to Thailand yet?

[MaeJoMTB]

It is almost like they are trying to goad the working class and the students back out into the streets again with proposals like this. Maybe the minimum wage was a success, maybe it wasn't, but I can imagine a lot of very angry people out there should this measure go ahead...

which comes first - rising minimum wages or jobs?

100% employment already in Thailand, so minimum wages.

[MaeJoMTB]

I believe the Ministry of Health did a survey thingy and proposed that for those that could afford it ( probably tax payers) a minimum charge be applied to try and stop people using hospitals when they should go to their local clinics. But nothing was finalised.

Taxpayers are covered by the compulsory private social security paid by their employers.

They generally don't use government hospitals.

Why comment on a subject you clearly know nothing about?

Edited June 6, 2015 by MaeJoMTB

[h90]

Everyone with half a brain and at least a left hand is already earning more.

Our house is built by Myanmar labor who do a quality work, but they aren't over active and work exactly 8-5 with more than 1 hour brake.

We asked them. They get 300 Baht per day, their Myanmar foreman 400 Baht. Not possible to find any Thai labor (who are reliable) for the minimum salary.

[Yme]

The Bt360/day proposed by the labour congresses is based on nothing; it's just a figure plucked out of the air by the pussy-whipped "official" trade unions to show that they are doing something. The Bt300/day from Pheu Thai was also plucked out of the air.

Lower regional salary rates should act as an incentive for decentralization of industry, but also risks a talent drain if the necessary soft and hard infrastructure isn't in place to encourage development.

The independent labour unions say it should be much higher and they base that on a basket of goods and services.

Calling for a rise in the minimum wage to Bt421 ($12.64) per day, the independent trade unions said the current Bt300 ($9) per day minimum wage that has been in place since January 2013 is insufficient. Most workers require to work overtime in order to survive, they said.

Chalee Loysoong, president of the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee (TLSC) which represents more than 280,000 workers said there was no scientific basis for the minimum wage being set at Bt300 per day originally and no scientific basis for the Bt350/360 being claimed by the 13 labour congresses that sit on the tripartite (government-labour congresses, employers) negotiating committee.

Surveys we conducted with our members prior to the rate being set back in 2011 showed that a single person needed a minimum daily wage of Bt340 ($13.03) to survive while a worker with a family to support needed a minimum daily Bt560 (US$16.81). The costs of living has increased… everything has increased since then with the exception of workers wages”, he said.

“When the first minimum wage policy was implemented in 1973 the definition was “a wage that would be enough to enable a worker and two family members to maintain a living consistent with human dignity.

“In 1975 the definition was changed to a wage rate necessary for an employee, not including family members, to be able to sustain a living”.

Source: Thailand Labour Day 2015 - Free Picnic, No Wage Increase http://www.establishmentpost.com/thailand-labour-day-2015-free-picnic-no-wage-increase/#ixzz3cIY5qecC

[konying]

I believe the Ministry of Health did a survey thingy and proposed that for those that could afford it ( probably tax payers) a minimum charge be applied to try and stop people using hospitals when they should go to their local clinics. But nothing was finalised.

Taxpayers are covered by the compulsory private social security paid by their employers.

They generally don't use government hospitals.

Why comment on a subject you clearly know nothing about?

Where do you get your information?

Only ask because it's grossly incorrect

[elgordo38]

It really doesn't matter where you are in the world, the wealthy get richer and the poor get poorer.

Sooner or later something will cause a revolt.

Truer words were never spoken. Something has to give and I predict this year. Whenever these police shootings happen in the USA the riots are not for the deceased but for justice. These are flashpoints. There could also be a Black Swan event somewhere that will spread worldwide fast.

[elgordo38]

I wonder what they'll replace it with, not local minimum-rates in each province, once again ?

They have to do something once ASEAN comes into effect Thai wages will be amongst the highest and we all know what that means. The rich will be filling their bags with money while the rest fight over scraps. Once the TPTP comes into effect more factories will be shuttered in America and the carpetbaggers will rush to Asia to set up shop. Cheap labor no pollution or labor laws its a paradise for big business. However the price of their products world wide will stay the same. Its called Capitalism

[djayz]

Returning happiness to the Thai bosses.....................

Try being a boss and having to pay 9000 for someone to sit around, most of the time sleep and when awake play on phone and see how happy you would be.

Keeping in mind the bad bosses usually have 3-5 of those for the job of one.

The GOOD boss should always

1) lead by example,

2) reward good, diligent and skilled staff and

3) train and motivate employees.

If you pay peanuts.. don't complain if only monkeys turn up for the interview.

[elgordo38]

It is almost like they are trying to goad the working class and the students back out into the streets again with proposals like this. Maybe the minimum wage was a success, maybe it wasn't, but I can imagine a lot of very angry people out there should this measure go ahead...

which comes first - rising minimum wages or jobs?

What kind of jobs the one where the employee has a steel collar much like in the USA during the middle 1800's. Don't forget the world is not full of Bill Gates. Everyone should be dealt with fairly although its pretty obvious they are not.

[elgordo38]

Doing away with the Minimum wage is the scraping of the bottom of the barrel.It will hurt those likely to be exploited , Its also an insult to those low paid workers. They are Wasting Billions on High sped Railways and now they are sucking Big Businesses dick and getting rid of the minimum wage. Disgusting anti social social action\\

I would hazard a guess this is due to the shortage of illegal foreign Labour after the Human trafficking scandal. They need cheap labour to make there own money

Your right on the money. I retired 22 years ago and the wages paid today are just catching up to what I was making when I retired. At the time of retirement I was making a decent wage but nothing spectacular. When your poor and in the majority the rich minority have lots to exploit and they do it without a consience.

[elgordo38]

Wages go up .. prices go up.. remember the 5 cent coke with 2 cent return of the empty? The poor will always be poor. The rich will always be rich. Just the way it goes like it or not.

Lets hope the rich live long enough to enjoy their ill gotten gain. We all know what happened during the French Revolution. Head transplants or re-attachments are not yet medically doable.

[elgordo38]

We have no to right to complain about the great Government in Thai. They are working for the common good if Farangs do not like it go home

Or give more to the poor

I bet none of the complainants have given the poor or take a poor person out to lunch or gave to a Church or a to Wat

I am happy that help build and give to seven Christian Church

I say give to the poor and stop complaining

Isn't there something in the bible that states if you give to the poor it shall be returned to you seven fold? Well Thais believe in the next life.

[casualbiker]

I believe the Ministry of Health did a survey thingy and proposed that for those that could afford it ( probably tax payers) a minimum charge be applied to try and stop people using hospitals when they should go to their local clinics. But nothing was finalised.

Taxpayers are covered by the compulsory private social security paid by their employers.

They generally don't use government hospitals.

Why comment on a subject you clearly know nothing about?

SOCIAL security in Thailand has three elements. Employee portion, employer portion and government portion. Some companies also provide an upgraded portion utilising a private health insurance company for expanded coverage ( private rooms etc)

They do indeed use government hospitals under the social security scheme. Also people outside of the scheme us government hospitals ( and pay separately)

Myself included as I have only basic BUPA coverage. My wife has full coverage from the social security scheme and a work health insurance scheme.

Regards.

[Thai at Heart]

Going to be fun to see them attempt to arbitrarily recreate this stupid system. Minimum is not a target people. They reportedly have 0 unemployment and cant find labour. So the response is to cut minimum wage.

But then they also apparently have negative employment. So, evidently, flooding the market with millions of imported labor, satisfied only the employers. Yay for management.

[dbrenn]

I'll bet the Isarn is the hardest hit

Edited June 6, 2015 by dbrenn

[rijit]

Which begs the question. Why? They have deflation. Maybe they will increase it.

What odds on that?

vv heavily against. perhaps better if you work in silom

[rijit]

i cant believe that anyone HONESTLY can put there hand on heart and say that anyone anywhere doesnt deserve 10 US or 6 sterling for a days work.

IF you say otherwise IMO your lieng

[HerbalEd]

You can easily give, but it's not so easy to take away. Workers are going to be super pissed if they actually get paid less money for the same work. I sure would.

[LindaLovelace]

Scrapping the minimum wage seems perfectly reasonable to me. Whoever heard of a minimum wage for the serfs and peasants under a feudal system? It's crazy.

[Cake Monster]

This move wlll surely improve the competetivness of Thailand in the export sector, as the migrant workers take the jobs in 2016.

No minimum wage will equal lower wages for workers with little or no rights, and the fat cat bosses will get fatter, and a hell of a lot of Thais with little, or no work.

Any bets on social unrest ?

[Solomon]

This move wlll surely improve the competetivness of Thailand in the export sector, as the migrant workers take the jobs in 2016.

No minimum wage will equal lower wages for workers with little or no rights, and the fat cat bosses will get fatter, and a hell of a lot of Thais with little, or no work.

Any bets on social unrest ?

Whatever gains the economy makes through lower labour costs boosting exports will be more than lost due to decreased consumption by millions of Thais who will have to suffer with a reduced level of disposable income.

As usual, the top end of Thais are more concerned with their own moneymaking opportunities than they are with the well-being of the other 80-90% of their countrymen.

Red v Yellow has nothing to do with Thaksin and everything to do with exploitation v equality.

[BuriramDenBosch]

like said by another pster, i would not pay most workers more than 300 thb for what they do. It's not worth it.

[dageurreotype]

Returning happiness to the Thai bosses.....................

More a race to the bottom of cheap Asian labour in an attempt to win back foreign corporations from the sweatshops of Cambodia.