Wage Committee agrees to varied rates of Thai minimum wage

[webfact]

Wage Committee agrees to varied rates of minimum wage

BANGKOK, 17 November 2015 (NNT) -- Labor Ministry undersecretary Puntarik Samiti said the Wage Committee has unanimously agreed to varied rates of the minimum wage according to economic and social conditions in different areas.

Given the current economic situation, an ad hoc committee will be set up to consider the varied rates of the minimum wage within six months from January until June 2016, said the undersecretary who heads the Wage Committee.

In a press conference, representatives of the employers and employees sitting on the Wage Committee assured that the ad hoc committee will consider facts and figures which may vary from one area to another and will work in the interests of all parties.

-- NNT 2015-11-17

[eliotness]

Rather than a minimum daily rate, it would make much more sense to lay down an hourly rate. E.g. here in Isaan getting workers on the farm, 7:30 start, eat rice first, drink 1 or 2 Lao Khaos, actually start 8:30 to 9. Break for lunch at 12, more Lao Khao, sit chatting, start again 2 pm finish 4:30 or 5:30 if seriously pushed and a good meal and drinks promised. Actually not an 8 hour day of work, plus the expense of buying food and drink !

In fairness the neighbours operate a "you help me and I'll help you" system which works well, but if you need extra hands 350 baht per day is far too much for what work is actually done.

[phoenixdoglover]

Let me summarize:

One committee decided it was a good idea.

Another committee will be formed.

Actual implementation?

Undefined.

[FloridaExport]

Rather than a minimum daily rate, it would make much more sense to lay down an hourly rate. E.g. here in Isaan getting workers on the farm, 7:30 start, eat rice first, drink 1 or 2 Lao Khaos, actually start 8:30 to 9. Break for lunch at 12, more Lao Khao, sit chatting, start again 2 pm finish 4:30 or 5:30 if seriously pushed and a good meal and drinks promised. Actually not an 8 hour day of work, plus the expense of buying food and drink !

In fairness the neighbours operate a "you help me and I'll help you" system which works well, but if you need extra hands 350 baht per day is far too much for what work is actually done.

Unfortunately, you can also make your point in an opposite way as well. Burmese worker, gets in truck with 30 others before dawn, stops at construction site when the sun is up, works until dark, and then repeat this 6-7 days a week.

Either way, an hourly wage makes more sense.

Edited November 17, 2015 by FloridaExport

[bark]

Rather than a minimum daily rate, it would make much more sense to lay down an hourly rate. E.g. here in Isaan getting workers on the farm, 7:30 start, eat rice first, drink 1 or 2 Lao Khaos, actually start 8:30 to 9. Break for lunch at 12, more Lao Khao, sit chatting, start again 2 pm finish 4:30 or 5:30 if seriously pushed and a good meal and drinks promised. Actually not an 8 hour day of work, plus the expense of buying food and drink !

In fairness the neighbours operate a "you help me and I'll help you" system which works well, but if you need extra hands 350 baht per day is far too much for what work is actually done.

Unfortunately, you can also make your point in an opposite way as well. Burmese worker, gets in truck with 30 others before dawn, stops at construction site when the sun is up, works until dark, and then repeat this 6-7 days a week.

Either way, an hourly wage makes more sense.

Burmese like to work for piece work in the food factories. KG / hour. They out work the Thai workers by 20-30 %. But they are still guaranteed minimum amount each day. 300 bt in Samut Sakhon( Mahachai ) . But doing piece work they all earn 400-500 bt/day.

[Thai at Heart]

So what to do? Raise in Bangkok? Cut in the provinces? Or both?

[Thai at Heart]

Rather than a minimum daily rate, it would make much more sense to lay down an hourly rate. E.g. here in Isaan getting workers on the farm, 7:30 start, eat rice first, drink 1 or 2 Lao Khaos, actually start 8:30 to 9. Break for lunch at 12, more Lao Khao, sit chatting, start again 2 pm finish 4:30 or 5:30 if seriously pushed and a good meal and drinks promised. Actually not an 8 hour day of work, plus the expense of buying food and drink !

In fairness the neighbours operate a "you help me and I'll help you" system which works well, but if you need extra hands 350 baht per day is far too much for what work is actually done.

Unfortunately, you can also make your point in an opposite way as well. Burmese worker, gets in truck with 30 others before dawn, stops at construction site when the sun is up, works until dark, and then repeat this 6-7 days a week.

Either way, an hourly wage makes more sense.

Burmese like to work for piece work in the food factories. KG / hour. They out work the Thai workers by 20-30 %. But they are still guaranteed minimum amount each day. 300 bt in Samut Sakhon( Mahachai ) . But doing piece work they all earn 400-500 bt/day.

Piece work cannot result in less than 300 under fair conditions.

[tigermonkey]

So what to do? Raise in Bangkok? Cut in the provinces? Or both?

Raise in Bangkok . Raise in the home areas of each committee member and influential government appointee. Lower everywhere else. Double lowering for all rurals areas in the north and northeast -- should not be more than 20 Baht per hour in these areas..

Edited November 17, 2015 by tigermonkey

[Strangebrew]

Hourly is the way to go But clock in and clock out for lunch and breaks and get docked for arriving late. How many Thai's to dig a hole? 7 One doing the digging 6 to decide where to throw the dirt.

[macknife]

Rather than a minimum daily rate, it would make much more sense to lay down an hourly rate. E.g. here in Isaan getting workers on the farm, 7:30 start, eat rice first, drink 1 or 2 Lao Khaos, actually start 8:30 to 9. Break for lunch at 12, more Lao Khao, sit chatting, start again 2 pm finish 4:30 or 5:30 if seriously pushed and a good meal and drinks promised. Actually not an 8 hour day of work, plus the expense of buying food and drink !

In fairness the neighbours operate a "you help me and I'll help you" system which works well, but if you need extra hands 350 baht per day is far too much for what work is actually done.

350B per day is too much??? That's just over 5 pounds a day!!!

That's what's wrong with this country. Everyone likes to complain about the the gap between the rich and poor but then comes out with statements like this!

Big business owners have had it far too easy over here for a long time. In the UK you can now buy many things cheaper than you can here, and no I'm not talking about luxury items but even basic vegetables.

The big companies make so much money because of the tiny wages they can pay. If they want to charge comparable or more than is charged in the UK then they should pay comparable wages.

1000B per day should be the minimum, then at least some of the poorer families will see a real benefit. Don't worry, the rich business owners will still be rich!

Maybe then the (more physically challenged) Thais will get off their arse and do a proper days work.

[elgordo38]

Rather than a minimum daily rate, it would make much more sense to lay down an hourly rate. E.g. here in Isaan getting workers on the farm, 7:30 start, eat rice first, drink 1 or 2 Lao Khaos, actually start 8:30 to 9. Break for lunch at 12, more Lao Khao, sit chatting, start again 2 pm finish 4:30 or 5:30 if seriously pushed and a good meal and drinks promised. Actually not an 8 hour day of work, plus the expense of buying food and drink !

In fairness the neighbours operate a "you help me and I'll help you" system which works well, but if you need extra hands 350 baht per day is far too much for what work is actually done.

350B per day is too much??? That's just over 5 pounds a day!!!

That's what's wrong with this country. Everyone likes to complain about the the gap between the rich and poor but then comes out with statements like this!

Big business owners have had it far too easy over here for a long time. In the UK you can now buy many things cheaper than you can here, and no I'm not talking about luxury items but even basic vegetables.

The big companies make so much money because of the tiny wages they can pay. If they want to charge comparable or more than is charged in the UK then they should pay comparable wages.

1000B per day should be the minimum, then at least some of the poorer families will see a real benefit. Don't worry, the rich business owners will still be rich!

Maybe then the (more physically challenged) Thais will get off their arse and do a proper days work.

Its not a case of the rich still getting rich they want to get richer by hook or by crook. Its the way of the world squeeze the poor worker till he drops and replace him. To the rich its a waste of money to even put some coin under his eyes to pay his way across the river Styx.

Edited November 17, 2015 by elgordo38

[eliotness]

Rather than a minimum daily rate, it would make much more sense to lay down an hourly rate. E.g. here in Isaan getting workers on the farm, 7:30 start, eat rice first, drink 1 or 2 Lao Khaos, actually start 8:30 to 9. Break for lunch at 12, more Lao Khao, sit chatting, start again 2 pm finish 4:30 or 5:30 if seriously pushed and a good meal and drinks promised. Actually not an 8 hour day of work, plus the expense of buying food and drink !

In fairness the neighbours operate a "you help me and I'll help you" system which works well, but if you need extra hands 350 baht per day is far too much for what work is actually done.

350B per day is too much??? That's just over 5 pounds a day!!!

That's what's wrong with this country. Everyone likes to complain about the the gap between the rich and poor but then comes out with statements like this!

Big business owners have had it far too easy over here for a long time. In the UK you can now buy many things cheaper than you can here, and no I'm not talking about luxury items but even basic vegetables.

The big companies make so much money because of the tiny wages they can pay. If they want to charge comparable or more than is charged in the UK then they should pay comparable wages.

1000B per day should be the minimum, then at least some of the poorer families will see a real benefit. Don't worry, the rich business owners will still be rich!

Maybe then the (more physically challenged) Thais will get off their arse and do a proper days work.

In 2010 we paid 200 baht per day to harvest the cassava and got 3.50 per kilo, so we made a good profit. Last year everyone wanted 300 baht a day, but the price had fallen to 2.10 baht a kilo, so we just about broke even. If next time we have to pay 350+ baht and if the market price for the cassava hasn't risen, then we'll make a loss. Farming economics are the same all over the world, that's why the EU & USA have farming subsidies.

If you are forced to pay e.g. 1000 baht/day, then the unemployment rate will mushroom overnight. Only family worked farms will survive. Millions will have no seasonal work. All the farmers in debt will have to sell their farms to the "big boys" who can afford to run highly mechanised farms, will a small labour force. So your solution, however well intended, would kill rural Thailand.

[BSJ]

In our village we employ locals on a per rai basis for all the jobs from plowing to harvest. For seed spreading. fertilizer spreading or spraying insecticide or hormones it's 50 baht/rai and they supply their own backpack and benzine. For tractor work it's 100 baht/rai. For the harvester it's 450 baht/rai.

For the truck to the receiving station the agent picks up the tab.

4 rai was poor quality and lost because of the dry condition and black mold. The other 16 rai was good but not great. No 800kg/rai yield this year! But the wife made 40k baht which is better than a lose!

Wifey and I did do second fertilizer (46-0-0) as there was no-one available.....but I don't want to be doing it! I am not a rice farmer and never will be.

Overall, everyone we employ makes good money (payed on the day) and gets a free lunch....and often are finished early afternoon....but if they do work late they get beer or whisky and snacks as well.

[fatfather]

You can't compare 350 THB in Thailand to 5£ in England. Stay with reality

Fatfather

[whatsupdoc]

Rather than a minimum daily rate, it would make much more sense to lay down an hourly rate. E.g. here in Isaan getting workers on the farm, 7:30 start, eat rice first, drink 1 or 2 Lao Khaos, actually start 8:30 to 9. Break for lunch at 12, more Lao Khao, sit chatting, start again 2 pm finish 4:30 or 5:30 if seriously pushed and a good meal and drinks promised. Actually not an 8 hour day of work, plus the expense of buying food and drink !

In fairness the neighbours operate a "you help me and I'll help you" system which works well, but if you need extra hands 350 baht per day is far too much for what work is actually done.

350B per day is too much??? That's just over 5 pounds a day!!!

That's what's wrong with this country. Everyone likes to complain about the the gap between the rich and poor but then comes out with statements like this!

Big business owners have had it far too easy over here for a long time. In the UK you can now buy many things cheaper than you can here, and no I'm not talking about luxury items but even basic vegetables.

The big companies make so much money because of the tiny wages they can pay. If they want to charge comparable or more than is charged in the UK then they should pay comparable wages.

1000B per day should be the minimum, then at least some of the poorer families will see a real benefit. Don't worry, the rich business owners will still be rich!

Maybe then the (more physically challenged) Thais will get off their arse and do a proper days work.

What a silly comment. Yes, with your proposal rich business owners will still be rich (maybe) but all SME's will be destroyed along with the entire economy of Thailand.

[Thai at Heart]

Rather than a minimum daily rate, it would make much more sense to lay down an hourly rate. E.g. here in Isaan getting workers on the farm, 7:30 start, eat rice first, drink 1 or 2 Lao Khaos, actually start 8:30 to 9. Break for lunch at 12, more Lao Khao, sit chatting, start again 2 pm finish 4:30 or 5:30 if seriously pushed and a good meal and drinks promised. Actually not an 8 hour day of work, plus the expense of buying food and drink !

In fairness the neighbours operate a "you help me and I'll help you" system which works well, but if you need extra hands 350 baht per day is far too much for what work is actually done.

350B per day is too much??? That's just over 5 pounds a day!!!

That's what's wrong with this country. Everyone likes to complain about the the gap between the rich and poor but then comes out with statements like this!

Big business owners have had it far too easy over here for a long time. In the UK you can now buy many things cheaper than you can here, and no I'm not talking about luxury items but even basic vegetables.

The big companies make so much money because of the tiny wages they can pay. If they want to charge comparable or more than is charged in the UK then they should pay comparable wages.

1000B per day should be the minimum, then at least some of the poorer families will see a real benefit. Don't worry, the rich business owners will still be rich!

Maybe then the (more physically challenged) Thais will get off their arse and do a proper days work.

Also, the effect of moving wages slowly upward year by year encourages innovation and investment. Every year that wages don't move it gives a little extra windfall profit to the owner at the workers expense.

1000 baht is too much of a shock, but miming wages should move every year with costs of living.

Having wages this low simply gives employers another reason not to invest in equipment and technology.

Edited November 18, 2015 by Thai at Heart

[macknife]

Rather than a minimum daily rate, it would make much more sense to lay down an hourly rate. E.g. here in Isaan getting workers on the farm, 7:30 start, eat rice first, drink 1 or 2 Lao Khaos, actually start 8:30 to 9. Break for lunch at 12, more Lao Khao, sit chatting, start again 2 pm finish 4:30 or 5:30 if seriously pushed and a good meal and drinks promised. Actually not an 8 hour day of work, plus the expense of buying food and drink !

In fairness the neighbours operate a "you help me and I'll help you" system which works well, but if you need extra hands 350 baht per day is far too much for what work is actually done.

350B per day is too much??? That's just over 5 pounds a day!!!

That's what's wrong with this country. Everyone likes to complain about the the gap between the rich and poor but then comes out with statements like this!

Big business owners have had it far too easy over here for a long time. In the UK you can now buy many things cheaper than you can here, and no I'm not talking about luxury items but even basic vegetables.

The big companies make so much money because of the tiny wages they can pay. If they want to charge comparable or more than is charged in the UK then they should pay comparable wages.

1000B per day should be the minimum, then at least some of the poorer families will see a real benefit. Don't worry, the rich business owners will still be rich!

Maybe then the (more physically challenged) Thais will get off their arse and do a proper days work.

In 2010 we paid 200 baht per day to harvest the cassava and got 3.50 per kilo, so we made a good profit. Last year everyone wanted 300 baht a day, but the price had fallen to 2.10 baht a kilo, so we just about broke even. If next time we have to pay 350+ baht and if the market price for the cassava hasn't risen, then we'll make a loss. Farming economics are the same all over the world, that's why the EU & USA have farming subsidies.

If you are forced to pay e.g. 1000 baht/day, then the unemployment rate will mushroom overnight. Only family worked farms will survive. Millions will have no seasonal work. All the farmers in debt will have to sell their farms to the "big boys" who can afford to run highly mechanised farms, will a small labour force. So your solution, however well intended, would kill rural Thailand.

Well if selling to the big boys means everybody gets higher wages then that's just the way the world is.

I do understand that's more difficult to do in farming because of the nature of rural Thailand, but I'm really talking about a big pay rise across the board for every job, from street cleaner to waitress to office worker. The millions who have no work can start working the construction sites etc instead of the Burmese and Cambodians, and they will if the wages are good. The trouble is this will affect the pockets of the big boss man, so it will never happen.