Thread: Minimum wage to increase by April 2011

Originally Posted by Butterfly

I think they are making a killing, at least the big corps

They are but the bean counters will always look for ways to increase profitability and if that means a move then so be it!

Originally Posted by buriramboy

How can any employer argue against paying 300 baht (£6) for a days work??

The problem is mate, that's an increase of around 35% and they have to factor that into their new manufacturing costs making them a lot more expensive then other companies in neighbouring countries.

Then everyone else will want an increase.

Malaysian and Vietnamese wages (not to mention China and India) are on par or even cheaper wages then Thailand plus the factory running costs are lot less particularly for electricity and fuels.

Minimum wage laws create unemployment and a decrease standards of living. Singapore has no minimum wage laws as far as I know..

The minimum wage laws price companies out of the labor market. If a company can only afford to hire by paying a worker $5 an hour but the govt says you must pay $6, then that company has a negative return on labor. The company will be out of business and that job will not exist.

This is why, in the US, you have to pump your own gas, you dont have people carry your luggage at airports anymore, more automated tellers and clerks ect. The minimum wage laws make automation cheaper then labor. Everyone loses. People with experience and skills or an education (people that are worth more then low wages) have to work harder and enjoy less luxury and the unskilled people cant get jobs because the government makes it illegal for the more productive people to hire them.

Originally Posted by buriramboy

How can any employer argue against paying 300 baht (£6) for a days work??? Say people are working a 6 day week, still only 1800 baht a week or 7200 baht a month, hardly a liveable wage even for low class Thais with a family.

It costs nothing to live in Thailand, they are not starving. I bet a Canadian on minimum is poorer then a Thai when you consider living costs. Average price of a house in Vancouver is $818,000, price of 12 beer is $25.

Originally Posted by socal

Singapore has no minimum wage laws as far as I know..

Neither does Germany, Italy, Hong Kong (except for foreign workers), Austria, Malaysia, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Originally Posted by buriramboy

How can any employer argue against paying 300 baht (£6) for a days work??

The problem is mate, that's an increase of around 35% and they have to factor that into their new manufacturing costs making them a lot more expensive then other companies in neighbouring countries.

Then everyone else will want an increase.

Malaysian and Vietnamese wages (not to mention China and India) are on par or even cheaper wages then Thailand plus the factory running costs are lot less particularly for electricity and fuels.

35% ? !!

That's insane. That will send the baht down. I didnt expect this resurgence of socialism. It will do damage to the baht. Im changing my outlook on baht from a buy to a hold.

^

Originally Posted by socal

Originally Posted by buriramboy

How can any employer argue against paying 300 baht (£6) for a days work??? Say people are working a 6 day week, still only 1800 baht a week or 7200 baht a month, hardly a liveable wage even for low class Thais with a family.

It costs nothing to live in Thailand, they are not starving. I bet a Canadian on minimum is poorer then a Thai when you consider living costs. Average price of a house in Vancouver is $818,000, price of 12 beer is $25.

On your next visit you try and live on 7200 baht a month and report back on how great your life is.

Originally Posted by buriramboy

On your next visit you try and live on 7200 baht a month and report back on how great your life is.

he probably can, and the rest he spent on whores and katoys

''The party plans to cut corporate income tax to 23 per cent from 30 per cent in its first year in office, then to 20 per cent in later years.''

they can pay the extra wages out of that .
min wage good idea ,better than a race to the bottom with other countries towards starvation wages,
and they could add big fines for anyone employing cheaper immigrants

I hope PT will try to resolve the wealth disparity in this country,

time to tax the rich, land and condos

the 35% hike in one go would actually be justified, well overdue

The PADyellows have always been against redistributing wealth, and allowing votes to the "peasants"
They have been supported by many falang nutters off here in their quest.

I would like to see the coalition tax the very same falang nutters till the pips squeek and give it to those same "peasants"

Originally Posted by sabang

I don't know what PT's specific policy is, but I doubt they would announce a 35% hike in one go

An immediate rise to 300 baht a day was their election policy. Interestingly, not with different rates per province. That alone could cause some interesting realignments of the workforce.

funny that Thaksin was saying 40 to the THB when he was advocating the THB to go to 20 only a few years ago

the dude can't make up his mind

Originally Posted by LooseBowels

I would like to see the coalition tax the very same falang nutters till the pips squeek and give it to those same "peasants"

better idea, kick out the farang keenok like yourself who are on a 30,000 THB monthly budget and don't contribute anything to the country materially

How do they increase the minimum wage for farmers for example because the Rice Middle men habitually fuck them over.......

Bangkok Post : Labour demands quick wage rise

Labour demands quick wage rise.

• Published: 5/07/2011 at 05:06 PM
• Online news:

A labour network has urged the Pheu Thai Party to honour its promise to raise the minimum wage to 300 baht per day as soon as possible, and demands that the new labour minister be a person who understands and respects the workers.

Chalee Loisung, chair of the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee, said Tuesday that the Pheu Thai Party should raise the minimum wage to 300 baht per day immediately after it takes government, to honour the promise it made during its election campaign.

"The Pheu Thai Party told voters that it would raise the minimum wage to 300 baht right away, so it should honour its word.

"Although the authority to increase the wage rests with the wage committee, the spoken promise commits it," Mr Chalee said.

He also demanded the new government ratify the convention of the International Labour Organisation on the right to organise and collective bargaining, amend the law to facilitate the establishment of labour unions and protect founding members of labour unions from being laid off, and make the Social Security Office an independent organisation.

Mr Chalee was heartened by speculation that Jarupong Ruangsuwan, former permanent secretary of the Labour Ministry would be the new labour minister.

He said Mr Jarupong knows workers' problems and is open to discussions.

Some former ministers did not understand workers' problems, which were real, and even looked down on workers, he said.

^ Pressure is mounting before they've even taken office...

For Thais Populist Policies Could Harm Thailand Economy - WSJ.com

New Populist Policies Could Harm Thai Economy

By LEIGH MURRAY

BANGKOK—A sweeping electoral victory for Yingluck Shinawatra has allowed Thailand to avoid the immediate risk of social unrest or military intervention, but the incoming government's populist policies may threaten the vibrancy of Southeast Asia's second-largest economy.

The sister of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra wooed voters not only with her charisma, but with an array of vote-grabbing promises: an increase of 36%-89% in the minimum wage, guaranteed rice prices for farmers, starting salaries of at least 15,000 baht ($492) for university graduates, tablet PCs for students, and high-speed trains across the country.

"Even if they only deliver a fraction of what they promise (on wages), the impact will be significant" on inflation, said Santitarn Sathirathai, an economist with Credit Suisse in Singapore.

A few days before the election—with both parties promising to raise the minimum wage—Mr. Santitarn raised his average inflation target for 2012 to 3.7% from 3.5%.

The way the government implements any minimum-wage increase will be crucial: An across-the-board increase "will be very inflationary," Mr. Santitarn said, but a varied introduction across sectors would limit the impact on inflation, which rose 4.06% in June from a year earlier.

The Bank of Thailand has warned that inflation poses the biggest threat to economic growth this year. Gov. Prasarn Trairatvorakul said during the election campaign that the next government needs to maintain fiscal discipline and that increasing the budget deficit could threaten fiscal stability.

Standard Chartered Bank wrote in a research note that the For Thais party had indicated its economic policies would cost around 1.85 trillion baht over the next five years, a level of spending that could push back plans to achieve a balanced budget by two years, to fiscal 2018.

Although Thailand's public debt of about 45% of GDP "is not yet at alarming levels, the big-ticket investment could imply larger demand for public borrowing over the coming years than markets had expected," Standard Chartered said.

Despite the calls for fiscal discipline, the new government will face enormous pressure to make good on its promises. Members of Thailand's vast rural population, many of whom are low-income earners, were critical in lifting For Thais to power.

Among the big winners will be rice farmers, who have been promised 15,000 baht per ton of rice from the government—prices are currently below 10,000 baht/ton—a policy analysts say could lead to hoarding. Because Thailand is one of the world's biggest rice exporters, it also could trigger a dramatic increase in global prices.

Not everyone sees a threat, however. Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economics at HSBC, believes big-spending policies won't undermine Thailand's competitiveness against its regional peers since minimum wages in China "are rising a lot faster."

He adds that Thailand's fiscal position remains healthy enough that it could allow its budget deficit, targeted at 420 billion baht this fiscal year, or some 3.9% of GDP, to widen.

The trouble is not with short-term funding, Mr. Neumann said, "but if you make commitments indefinitely, then it becomes hard to reverse these at some point."

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

The Bank of Thailand has warned that inflation poses the biggest threat to economic growth this year.

This would be economic growth that have only benefited a few at the high end of the export chain. I can see how most Thais couldn't give a shit about growth where a great majority have gone backwards rather then benefited. The Bank of Thailand's foreign reserves have done very nicely and it is time to use some of that excess for the benefit of the country.....