Thread: Minimum wage to increase by April 2011

^ You really are a sad little man. Get back to your fantasizing over barely legal German Katoeys, now that you've come out.

Bangkok Post : B15,000 pay for state officials approved

B15,000 pay for state officials approved

• Published: 20/09/2011 at 02:11 PM
• Online news:

The cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to increase the cost of living allowance for state officials to ensure they receive at least 15,000 baht per month starting on Jan 1, 2012, deputy government spokeswoman Anuttama Amornvivat said.

Ms Anuttama said the cost of living increase will be for state officials whose base salaries are below 15,000 baht per month.

About 18.3 billion baht will be used from the 2012 budget for this purpose and will increase to 24.5 billion baht in fiscal 2013, she said.

A total of 649,000 state officials in five categories are eligible for the cost of living increase. They are civil servants, permanent employees, temporary employees, contracted employees, and military personnel.

Ms Anuttama said the cabinet also passed a resolution that the Civil Service Commission adjust pay structures of government officials for four consecutive years until their base salary reaches 15,000 baht per month.

Originally Posted by Gerbil

^ You really are a sad little man. Get back to your fantasizing over barely legal German Katoeys, now that you've come out.

Now this rodent can speak. Jurassic Park material, sure. But cut off.

Thai-ASEAN News Network



Govt Assures Private Sector's Cooperation in Wage Hike Policy

UPDATE : 21 September 2011

The commerce minister expresses confidence that the private sector will agree to raise the daily minimum wage for workers to 300 baht in the beginning of next year.

In a seminar entitled, “Two trillion baht in tourism revenue, a challenge to the new government”, Deputy Prime Minister Kittirat Na Ranong gave a speech on driving the Thai economy under the government led by Yingluck Shinawatra.


Kittirat expressed confidence that on January 1, next year, the private sector will voluntarily comply with the government’s policy to raise the daily minimum wage to 300 baht.

This is because the government will cut the corporate income tax from the current 30 percent to 23 percent next year and to 20 percent in 2013, to help offset the higher labor cost.

The minister noted that he will ask the Bank of Thailand to put on hold its plan to raise the policy rate to allow the government to implement its promised policies and to accomplish the planned targets.

He also urged the Finance Ministry to expand the tax base to prepare Thailand for the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.

Thailand expects US$10 minimum wage to come into effect before 2013 - The China Post

Thailand expects US$10 minimum wage to come into effect before 2013

Bangkok--The Thai Labor Ministry expects to push the daily minimum wage up to 300 baht (US$10) across the country before the end of 2012 after a significant raise of about 40 percent appeared likely to take effect on Jan. 1. “It's the government policy,” permanent secretary Somkiat Chayasriwong said Tuesday.

“If necessary, the issue may have to be resolved via a vote by the tripartite Central Wage Committee,” he said.

Thailand's Central Wage Committee, with representatives from employers, employees and the government, has always agreed on hikes in the daily minimum wage for each province through discussions. Voting has never been used before.

During its winning election campaign, the Pheu Thai Party promised to raise the daily minimum wage to 300 baht (US$10). Now, workers and labor-rights organizations are pressing hard on the government to honor its election commitments, while many employers have raised howls of complaints.

However, Somkiat was now quite optimistic after the Board of Trade acquiesced to a 40-percent hike across the country.

“We just had the discussion on Monday,” Somkiat said.

Currently, the daily minimum wage ranges from 159 baht (US$5.2) to 221 baht (US$7.2). Phuket has the highest at 221 baht (US$7.2), while Phayao has the lowest.

The ministry is trying to complete by next month the preparations for the big hike in the daily minimum wage. Among the many measures to ease the pain on entrepreneurs is a proposal to lower the corporate income tax from 30 percent to just 23 percent.

“We will communicate with entrepreneurs to create better understanding,” he said.

The ministry also plans to provide skill development training for workers to ensure that they deserved the 300 baht (US$10) wage.

Chatchai Boonrat, vice president of the Board of Trade, said he believes that the Central Wage Committee could force employers to accept the 300 baht (US$10) wage by law.

Originally Posted by nostromo

Originally Posted by Gerbil

^ You really are a sad little man. Get back to your fantasizing over barely legal German Katoeys, now that you've come out.

Now this rodent can speak. Jurassic Park material, sure. But cut off.

Has he been jailed?

Originally Posted by Gerbil

You really are a sad little man. Get back to your fantasizing over barely legal German Katoeys, now that you've come out.

At least you now admit that's she's of a legal age which is the opposite of what you originally posted.

Sounds like your very about many issues, best you take a rest for a while!

Chalermchai warned about the minimum wage policy : National News Bureau of Thailand

Chalermchai warned about the minimum wage policy

BANGKOK, 25 September 2011 (NNT)- Secretary-General of the Democrat Party Chalermchai Srion spoke about the government’s policy to raise the minimum wage to 300 baht at the beginning of next year, saying that it must be extensively discussed among representatives from the government, the employers and the employees.

He said that each province had a subcommittee that handles wage estimates, which took factors in standard cost of living in a particular province into considerations.

Mr. Chalermchai also mentioned that the said subcommittees would have to be the ones to preliminarily decide if their provinces even need to have the minimum wages raised. He implied that this was another indication that Phue Thai party could not fulfill its promise to immediately raise the minimum wages.

The Secretary-General of the Democrat Party continued that the government’s move to lower taxes to the companies cooperating with the policy would only benefit big firms. The controversial policy will first be implemented in the capital then gradually expands to the rest of the country.

Employers state demands ahead of wage hike

Employers state demands ahead of wage hike

The Nation September 26, 2011 9:26 pm

ECOT wants overtime included, wage set for three years

The Employers Confederation of Thailand (Ecot) is pushing the government to take its demands into account before it goes ahead with a plan to raise the daily minimum wage to Bt300 across the country from January 1.

The group’s key demand is that the law must clearly state that the increased daily minimum wage will be fixed for three full years.

“The government is expected to amend laws related to wages urgently,” Ecot chairwoman Siriwan Romchatthong said yesterday.

The demands were formulated at a recent workshop held by Ecot members, she said.

Ecot also wants the definition of the daily minimum wage amended to include overtime wage, living allowances and other forms of income. Ecot believes unskilled alien workers and workers aged between 15 and 18 years old should be paid just 75 per cent of the rate for six months before they can receive Bt300 a day.

“Also, hourly wages must be applied in the service sector and any sectors where workers are not required to work eight hours a day,” Siriwan said. She said Ecot wanted the government to reduce employers’ contributions to the Social Security Fund, and to stop collecting them for one year, if the Bt300 minimum daily wage were implemented.

Ecot also wants tax benefits provided to employers for three years, during which period wage costs should be treated as three times the actual amount paid on tax forms; taxing of small and medium-sized enterprises only on that portion of their corporate income exceeding Bt3 million; the extension of Board of Investment privileges for an additional three years; and the raising of the ceiling on tax-exempt machinery replacement from Bt10 million to Bt20 million.

“The government should also provide small and medium-sized enterprises with access to soft loans,” Siriwan said.

If the government wants employers to raise the daily minimum wage to Bt300 across the country, it should ensure infrastructure standards are equal across the country, she said.

“The government should also reduce legal obstacles to investment in technology, and relax rules governing the hiring of alien workers.”

Siriwan said she hoped the government would soon give clear answers about how it intends to help employers when it comes to the policy to raise the minimum daily wage.

“The measures should become clear by next month. We need to make preparations for the wage hike and work out our business plan too,” she said.

Thai-ASEAN News Network

High Labor Cost Worries Textile Industry

UPDATE : 30 September 2011

The textile business association says operators may leave Thailand behind in favor of its neighboring countries to reap benefits from their cheaper labor cost and cope with risks from global economic uncertainty.

President for the National Federation of Thai Textile Industries, Pilant Thammoongkol, stated the direction of the global economy and the government's planned daily minimum wage hike to 300 bath nationwide will bring about risks for operators in the industry.


Pilant remarked that Thai textile business operators have already prepared measures for handling future risks and the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community.

He said they would relocate parts of their manufacturing base to neighboring countries where labor cost is cheaper, but they will keep the production of whole textile sheets in the country.

More than 24,000 workers to get Bt300 daily wage

The Nation October 1, 2011 12:27 pm



The board of State Enterprises Workers' Relation Confederation yesterday approved the payment of the flat Bt300 daily minimum wage to more than 24,000 workers from today onwards.

This means that an additional Bt23.9 million would be spent on the daily wages of 24,419 qualified recipients, Labour Minister Phadermchai Sasomsap said in his capacity as the board's chairman. The Cabinet will endorse this payment next Tuesday.

Labour Ministry's permanent secretary Somkiat Chayasriwong said the Bt300 daily wage would be paid in 50 provinces from January 1 as a result of initial approvals by provincial wage tripartite committees. The approvals will be presented to the central wage tripartite committee by next Wednesday for a final endorsement.

Meanwhile, a Bangkok seminar was told that bigtime human traffickers who kept smuggling immigrant workers into Thailand had never been arrested because they paid off corrupt officials.

"Around 600,000 workers are arrested, deported and again smuggled into Thailand, but the authorities never arrest the traffickers because they know each other," Suraphong Kongjanthuek, an official from the Lawyers Council of Thailand, said.

Citing a study conducted by the council, he said migrant workers were required to pay traffickers up to Bt20,000 every time they enter Thailand, and nearly all of them are asked for anything between Bt500 and Bt10,000 by corrupt police officers.

He said immigrant workers should also be paid the Bt300 minimum wage, because this will encourage Thai workers to do jobs they were refusing to do before. Meanwhile, businesses that pay low wages at the workers' consent should move out of Thailand, he said.

Somphong Sakaew, director of the Labour Rights Promotion Network, said migrant workers had complained to him that corrupt officials wanted up to Bt15,000 in exchange for dropping wrongful charges of illegal gambling, or returning their properties or passports. Even though more than 1 million migrant workers had registered after the latest deadline, up to 4 million are still unregistered, he said.

Originally Posted by SteveCM

More than 24,000 workers to get Bt300 daily wage


"Around 600,000 workers are arrested, deported and again smuggled into Thailand, but the authorities never arrest the traffickers because they know each other," Suraphong Kongjanthuek, an official from the Lawyers Council of Thailand, said.

Citing a study conducted by the council, he said migrant workers were required to pay traffickers up to Bt20,000 every time they enter Thailand, and nearly all of them are asked for anything between Bt500 and Bt10,000 by corrupt police officers.


.

With that kind of profit and turn over. This will never stop.

French firms adjust wage

French firms adjust wage

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation
October 3, 2011 12:23 pm

French companies in Thailand plan to adjust their employees' daily minimum wage to Bt300 in line with the government's policy to boost domestic spending.

Many French companies here have already increased the minimum wage to Bt300, and the rest have committed to do so next year.

In a recent meeting, French Ambassador to Thailand Gildas Le Lidec told Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong that about 400 French companies, which employ more than 100,000 Thais, plan to pay a minimum wage of Bt300 in accordance with the government's policy. "The ambassador said that French firms already pay their workers well. They are ready to pay more, believing this will boost spending and benefit the country's growth, Kittiratt said.

Paris has urged the Thai government to start bilateral talks with the European Union (EU) in order to boost trade and investment between the two markets.

Kittiratt said the Thai government would carefully consider the issue, as a free-trade agreement (FTA) would have both positive and negative impacts for Thai industries.

Thailand was invited to start bilateral trade talks with the EU a couple of years ago after negotiations on an Asean-EU FTA collapsed over differences of opinion among Asean members. The EU then sought bilateral talks with certain countries in Asean, including Thailand, seeing potential to strengthen trade and investment growth.

A draft negotiation plan between Thailand and the EU is being considered by the Trade Negotiation Department involving many areas, including intellectual property rights, human rights and trade barriers. The department plans to propose the draft plan to the Cabinet in the near future, and eventually for Parliament's endorsement.

Originally Posted by Carrabow

With that kind of profit and turn over. This will never stop.

I assume you're referring to "Seriously Dumb's" copy and pastes?

Bangkok Post : Building a new society

Building a new society

Kittiratt defends plan to redistribute income

• Published: 3/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Boosting minimum wages and farm income is all part of a larger strategy aimed at nothing short of rebalancing Thailand's society and economy, says Kittiratt Na-Ranong, the deputy prime minister in charge of economic policy.

Thailand needs to steer away from the export-driven growth model used for the past five decades to one based on domestic consumption.



"Do you agree that 250 baht a day is a decent wage? Or even the 300 baht per day that I am proposing," Mr Kittiratt, also the commerce minister, said in an interview with the Bangkok Post.

"Working for eight full hours ... do you think that is good enough for these people who are Thai human beings, and foreign human beings ... whether this kind of level is considered decent? I don't. I wouldn't let my son, or my brothers, or my good friends work and earn that little. I'll do anything that I can to help them."

The government will raise minimum wages, now set at 226 baht per day in Phuket to 156 baht in Phayao, to 300 baht per day in Bangkok and six other provinces starting Jan 1, 2012. Authorities will also raise civil service salaries for university graduates to 15,000 baht per month under a programme that will push state salary spending up by 27 billion baht per year.

The increases are a step backwards from prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra's campaign promises to boost wages nationwide in one go, after stiff opposition from the business sector.

But Mr Kittiratt said he was confident that the rate hike would push wages at the bottom upwards across the system.

"Some companies have already committed to raising wages on their own, even for provinces not yet targeted under the programme," he said.

"It's good that they are volunteering to do so _ that way I won't have to force them. The tripartite committee decides by majority vote. For decades, the government has sided with the employers. Now it's time to look after the workers."

Minimum wages are set by a committee comprised of labour, industry and government representatives. Wages differ from province to province based on living standards.

Mr Kittiratt, whose background includes team manager of the national football team, president of the Stock Exchange of Thailand and deputy director at the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration, said he was committed to pushing for a paradigm shift in development policies.

"Export growth of 20% [per year] has done very little to boost domestic consumption. And the wealth that we have has not been evenly distributed to all people," he said.

Thailand's income gap has increased in recent years, and has one of the highest inequality rankings in the region. Economic inequality meanwhile has helped contribute to social and political infighting and instability over the past several years.

"Economics, society and politics are all tied together. Do we want to wait for the time when the poor will rise up and fight?" Mr Kittiratt asked.

The former investment banker stressed that he believed in capitalism and free markets. "It's not necessarily true that the middle or upper class must subsidise the costs of these policies. It's not a zero-sum game.

"Please trust me. It's not a populist policy just to please workers in the city and farmers in the rural areas. It's actually a package of policies which tries to rebalance the country."

Mr Kittiratt said for years, the poor had been asked to bear an unfair burden through policies that kept wages low to encourage labour-intensive industries to invest in the country.

"We have 7 million people at the minimum wage. They are [living] almost not as human beings," he said.

"Exports account for 72% of gross domestic product. I don't know what it should be. But I do know that I don't want to see it become 73%."

Raising income levels and boosting rural income through programmes such as the rice mortgage scheme will boost household income, domestic consumption and the economy overall.

Higher consumption in turn will help drive growth in tax revenues to help offset the costs of programmes to strengthen social welfare programmes and tax cuts for the private sector.

And strengthening the domestic economy will be crucial considering the economic turmoil in the US and Europe, Mr Kittiratt said.

"Some have interpreted His Majesty the King's teachings as sufficiency economy. I prefer 'self-contained' economy. We must reduce our dependence on others," he said. "I believe in capitalism. But we need to guard against the perils of globalisation."

The wage hike policy and the rice mortgage programme will be the main tools for pushing up rural incomes. The government this week will begin accepting pledges for paddy rice at 15,000 baht per tonne and 20,000 per tonne for jasmine hom mali rice, a price 50% higher than market prices last month.

Critics have blasted the government for the programme, saying it could lead to hefty losses for taxpayers as the state essentially becomes the main buyer of rice in the country.

The Abhisit Vejjajiva government halted the mortgage scheme in favour of an insurance programme that compensated farmers when prices fell below benchmark rates.

But Mr Kittiratt argued that past support programmes had subsidised global rice consumers. Thailand is the world's largest rice exporter, accounting for one-third of total global trade.

''Consider that the price insurance scheme cost some 60 billion baht. If I use less money [for the mortgage programme], and farmers receive 15,000 baht per tonne, do I pass,'' he asked.

Higher salaries will help raise competition for workers and encourage firms to raise productivity through investments in automation and skills training. Companies will also move out of low-wage industries to produce higher-value goods and services, Mr Kittiratt said.

Even if wage hikes lead to higher inflation, Mr Kittiratt said that's a tradeoff worth accepting if it results in greater wealth _ and wealth distribution _ for the country.

More also needs to be done to encourage market competition and break oligopolies to help small companies better compete.

''I'm not a politician. I believe actions speak louder than words, and my goal is to see a lower gap between the rich and poor,'' Mr Kittiratt said. ''It will take time. We are setting a new direction. Fast or slow, it's okay, as long as we are heading in the right direction.''

^ A lot of what he says I agree with and fully support. However, I think some of it is naive or misguided, such as his views on globalisation. You can not operate in isolation anymore.

Body to discuss provincial wages

Body to discuss provincial wages

The Nation October 4, 2011 12:37 pm

The Central Wage Committee will meet tomorrow to consider proposed hikes in the daily minimum wage from all provincial subcommittees, Somkiat Chayasriwong, permanent secretary of the Labour Ministry, said yesterday.

He heads the centre to help carry out the government's policy to raise the minimum wage to Bt300 across the country.

Currently, the minimum wage ranges from Bt159 in Phayao to Bt221 in Phuket.

Labour Minister Phadermchai Sasomsap said the subcommittees in most provinces had agreed with raising the minimum wage by 40 per cent on January 1.

The subcommittees for 23 provinces have asked for a hike of only 30-35 per cent.

The subcommittees for Buri Ram and Mukdahan have resolved that the minimum wage should be raised by more than 80 per cent to Bt300 from just Bt166 in Buri Ram and Bt155 in Mukdahan now.

"The wage subcommittees for Chaiyaphum, Prachin Buri, Nong Bua Lamphu and Phatthalung have also pushed for a hike of over 40 per cent," he said.

The subcommittee for Samut Songkhram has asked for an increase of 40 per cent on January 1 and an increment to Bt300 within three years.

"In Bueng Kan, there's no subcommittee in action yet," he said.

The subcommittees for Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Rayong and Surat Thani had not yet reached a conclusion, Phadermchai said.

Somkiat said his centre had listened to the opinions of all parties.

"We're implementing the government's policy to raise the daily minimum wage to Bt300 with caution," he said.

Wage committee expected to approve 40-per cent hike Wednesday

Wage committee expected to approve 40-per cent hike Wednesday

The Nation October 4, 2011 9:09 am

The Central Wage Committee looks set to approve a 40-per-cent hike for daily minimum wage across the country at its meeting Wednesday, according to Labour Ministry's permanent secretary Dr Somkiat Chayasriwong.

With the approval, the significant pay raise will take effect from January 1 onward. Moreover, Somkiat yesterday expressed confidence that the government would be able to finally push the daily minimum wage to Bt300 nationwide by the start of 2013.

Thai-ASEAN News Network



Workers Plan Rally to Push for Wage Hike

UPDATE : 4 October 2011

Workers are planning to gather at Government House to demand that the minimum daily wage be increased as soon as possible to keep up with the rising cost of living.

Confederation of Thai Labor President Manus Kosol said thousands of workers plan to gather at the United Nations office in Bangkok before proceeding to Government House to submit a letter to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Friday.


Manus urged the prime minister to give more clarity on the daily wage hike policy.

He also voiced his opposition to the plan to raise the daily minimum wage to 300 baht nationwide in two phases next year.

During the first phase, the rate will be increased by 40 percent nationwide, effective January 1 next year.

In the second phase, the nationwide minimum wage will be adjusted to 300 baht before the end of next year.

He called on the government to increase the minimum wage to 300 baht as soon as possible to match the rising cost of living and inflation rate.

He also demanded that the hike be made retroactively to October 1.

In the meantime, Labor Minister Phadernchai Sasomsup said during a speech at the opening of the administrative center for the 300-baht minimum wage hike that the ministry is moving forward cautiously with the plan.

He insisted that the ministry is willing to listen to opinions from all sides.

According to Phadermchai, the ministry is in the process of studying the impact of the policy on each province.

The results of the study will be submitted to relevant agencies to determine the most effective assistance measures.

Meanwhile, Labor Ministry Permanent Secretary Somkiat Chayasriwong stated that the Central Wage Committee will meet tomorrow to consider the proposed minimum wage increase.

He noted that the wage panel's subcommittees in six provinces have yet to submit their proposals on the daily minimum wage adjustment for 2012 to the committee.

The six provinces are Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Rayong, Surat Thani, Samut Songkram and Bueng Kan.

Other provinces have proposed the minimum wage be raised by 40 percent in 48 provinces and 30 to 35 percent in 23 provinces.

Buri Ram Province will see the highest increase of 83.7 percent from its current rate of 166 to 300 baht, followed by Mukdahan with 81.8-percent rise from the current 165 to 300 baht.

Across-the-board hike of 40% likely today

Across-the-board hike of 40% likely today

The Nation October 5, 2011 12:58 pm



Labour permanent secretary confident of Bt300 by 2013

The Central Wage Committee looks set to approve a 40-per-cent hike in the daily minimum wage across the country at its meeting today, according to the Labour Ministry's permanent secretary Somkiat Chayasriwong.

With the committee's approval, the significant pay raise will take effect on January 1.

Moreover, Somkiat said he was confident that the government would be able to push the daily minimum wage to Bt300 around the country by the start of 2013.

"I have already spoken to representatives of the government, the employers and the workers," he said.

During the recent election campaign, the Pheu Thai Party promised to immediately raise the daily minimum wage to Bt300 across the country. Since Pheu Thai now heads the government, labour organisations have been pushing hard for it to deliver on its promise. Leaders of labour organisations will call on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to discuss the matter on Friday.

In response to their planned visit, Somkiat said yesterday he was confident that they would listen to his explanation of the issues involved.

"I believe they will understand the impacts if we push for an immediate hike to Bt300 a day," he said.

As it is, relevant authorities are now preparing to ensure that affected small- and medium-sized enterprises have access to soft loans. The Social Security Office (SSO) board will soon be asked to grant Bt10 billion in soft loans to affected entrepreneurs via commercial banks, he said.

The SSO will charge commercial banks a 1-per-cent interest rate, and the banks will impose a 2.5-per-cent interest rate on the entrepreneurs. Only entrepreneurs participating in the social-security scheme can seek soft loans under this project. Those outside the social-security scheme will be able to seek soft loans from the Small Business Credit Guarantee Corporation's fund.

Somkiat said the government also proposed that the SSO reduce employers' contributions to the social security fund from 5 per cent to just 3.5 per cent of the amount equivalent to employees' salaries.

The maximum salary recognised by the scheme is no more than Bt15,000 a month.

Somkiat said the decrease would affect the amount of money allocated for employees' benefits in the event of illnesses, disabilities, childbirth and deaths.

"The drop in employers' contributions is just a temporary measure for about one or two years only. This is if the SSO board agrees and the Cabinet approves the plan," Somkiat said.

As for the government's contributions to the social-security scheme, Somkiat said it would be proposed that the government make up the 1.5-per-cent contribution the SSO would not longer receive from employers, and that this be directed to employees' benefits in the event of illnesses, disabilities, childbirth or deaths, to employees' benefits in the event of unemployment, and to pensions.

Bangkok Post : FTI to lobby committee once more

• Published: 5/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: Business

Business leaders today will propose guidelines on minimum wage increases to the central wage committee in a last-ditch effort to persuade the government to revise plans for a big hike in daily wages nationwide.

Sommat Khunset, secretary-general of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said members would propose two options to the wage committee comprising government, employer and labour representatives.

The first option, which Mr Sommat said the FTI prefers, involves defining ''minimum wages'' to cover employee benefits provided by each company _ including overtime, transport costs and daily allowances.

The measure, he said, should apply to seven pilot provinces including Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Nakhon Pathom, Phuket, Samut Prakan and Samut Sakhon, beginning in January.

The remaining provinces, which have an average daily wage of 180 baht, would start with an increase of 40 baht per day in January, with the wage rising to 300 baht per day in 2014.

The second option involves the government paying compensation of half the increased amount and then gradually increasing the minimum wage to 300 baht within four years.

''For instance, the minimum wage in Thailand is on average 215 baht per day,'' Mr Sommat said. ''A 40% increase, which is 86 baht, would result in the government needing to pay 43 baht spread over four years.''

He said the proposals took into account the economic effects of flooding and the slowdown in the global economy expected to affect Thailand next year.

If the government were to compensate businesses for half of the increase as proposed, the 40% increase in wages nationwide would cost the state 30 billion baht per year, Mr Sommat said.

Concerning the government's policy to lower the corporate income tax rate to 23% next year from the current 30%, he said the government must implement the policy in order for the country to stay competitive.


Writer: Nanchanok Wongsamuth
Position: Business Reporter