Thai-ASEAN News Network



Private Sector Ponders Joint Stand on Mimimum Wage

UPDATE : 1 August 2011

The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking holds another meeting today to discuss the 300-baht daily minimum wage before submitting its recommendations to the new government for consideration.

Meanwhile, the industry minister has reported the lowest number of new factory permit requests as investors are concerned about possible higher labor cost.

The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking, consisting of the Federation of Thai Industries, the Thai Bankers Association and the Thai Chamber of Commerce, held a meeting to discuss possible consequences from the implementation of the 300-baht daily minimum wage.


The committee announced its opposition to the new minimum wage during its previous meeting held on July 20, claiming that it would severely affect the economy.

President of the Federation of Thai Industries, Payungsak Chartsutipol, said that the committee will consider how industries can prepare for the wage hike and submit recommendations to the new government for consideration.

In its last meeting, the committee announced its opposition to the 300-baht minimum wage on the grounds that it would have adverse effects on the country's economic structure and advised that the wage hike should follow market mechanisms.

The committee also said that if the new government is adamant about the implementation of the policy, it should roll out measures to assist the private sector to cover the higher cost.

Meanwhile, according to the latest report from the Industry Ministry, the number of new factory permit requests has dropped to a record low in July at only four with a total investment value of 209 million baht.

The figure dropped by more than 14 times from the same period last year.

The ministry believes that this was largely due to investors' concern about the 300-baht daily minimum wage and the 15,000-baht monthly minimum salary policies which would bring up production costs.

Most investors are waiting to see how the new government will proceed on the matter.

Director of the Industrial Economics Research Office, Ithichai Yodsri, pointed out that a recent survey among industrial operators on the new government's policies found that most respondents expected inflation to increase by four percent from the current rate of lower than three percent.

However, Ithichai does not expect the industrial sector to be affected much as most businesses are export-oriented but the higher prices of goods will have an impact on consumers' purchasing power.