Thread: Minimum wage to increase by April 2011

Thai-ASEAN News Network

Govt to Help SMEs Affected by Wage Hike

UPDATE : 5 October 2011

The Labor Ministry plans to request ten billion baht from the Social Security Office to issue loans for SMEs which are most likely to be severely affected by the daily minimum wage hike policy.

Labor Ministry Permanent Secretary Somkiat Chayasriwong said the government has already prepared several measures to help SMEs which are most likely to be severely affected by the planned daily minimum wage hike to 300 baht.


Measures include loans totaling 20 billion baht from the Small Business Credit Guarantee Corporation under the Finance Ministry.

Also, the Labor Ministry will introduce a soft loan program, asking the Social Security Office for ten billion baht as loans for SMEs via commercial banks.

Somkiat stated that the ministry will propose reduction of the contribution to the Social Security Fund.

It proposed that contribution from both employers and employees be reduced from the current five percent to 3.5 percent of wage.

The government will continue to pay an unchanged contribution to the fund at 2.75 percent of wage.

He added the reduction of social security collection will be temporary and it should not be put into use for more than two years.

Stalemate in wage panel over Bt300 daily wage

Stalemate in wage panel over Bt300 daily wage

THANONGSAK MUENNOO
THE NATION October 6, 2011 1:08 am



The Central Wage Tripartite Committee yesterday failed to reach a decision as to when the flat Bt300 minimum daily wage should go into effect after employees' representatives refused to accept employers' demand for a four-year delay.

The panel will discuss the issue again on October 17.

After the four-hour meeting, Labour Ministry permanent secretary Somkiat Chayasriwong said employers wanted to wait for four years before increasing the daily wage rate to Bt300 and also wanted concrete measures and guarantees from the government.

The government has been under pressure to deliver on its campaign promise, with the workforce demanding that the Bt300 rate be implemented immediately in Bangkok and its vicinity, by January 1 in other large provinces and the rest of the country in the next two years.

Somkiat said he hoped the October 17 meeting would be final, though he did not want to force the result through voting, because "a voting-enabled win would not be accepted by all parties concerned".

Atthayuth Leeyawanich, a panel member representing employers, said that under the Labour Protection Act wages could not be adjusted freely, but had to depend on inflation, cost of living and production cost.

"The 40-per-cent average increase [based on the flat Bt300 rate] does not go according to law," he said, adding that he doubted if the Bt300 would be constitutional.

"Although the Act does not stipulate liabilities for violation, I wonder if the panel's decision would go against the Constitution," he said.

Labour leader Wilaiwan sae-Tia had earlier submitted an open letter to the ministry saying the Bt300 wage should be implemented by January 1 or the government would face legal action for failing to keep its election promise.

She added that some 3,000 labourers and members of the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee (TLSC) would gather outside Government House to submit this request to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, she added.

Labour Minister Pol General Phadermchai Sasomsap, who met Wilaiwan and fellow workers, said the flat Bt300 rate would most probably not be implemented by January 1 as the process of many related incentives, including corporate tax reduction, had yet to be completed.

Bangkok Post : Wage rise gets closer to fruition

Wage rise gets closer to fruition

Panel considers gradual increase over four years

• Published: 6/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

The Central Wage Committee is expected to finalise the 300 daily minimum wage for workers in all provinces on Oct 17.

Somkiart Chayasriwong, permanent secretary for labour and chairman of the Central Wage Committee, said the panel came up with two wage increase options _ a 40% rise to 300 baht in two years and a gradual increase to 300 baht over a four-year period _ during its meeting yesterday.

The wage committee will consider the options during its next meeting on Oct 17, said Mr Somkiart, adding the committee's secretariat would conclude assistance measures for employers. The committee comprises the government, employers and labour representatives.

"Over the past 14 years, increases in the daily minimum wages have been below the cost of living by 10%," the wage committee chairman said. He wanted the 300 baht minimum wage issue to be settled at the next meeting.

Although there were differences between employers and the panel on the wage increases, a joint resolution on the issue must be reached, he said.

He did not favour a vote to decide on the wage rise issue. If the panel's preference for a 40% rise to 300 baht in two years was approved, the result may not be accepted.

Atthayuth Leeyawanich, an employer representative on the wage panel, said the government's assistance measures for business enterprises affected by its 300 baht minimum wage policy were unclear and would not truly benefit them.

Small firms which would be more adversely affected by higher wages would not benefit from tax cuts, he said.

He viewed those measures, including low-interest loans, as merely "government tricks to fool children".

He called for a reduction in the value-added tax from 7% to 4-5% to cut production costs. This proposed VAT cut would also help increase workers' purchasing power, he said.

The employers favoured a gradual rise in the 300 baht daily minimum wage with the government subsidising the wage increases, Mr Atthayuth said.

For example, if the minimum wage is increased from 215 baht to 230 baht a day in the first year, the government should subsidise 70 baht so workers receive 300 baht a day.

If the wage was gradually increased to 270 baht, the government's subsidy would be 30 baht. In 2015, the wage would be raised to 300 baht and the government's subsidy would no longer be needed, he explained.

During the election campaign, the Pheu Thai Party promised to immediately raise the daily minimum wage to 300 baht across the country.

Mr Atthayuth said the Pheu Thai-led government must be responsible for its 300 baht minimum wage campaign promise by covering the difference.

A source said employers on the tripartite wage panel had argued the minimum wage policy failed to follow Section 87 of the Labour Protection Bill which states that wage rates must be determined by the cost of living, the inflation rate, the ability of employers to shoulder higher costs and economic growth.

Wilaiwan sae Tia, deputy chairwoman of the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee, said workers wanted to see a minimum wage increase to 300 baht across the country on Jan 1, 2012 as earlier promised. If wages are not raised, workers would ask the Administrative Court to take action against the government.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

^ 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.

He's not saying that. And on the issue of the disfunction of Globalization - it's well documented. The most outspoken authority on this is Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize winner -- AND a former head of the World Bank (of all places).

Thai-ASEAN News Network

3,000 Laborers Gather at Gov't House

UPDATE : 7 October 2011

According to the INN News Agency, approximately 3,000 laborers are scheduled to gather at the Government House to demand that the administration follow through with campaign promises to raise minimum wage to 300 Baht per day. Talks yesterday between employees, laborers, and the state broke down when they failed to agree on how to implement the wage increase.

See also..

Phuket NEWS: Phuket panel pushes for minimum wage hike

Phuket panel pushes for minimum wage hike

Bangkok Post : Rallies demand promised wage rates

Rallies demand promised wage rates

• Published: 7/10/2011 at 06:10 PM
• Online news: Local News

Workers' and students' representatives rallied near Government House on Friday, demanding the government raise the daily minimum wage to 300 baht for workers in all provinces and increase the starting salary for all graduates to 15,000 baht - as promised.


More than 1,000 workers' representatives gathered outside Government House.

Confederation of Thai Labour, chairman Manas Kosol represented the group in handing over a letter calling on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to honour the promises given by the Pheu Thai Party during this year's election campaign.

Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong received the letter on the premier's behalf.

Mr Manas said that the government remains unclear about the 300 baht wage policy.

Previously, Labour Minister Padermchai Sasomsap proposed testing a 40 per cent increase in the minimum wage in the seven provinces where wages are highest - Bangkok and its surrounding provinces, and Phuket.

The increase would bring the minimum wage in those provinces to more than 300 baht a day.

At the same time, a student network from Thammasat University, Kasetsart University, Burapha University and Ramkhamhaeng University rallied at Chamai Maruchet bridge near Government House and demanded the government implement the 15,000 baht starting salary policy for all, as promised.


Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala

They also called on the government to reform the education system to ensure free and quality education for the people.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala criticised the Bank of Thailand's Monetary Policy Committee members, saying they are not working with their heads and they should stop relying on statistics when making decisions.

"The MPC members should focus on the big picture and anticipate what may happen in the future, and they should use more of their sixth sense, because the Thai economy is facing more risks, domestically and abroad.

"At present, they are relying on statistics, such as GDP and unemployment figures, and they are just keying in numbers and wait for the calculations to proceed. Anyone can do that and I can do that because it's a no brainer," Mr Thirachai said.

He said the financial policy of the government focused on economic risk abatement by raising agricultural income through the rice mortgage scheme, boosting domestic consumption through the 300-baht minimum daily wage policy, and increasing graduates' starting salaries to 15,000 baht a month.

The first-home and first-car buyers’ tax rebate programmes will also help stimulate the economy, the minister added.

Workers remind govt of Bt300 pledge

Workers remind govt of Bt300 pledge

Samatcha Hoonsara
The Nation October 8, 2011 12:07 pm


Labour groups yesterday decried the government's partial implementation of the Bt300 wage-hike policy, reminding the Pheu Thai-led administration of the party's campaign pledge to raise the minimum wage nationwide, and not just in seven provinces.

To mark Value of Work Day, some 1,000 workers marched to Government House to submit a petition asking Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to honour her promise to hike wages.

Labour leader Manas Kosol said Pheu Thai promised to boost the minimum wage to Bt300 per day nationwide immediately after assuming office. But the government subsequently modified the policy to cover just seven provinces starting on January 1, he said.

He called on Yingluck to clarify when workers nationwide would be paid Bt300 a day.

In a related development, a group of university students held a rally at Government House yesterday calling on the government to guarantee a Bt15,000 entry-level salary for graduates with a bachelor's degree.

As workers and students congregated, vehicles were restricted to one lane, causing traffic snarls around Government House in the morning.

Ministry seeks Bt300 wage for state workers

Ministry seeks Bt300 wage for state workers

Piyanart Srivalo
The Nation
October 11, 2011 11:59 am

A Labour Ministry request that state-enterprise employees be guaranteed a flat Bt300 daily wage is expected to be tabled at today's Cabinet meeting.

The Office of the Civil Service Commission (OCSC) is also expected to submit a request that a Bt15,000 starting salary be approved for newly recruited government officials.

State enterprises are hoping the Bt300 wage will take immediate effect, after the Cabinet approved four years ago a blanket 5-per-cent rise in salaries, allowances and other benefits.

Initial approval was given by the ministry and two powerful networks of state enterprise unions on October 1, but approval by the Cabinet today would make the payment mandatory with immediate effect.

The Bt15,000 rise would cost the government Bt18.8 billion a year.

See also..which I can't be arsed to post here.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingn...lly-called-off

Wage rally called off

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/1...79C0W720111017

Thai firms seek minimum wage freeze after floods

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...-rise-decision

Bosses want 6-month delay in panel's wage rise decision

40% nationwide minimum wage hike across country approved
October 17, 2011

The Central Wage Committee Monday approved a 40-percent hike in the daily minimum wage across the country.

The pay rise, however, will take effect not from January 1 but from April 1 due to the flood crisis.

Speaking in his capacity as the chair of the Central Wage Committee, Labour Ministry permanent secretary Dr Somkiat Chayasriwong disclosed that the committee's members unanimously agreed to the 40-percent increase and that a vote was not deemed necessary.

nationmultimedia.com

Good Job.

Thailand to increase wages despite flood costs - FT.com

Last updated: October 17, 2011 5:53 pm

Thailand to increase wages despite flood costs

By Ben Bland in Hanoi


The Thai government is pressing ahead with a large minimum wage increase despite appeals from companies concerned about the financial impact of the worst floods in 50 years.

Wages in Bangkok and six other relatively prosperous provinces will be increased by around 40 percent to 300 baht (£6.20) a day from April next year, the government announced after a meeting with employers and trade union representatives on Monday. The wage increase was a key campaign pledge of Yingluck Shinawatra, the recently elected prime minister.

Rising wage costs will be an additional headache for the more than 1,000 factories that have been hit by the floods, at a time when there is growing concern in Thailand and other export-focused nations about the possible impact of the deteriorating global economic outlook.

More than 2.3m people have been affected by the floods, with 300 people killed and four million acres of farmland flooded since late July when unusually heavy monsoon rains began pounding the region.

Flood waters continued to surge in some areas on Monday, with Navanakorn industrial park, 30 miles from the capital Bangkok, the latest manufacturing zone to be engulfed despite efforts to protect it. Bangkok appeared to have been spared serious flooding for now although some residents had stocked up on water and instant noodles, fearing the worst.

Western Digital, the world’s second largest maker of computer hard drives by sales, warned on Monday it expected the flooding of its facilities in Thailand, combined with flood damage to its supply chain, to have a “significant impact on the company’s overall operations and its ability to meet customer demand for its products in the December quarter.”

Its operations have been suspended in Thailand due to the threat of flooding and, over the weekend, rising water had penetrated the flood defences of the Bang Pa-in industrial park, inundating its factory there and submerging some equipment. The flooding at the Navanakorn industrial park threatened its other Thailand factory, it said in a statement. The company’s other manufacturing facilities in Malaysia, Singapore and the US are operating normally.

Nearby Cambodia and Vietnam have also been hit by the worst floods in a decade, with damage to crops and factories and around 300 people killed across both countries.

Jun Trinidad, an economist at Citibank, predicted that the wage hike would feed into higher inflation expectations, with food prices already expected to rise because of the damage to rice and other key crops from the surging water levels.

On Monday, the government vowed to offer financial assistance such as concessionary loans and tax breaks to individuals affected by the floods.

Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an expert on Thai politics at Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, said that while these moves to help families in need would be welcomed, the government must also help the manufacturers that have been hit.

“They will need to fine tune the assistance after the water level decreases,” he said. “They may have to wait to ensure there are no side effects on the economy.”

After discussing the impact of the floods with government officials and business leaders, Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala, Thailand’s finance minister, told reporters that the damage could knock 1 to 1.7 percentage points of growth this year.

The finance ministry has already reduced its forecast for GDP growth this year to 3.7 per cent from 4 per cent.

Frederic Neumann, an economist at HSBC in Hong Kong, argued in a note to clients that “widespread destruction will weigh on growth in the short term, but reconstruction should provide a powerful lift in 2012.”

Many Japanese companies, which have chosen Thailand as their south-east Asian production base, have had to close factories because of the floods, at a time when their supply chains have only recently recovered from the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March.

Car makers Honda and Toyota and electronics manufacturers Sony and Nikon are among more than 300 Japanese companies that have been affected, according to Japan’s external trade organisation.

BusinessDay - Thailand raises minimum wage 40% despite industry pleas

Thailand raises minimum wage 40% despite industry pleas

Employers were outvoted by the state and worker representatives and a minimum daily wage of 300 baht ($9,70) was set for Bangkok and six other relatively well-off provinces

ORATHAI SRIRING Published: 2011/10/18 0849 AM

THE Thai government is pushing ahead with a big rise in the minimum wage, despite appeals from industry to shelve the plan to help companies cope with financial losses after the worst floods in half a century devastated parts of the country.

Flooding has killed at least 307 people since late July, damaged large areas of farmland and closed half a dozen large industrial estates this month at a potential cost of 1,7% of gross domestic product.

At a meeting of a tripartite wage committee yesterday , employers were outvoted by the state and worker representatives and a minimum daily wage of 300 baht ($9,70) was set for Bangkok and six other relatively well-off provinces, an increase of about 40%.

"This will be effective on April 1 2012 because of the flooding," said Labour Ministry permanent secretary Somkiat Chayasriwong . Thailand’s other 77 provinces will also get a rise of 40%, but that will leave the minimum below 300 baht.

A rise in the minimum wage to a uniform 300 baht around the country was one of the main policies of the party of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in July’s election. It would have meant an increase of 90% in some poorer areas.

A 300 baht daily wage is five times higher than the minimum in Vietnam and 2,5-4,6 times that in Indonesia, according to Kasikorn Research Centre. A rice-based meal for one person costs about 37 baht from a Bangkok street vendor.

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, brother of Ms Yingluck and seen by many as the person really running the government from self-imposed exile in Dubai, had argued for the full increase to go ahead. "If you think it will cost businesses more, slashing their profitability, that is the one-dimensional view," he told the Bangkok Post in an interview published yesterday . "But for me, the policy will reallocate resources in society and is also a good way to boost productivity."

He saw a rise as part of the government’s aim of "rebalancing society", after a political crisis that has pitted the rural and urban poor, who largely back Mr Thaksin, against Thailand’s traditional elites over the past six years. Ms Yingluck’s Puea Thai Party broadly represents the rural and urban working class.

Thailand’s minimum wage has risen by an average of 2,3% a year over the past 10 years, but annual inflation has averaged 2,8% over the same period, according to the National Economic and Social Development Board.

The wage rise will add to the central bank’s dilemma at its rate review tomorrow. Core inflation is near 3%, the top of its target range, but the economy is under threat from both the floods and a slowdown in western export markets. Following a meeting yesterday , the central bank said it was ready to be flexible on monetary policy. Reuters

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

which I can't be arsed to post here.

WTF ????

jezzus SD get a fokin life

14,000 factories in 20 cities flooded

A total of 14,172 factories have been inundated by the widespread flooding in 20 provinces, affecting 663,218 workers, Arthit Ismo, director general of the Labour Welfare and Protection Department, said on Tuesday.

In Pathum Thani alone, 3,326 industrial plants were flooded and 218,474 workers affected, he added.

The water that surged into the Nava Nakorn industrial estate yesterday had flooded 227 factories, affecting more than 175,000 workers, said Mr Arthit.

Originally Posted by Mid

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

which I can't be arsed to post here.

WTF ????

jezzus SD get a fokin life

He does, Mid.
Quite an obsessive one.
Around the clock.....

Originally Posted by Mid

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

which I can't be arsed to post here.

WTF ????

jezzus SD get a fokin life

LOL

Why don't you tell us what you really think Mid.

Originally Posted by BusinessDay - [B

Thailand raises minimum wage 40% despite industry pleas Thailand raises minimum wage 40% despite industry pleas[/B]

As Sabang pointed out in another Post, Ms. Y and the PTP better quit implementing election promises.

Damn, that will screw up the works for the Democrat Party and all their Amart components next election.

Stop it, please!

Originally Posted by superman

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

A rise in the minimum wage to a uniform 300 baht around the country was one of the main policies of the party of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in July’s election. It would have meant an increase of 90% in some poorer areas.

Something has to be done. Not only are we talking about the minimum wage here, but hours worked also. I live in an Isaan village. At a local restaurant the workers start at 8am and work until 10pm, sometimes 11pm. For that, they get 150 Baht a day. Criminal in my book.

A mandated implementation of a strict hourly wage, less a daily, would suffice - keeping within the boundaries of a lawful hourly minimum wage.

This celebration [of sorts] of daily minimum is quite misleading and foolworthy.
It's still unworthy.

Talks coming on more minimumwage rises - The Nation

Talks coming on more minimum wage rises

October 31, 2011 12:28 pm



Labour Minister Chalermchai Srion will tomorrow start discussions with the Federation of Thai Industries and employee associations over the Democrat Party's election promise to raise minimum wages by 25 per cent within two years.

According to Democrat Party spokesman Buranat Samutarak, raising minimum wages is one of two major policies for the upcoming election to help the poor cope with the increasing cost of living. On the other hand, farmers' income will also be raised by the same amount.

"We will launch the policies soon through TV commercials and radio spots until the election takes place," he said.

The latest rises in minimum wages, by Bt8Bt11 per day depending on the province, took place in January and drew criticism from manufacturers.

Meanwhile, Labour Ministry permanent secretary Somkiat Chayasriwong, as chairman of the Central Wage Committee, noted that the planned increase was just an election-campaign promise of the Democrat Party. He also believed other parties would follow suit, however.

He said provincial subcommittees had been assigned to collect data on the cost of living in each province and submit the data within two months.

If the cost of living in any province shows significant increases, the issue will be tabled at the committee's meeting for immediate discussion. Without such signs, the issue will be discussed at the end of the year, as usual.