Thread: Minimum wage to increase by April 2011

Employers side-step pay hike | Bangkok Post: news

Employers side-step pay hike

• Published: 14/05/2012 at 01:53 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Labour groups say workers are being ripped off by employers after the 300-baht minimum wage policy was introduced and have called on the Pheu Thai Party to rectify the situation.

Employers were resorting to "dirty tricks" to avoid paying employees the new minimum wage, Thai Labour Reconciliation Committee head Chalee Loysung said. Since the new wage was introduced on April 1, the committee has received 73 complaints from workers who said their employers refused to comply with the wage policy.

The companies calculate the amounts of welfare given to the workers and combine them with their old wage to create a new wage that exceeds the 300 baht rate, Mr Chalee told a recent forum attended by labour leaders to discuss the issue in Bangkok.

He said the problem was particularly common among garment, furniture and restaurant businesses.

At some companies, workers who received more than 300 baht a day before April 1 had their wages cut after the policy was launched. The firms used the money saved from the cut to pay other lesser-paid workers to meet the wage policy.

The new minimum wage is in effect in Phuket, Bangkok and surrounding provinces which have high costs of living and large industries. The new minimum wage will be implemented in the rest of the country on Jan 1 next year.

Mr Chalee said some businesses, including those in electronics manufacturing, laid off workers before April 1 so they would not have to meet severance payments based on the new wage.

He said even union leaders were sacked or were not given overtime.

Mr Chalee insisted the Pheu Thai Party must take responsibility for its flagship policy, which has been sidestepped by some employers.

"The party must address the problems and straighten them out for the affected workers," he said.

Yongyuth Mentaphao, chairman of the Thai Autoworkers Federation, said he expects the Jan 1 wage hike for the rest of the country to unleash more problems for workers.

He said the government must prepare for the consequences that might arise. He said the new wage will help reduce economic disparities.

"The workers should not be left to fend for themselves under pressure from the employers," Mr Yongyuth said.

He said the Pheu Thai Party had touted its wage hike platform during the previous election and "now the politicians must take care of the workers".

Wisut Ruengrit, of the Federation of Thailand Automotive Workers Unions, said wage hikes in the automotive industry varied. Some introduced a new pay scale only for the lesser-paid workers. Others gave a larger percentage of the increment to entry-level workers than that given to senior workers.

Chaloey Chombulan, of the Garment Workers' Federation, said some companies cut back on welfare as early as April 1.

Unionists 'laid off in wake of wage increase' - The Nation

Unionists 'laid off in wake of wage increase'

The Nation May 15, 2012 1:00 am

Since the Bt300 daily minimum wage was launched on April 1, many businesses have been trying to lay off union activists or limit their roles to prevent them from fighting for workers' rights, a labour leader said yesterday.

"Labour union members have been deemed as hostile [by employers] and some of them have been laid off in many cases, or assigned to non-paying duties or no longer given overtime work, which earns them extra income," said Chalee Loysung, chairman of the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee (TLSC).

Grumbling by workers about not being paid the full Bt300 is commonplace, but only 73 written complains have been received by the TLSC since April 1.

Among the popular ploys used by employers is including welfare benefits in the mandatory Bt300 figure to avoid breaking the law while saving huge extra costs.

Many workers in companies where salaries rise according to seniority and work experience, especially those in electronics plants, were laid off even before April 1, he said.

TLSC counsellors had visited many workplaces reporting such problems to hear directly from aggrieved workers as well as those without labour unions to give advice on how to work on the partial payment problem.

The Pheu Thai-led government should be held accountable for resolving the issues, which stemmed from the Bt300 policy that they promised, he added.

Yongyuth Mentaphao, chairman of the Automobile Labour Congress Of Thailand, said he sees more havoc coming after January 1, when the new wage is due to be extended across the country from the first seven provinces.

Authorities and the Labour Ministry should get fully involved in problem solving, as workers were fighting for their rights alone, he said.

Sattawat Wachirawit, a member of the Thailand Electronic and Appliance Workers Federation, said firms with facilities in many locations would face an internal migration of workers. This would disrupt their operations, defeat cost controls and cause disciplinary concerns.

The labour-intensive garment industry was the worst in terms of unwillingness to pay Bt300 or employing devices to keep the cost down, said Chaloey Chombulan, a member of the Textile Garment and Leather Workers Federation of Thailand.

"Many workers agreed to sign revised contracts that would end up not fully paying Bt300 to them but keep their employers safe from legal action," he said.

The chairman of a local hotel and service industry confederation in Phuket said small to medium-sized hotels were making their staff accept a welfare-padded Bt300 rate without breaking the law. Some of them laid off highly paid staff, claiming a temporary freeze of business to minimise severance payments, and then hired a new set of workers at lower salaries, he said.

Gosh, how unexpected.

Originally Posted by nevets

And my wife has just said that it is hard to find workers everyone has work , they are looking for migrant workers to fill in .
And she said people are know been payed 35b for working the land.

Yup, was at Rayong Labour Bureau recently to renew the work permit. The place was mobbed out with Loatian and Cambodian immigrant workers.

Originally Posted by Gerbil

Here's a tip.....
put them on a 5 day week @ 9.6 hours per day instead of 6 day week @ 8 hours a day.

5 days @ 300 baht = 1,500.00
6 days @ 300 baht = 1,800.00

It's a no brainer - if they complain, point out they are getting an extra day off a week.

Thai labor law would require you pay 1.5 premium for the extra hour and half each day. The labor law only recognizes a 5x8 40 hour or 6x8 48 hour work week. Any hours over 8 per normal working day (which includes the Sat for the 6 day week) you have to pay time and half.

TH

^ 300 / 9.5 = 31.58
31.58 * 40 = 1263.2
5 * 1.5 * 31.58 * 1.5 = 355.28

1263.2 + 355.28 = 1618.48

Still cheaper

you are assuming that Thai could make those complex calculations

^ I'm assuming most cant. Those that can will get shown them and shown the door if they whinge.

Kittiratt: SMEs sanguine about wages | Bangkok Post: business

Kittiratt: SMEs sanguine about wages

• Published: 23/05/2012 at 02:15 AM
• Newspaper section: Business

Small and medium-sized enterprises have yet to be affected by the minimum wage hike to 300 baht a day, insists Kittiratt Na-Ranong, deputy prime minister and finance minister.

He cited the latest Labour Ministry report that local SME activity remained normal, with some closing down and many opening new factories.

The government raised daily minimum wages in seven provinces by 40% on April 1.

Mr Kittiratt said access to capital remains the key problem for SMEs, so the Finance Ministry is relaxing its collateral requirements for SMEs.

Currently, only one-third of 3 million SMEs can borrow from banks.

The previous government initiated a new collateral law that would allow businesses greater flexibility in managing liquidity and assets, and the cabinet is reviewing the draft. The new law aims to allow SMEs to use unconventional assets as collateral, comprising stockpiled goods, raw materials, copyrights or franchise contracts.

The 3 million SMEs account for 99.6% of total entrepreneurs in Thailand and 78% of the workforce and contribute 37% to the gross domestic product.

The government's SME development plan calls for SMEs to contribute 50% of GDP over the next five years. It also assigned related ministries to pass measures to ease the impact on SMEs of the planned Asean Economic Community slated for 2015, in the hopes of increasing their competitiveness once Southeast Asian economies integrate.

The measures are scheduled to be completed over the next two weeks.

New wage means fall in income, workers complain - The Nation

New wage means fall in income, workers complain

The Nation June 12, 2012 1:00 am

A number of workers at Molnlycke Health Care (Thailand) found their monthly income falling after the government's policy to raise the daily minimum wage to Bt300 took effect in April 1, because their employer had stopped paying performance-based incentives.

"We used to earn more than Bt17,000 a month, but now our monthly income stands at around only Bt13,000," Natnapas Kaewthong said yesterday in her capacity as chair of the company's labour union.

Molnlycke Health Care (Thailand) has hired more than 1,000 people at its two factories, one in Samut Prakan and the other in Chon Buri. It is a manufacturer of surgical gowns.

Natnapas said the company had pressured 96 per cent of its workers to sign their consent for the cut in performance-based incentives.

"Those who refused have been transferred to other divisions or a new work shift. Those who've given their consent get a one-month bonus," Natnapas said when she showed up at the Labour Protection and Welfare Department to ask for help yesterday. She was accompanied by 21 other workers.

According to Natnapas, the Labour Protection Act requires the company must have discussions with its labour union when it wants or needs to change employment conditions or reduce workers' welfare.

"But the company's management has not followed the law. It has summoned the workers one by one to demand they sign the consent form," Natnapas said.

She said 22 executives and members of the labour union were suspended from work after they spoke up against the company's move they said was unfair."

The company must stop harassing the workers who have refused to give their consent to the change in their welfare conditions," Natnapas said. "The company must abide by laws".

She also demanded the employer allow the suspended workers to go back to work and stop using pressure tactics.

The executives of the Labour Protection and Welfare Department have promised to talk to the management of the Molnlycke Health Care (Thailand) to settle the dispute.

Only you and the labour unions could make this up. If you look closely to what you posted you will see some cracks. But I think you know that. You people do really hang on to anything to not give other people a chance. And the good economy and people to go forward.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

New wage means fall in income, workers complain - The Nation

New wage means fall in income, workers complain

The Nation June 12, 2012 1:00 am

A number of workers at Molnlycke Health Care (Thailand) found their monthly income falling after the government's policy to raise the daily minimum wage to Bt300 took effect in April 1, because their employer had stopped paying performance-based incentives.

"We used to earn more than Bt17,000 a month, but now our monthly income stands at around only Bt13,000," Natnapas Kaewthong said yesterday in her capacity as chair of the company's labour union.

Molnlycke Health Care (Thailand) has hired more than 1,000 people at its two factories, one in Samut Prakan and the other in Chon Buri. It is a manufacturer of surgical gowns.

Natnapas said the company had pressured 96 per cent of its workers to sign their consent for the cut in performance-based incentives.

"Those who refused have been transferred to other divisions or a new work shift. Those who've given their consent get a one-month bonus," Natnapas said when she showed up at the Labour Protection and Welfare Department to ask for help yesterday. She was accompanied by 21 other workers.

According to Natnapas, the Labour Protection Act requires the company must have discussions with its labour union when it wants or needs to change employment conditions or reduce workers' welfare.

"But the company's management has not followed the law. It has summoned the workers one by one to demand they sign the consent form," Natnapas said.

She said 22 executives and members of the labour union were suspended from work after they spoke up against the company's move they said was unfair."

The company must stop harassing the workers who have refused to give their consent to the change in their welfare conditions," Natnapas said. "The company must abide by laws".

She also demanded the employer allow the suspended workers to go back to work and stop using pressure tactics.

The executives of the Labour Protection and Welfare Department have promised to talk to the management of the Molnlycke Health Care (Thailand) to settle the dispute.

300 baht minimum wage doesn’t trigger economy : National News Bureau of Thailand

300 baht minimum wage doesn’t trigger economy

BANGKOK, 14 June 2012 (NNT) – The Thai Chamber of Commerce has declared that the 300 baht minimum wage policy isn’t helping Thailand’s economy as the government has expected.

Mr. Phumin Harinsut, Executive Vice President of the TCC said that the 300 baht minimum wage adjustment already enforced in seven provinces is not triggering the economy as has been predicted. The policy aims to encourage more spending. However, people have not much confidence in the stability of the companies they are working in. So they choose to save for the future. Mr. Phumin believed that the new wage policy would continue to hurt both small and large businesses next year. He thus called for government measures to cushion the impact.

Furthermore, a TCC survey found that 92 percent of the business operators in the 7 pilot provinces have already adjusted themselves to the new minimum wage, while the rest of 7.8% could not.

Bt300 minimum wage a failure, survey says - The Nation

Bt300 minimum wage a failure, survey says

The Nation July 20, 2012 1:00 am


The Bt300 minimumwage policy has failed to elevate workers' quality of life, according to the results of a survey released yesterday by the Thai Labour Reconciliation Committee (TLRC), which urged the Labour Ministry to review its role and do more to protect workers' rights.

The minimumwage policy, in effect in seven provinces since April 1, hasn't forced many establishments to raise their minimum wages and most companies are including their welfare allowance with the wage in order to meet the policy requirement, TLRC chairman Chalee Loysung said.

The situation has been especially hard on workers who've been on the job for more than 10 years, Chalee said. Requests for raises were rejected and met with threats of termination, and the older workers felt they had no choice but to accept the condition because they feared they wouldn't find another job at their age, he said.

Subcontract companies that employ such workers as security guards and maids told their employees that the wage hike was out of the question because the contract was already fixed, Chalee said.

The Labour Ministry has seemingly ignored its duty and has largely left the matter for employers and the workers to argument among themselves, Chalee said.

The policy of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's administration calls for a daily minimum wage of Bt300 and a salary of Bt15,000 for workers with bachelor's degrees, but the private sector is not complying because of a lack of clear guidelines, Chalee said. The TLRC will gather the workers' complaints and submit them to Labour Minister Phadermchai Sasomsap.

According to the survey, collected from eight TLRC complaintgathering centres, there were 5,134 complaints: 2,380 from workers, mostly in the hotel, transport, auto parts and jewellery sectors, who didn't receive the wage hike; 2,168 from workers, mostly in the textile industry, who faced changes in employment condition, lower welfare, position transfer or factory move; and 586 workers, mostly in the electronics, service, transport, food and furniture sectors, who saw their welfare allowances included with the Bt300 minimum wage.

TLRC deputy chair Wilaiwan Saetia said employers were using the minimumwage policy to reduce taxes, which mainly benefits big companies while small businesses simply threatened their workers with layoffs to force them to take the lowerthanlegal wages.

Wilaiwan urged the government to implement the Bt300 minimum wage nationwide by the end of this year as it had promised before the election, and resist the push by employers to postpone the wage hike.

Thailand Autoworkers Federation (TAW) president Yongyuth Mentapao echoed the TLRC's assertion that the Bt300 minimum wage has been a failure. He urged the Labour Ministry to do more to protect workers' rights, including foreign migrant labourers.

Firms 'ignore wage hike law' | Bangkok Post: news

Firms 'ignore wage hike law'

Many aren't paying out new rates, activists say

• Published: 20/07/2012 at 01:48 AM
• Newspaper section: News

The Yingluck Shinawatra government has come under fire for its failure to order employers to adopt the 300-baht minimum daily wage policy.

The criticism was made yesterday by labour rights advocates at a news conference announcing the number of unfair employment complaints resulting from the daily wage policy.

It was held at the Thai Labour Museum Foundation on Nikom Rotfai Makkasan Road in Bangkok.

In the first month after the new wage policy took effect on April 1, the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee, a labour rights and welfare non-governmental organisation, received 73 complaints about employers failing to increase pay.

Since then, the number of complaints has mushroomed to 5,134, according to tallies from the committee's eight complaint centres.

While the complaints keep piling up, the government, especially the Labour Ministry, has done nothing to look into the problem, treating it only as a conflict between employers and workers, committee head Chalee Loysung said.

The Labour Ministry, which could intervene, is only "floating above the problem" rather than providing help, said Yongyuth Mentaphao, chairman of the Thai Autoworkers Federation.

Workers in the auto parts production, hotel, transport and jewellery industries accounted for 2,380 complaints.

They claimed their wages have not been raised to the 300-baht notch, though their employers are required by law to increase their wages.

Other groups of workers also face similar problems, or worse conditions. The committee reported that 586 workers in the electronics, food, furniture and service sectors accused their employers of combining their welfare payments with daily wages to meet the minimum wage requirement.

Meanwhile, up to 2,168 workers, mostly in garment and clothing factories, have complained they encountered unpleasant changes in employment, including job transfers and a cut in fringe benefits.

Though the 300-baht wage policy aims to improve their finances, a number of workers now "don't know whether they should be happy or sad about the policy", said Mr Chalee.

The Labour Ministry found in a survey conducted last month that most small and medium-sized business owners were unhappy with the policy.

However, deputy chairwoman of the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee Wilaiwan sae Tia said employers "do not shoulder big burdens". They can apply for tax rebates on the money used to pay the higher wages, she said.

colour me unsurprised

the PT puppet govt has been too busy trying to ensure a triumphant return of the squareheaded one .

they have forgotten completely about the suckers who put them in power

The real joke is the 15000 minimum monthly salary for anyone with a 4 year college degree, I know of 2 sisters with such degrees and both had to lie (say they did not have them) to get any job at all.

When you major in logistics and cannot speak virtually any English or Chinese your chances of success are about zero. Which of course leads to the question why any college would let someone study a subject like that for 4 years without mandatory classes in the languages of commerce?

Well can't tell about down south in the bright lights of BKK or Pattaya, but out here in the back blocks of Issan try and find someone to work for 500 Baht a day is near on impossible. They won't get out of the hammock to scratch themselves for 300 Baht. Jim

Originally Posted by Gerbil

Here's a tip..... put them on a 5 day week @ 9.6 hours per day instead of 6 day week @ 8 hours a day. 5 days @ 300 baht = 1,500.00 6 days @ 300 baht = 1,800.00 It's a no brainer - if they complain, point out they are getting an extra day off a week.

And people wonder why Thai guy's on the whole dislike farang's. Heaven forbid they make an extra $2.50 a day.

^ Thai males are mostly overgrown children, but in so much as we spend more money in an evening than many of them make in a month and enjoy the company of Thai women, their resentment is understandable.

When you eat at KFC, McDonalds or similar restaurants here it's sad to ponder that a Thai could work an 8 hour shift at one of those places and still not make enough money to buy a meal there for himself and a companion.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...ift-in-january

Wages to get national lift in January

Govt rules out further boosts in 2014, 2015

• Published: 6/09/2012 at 08:32 AM
• Newspaper section: News

The Central Wage Committee will implement the 300-baht minimum daily wage across the country from January.

It said studies have shown there has been no adverse impact on economic growth from wages increases so far.

Somkiart Chayasriwong, permanent secretary for labour and chairman of the tripartite Central Wage Committee, yesterday said the wage panel decided to uphold its resolution on Nov 2 last year to raise the daily minimum wage to 300 baht across the country.

The 300-baht wage hike was earlier implemented from April 1 this year in seven provinces _ Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Nakhon Pathom, Pathum Thani and Phuket.

Mr Somkiart said the minimum wage would go up to 300 baht across the country from January but there would be no further increases in 2014 and 2015.

He said the panel has closely monitored the economic situation following the increase in April, and found that the economy kept expanding and that the inflation and unemployment rates remained under control.

The panel plans to forward the countrywide wage hike for cabinet approval soon as it wants the new rate to be put in place in January after it is published in the Royal Gazette.

The 300-baht daily minimum wage policy was a major part of the ruling Pheu Thai Party's campaign platform during last year's elections.

Mr Somkiart said second-quarter gross domestic product grew by 4.2%, higher than that in the first quarter, as a result of increased purchasing power.

In the past few months, inflation has been recorded at 2.92%, lower than the estimated 3.3-3.5%, he said.

The unemployment rate between January and June was 0.8%, which was not high, the wage panel chairman said.

He added that about 80% of small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) had been affected by the wage boost.

However, 99% of them were able to adjust to the situation, he said, citing a survey jointly conducted by the Labour Ministry, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Thai Industries.

A study has also shown that the wage increase has helped boost labour efficiency by 8.7% over the past seven months, he said.

The government has put in place measures to cushion the impact of the wage increase on business operators.

These include a temporary reduction in employers' monthly contributions to the Social Security Fund and the offer of low-interest loans to SMEs.

Attayuth Leeyavanich, secretary-general to the Consumer Products and Services Employers Council, criticised the committee's decision to raise the minimum wage throughout the country, saying it would have a greater impact on the economy than the April hike.

The panel should have put the issue on its agenda to allow all sides to debate it, he said.

He rejected Mr Somkiart's claims about economic growth, saying there was only economic uncertainty.

Wilaiwan sae Tia, vice-chair of the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee, agreed with a nationwide wage increase, but strongly opposed the panel's decision not to lift it again until after 2015.

Most workers would suffer in that time period as inflation and consumer goods prices would keep rising, she said.

Rojjanin Phatchararuangkij, managing director of Smile Heart Foods in Samut Sakhon, said the wage rise in January will have only a limited impact on his firm, which produces frozen seafood mainly for export.

The company has brought in machinery and has trained workers to be more productive, the managing director said, adding that the hike will motivate the workers to work harder.

Federation of Thai Industries secretary-general Sommat Khunset said the National Wage Committee should postpone the launch of nationwide wage boost until at least 2014.

Mr Sommat said the best time to implement a nationwide hike is between 2014-2016 to allow SMEs time to adjust.

Many SMEs are still reeling from the effect of the earlier increase, which has also pushed up inflation, he said. These problems have not been effectively tackled so far, and the January rise would only compound their troubles.


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Nationwide extension spark concerns - The Nation

Nationwide extension spark concerns

PETCHANET PRATRUANGKRAI,
PRANEE MEUNPANGWAREE
THE NATION September 6, 2012 1:00 am


Private-sector organisations have called on the government to review its plan to extend the Bt300 minimum daily wage nationwide early next year amid uncertainty over global economic growth, which would result in the double whammy of reduced sales for exporters amid higher production costs.

They also urged the government to set up a standard for increasing wages systematically, saying ambiguous policy would encourage more Thai and foreign investors to shift their investment to other countries, especially less developed neighbouring nations.

Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) vice chairman Bhumindr Harinsult said the government should not rush to increase wages next year while the global economy is fluctuating because of the euro-zone financial crisis, which will affect Thai export growth and employment.

"More labour layoffs will be seen next year if the government carries on with its policy to raise the [minimum] wage nationwide. Many enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized firms, will need to close down or lay off employees as they cannot shoulder higher operating costs amid sluggishness trading," he said.

According to the TCC, about 7 per cent of SMEs have closed down this year because of higher labour costs. The unemployment rate has risen from 0.7 per cent before April to 1.1 per cent now. A consistent opponent of higher wages for labourers, the chamber claims unemployment will rise even further if the government persists with its policy.

Sukij Kongpiyacharn, president of the Thai Garment Manufacturers Association, said Thai exports next year would be severely hit by double trouble from the euro crisis and higher wages.

"Small firms upcountry will be greatly affected by the higher wage. Thai enterprises will be unable to increase prices easily amid lower purchasing power. If Thai traders increase prices, we may lose buyers to rivals. However, if we do not increase prices, we must shoulder higher production costs and face business losses because of higher wages," Sukij said.

He also called on the government to set clearer standards on wage-increase policy; doing otherwise would affect investor confidence, he claimed. He pointed out that higher labour costs would force enterprises to adjust their operations for the whole supply chain.

Somsak Srisuponvanit, chairman of the National Federation of Thai Textile Industries, said a nationwide Bt300 minimum wage would accelerate the relocation of Thai enterprises to poorer Asean countries, mainly to Myanmar because of lower labour costs and a high supply of workers.

He also called on the government to seek measures to help reduce costs of production and reduce value-added tax for importing machinery to offset higher labour costs.

Somsak claimed it was inevitable that some enterprises would close down next year, unless they turn to employing foreign labourers.

Prokchon Promgungwahn, managing director of Promgungwahn, a Chiang Mai producer and exporter of organic longan, said the higher wage had caused difficulties for his company since early this year. He said he had to increase the daily wage from Bt200-Bt250 to Bt300 in April, even though the higher minimum came into force in only seven provinces that month, because labourers insisted on enjoying the same increase immediately without having to wait for the nationwide policy.

He said the company would need to increase wages again next year after the expanded policy goes into effect. Yet at the same time, the firm cannot easily increase its prices for trading partners amid the slowing global economy.

Prokchon called on the government to implement measures to relieve the financial burden on SMEs to prevent more of them closing down next year.

Thai Autoparts Manufacturers Association spokesman Tawon Chalatsatien said the nationwide rise in the minimum wage would not seriously affect the auto-parts industry given that it is a high-value business. Businesses in this sector already pay daily wages of at least Bt300.

He added that raw materials, not wages, were the key cost in this sector, especially the cost of steel.