reader Posted August 26, 2022 Posted August 26, 2022 From Reuters BANGKOK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Thailand raised its daily minimum wage for the first time in more than two years on Friday, the labour ministry said, as it seeks to help workers cope with rising living costs and the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A committee made up of government representatives, companies and labour groups agreed to raise wages by an average of 5.02% from Oct. 1, Boonchob Suthamanaswong, the ministry's permanent secretary, said in a statement. The minimum wage was last hiked in January 2020, by 1.6%-1.8%. The exact rates differ slightly between regions with the three most industrialised provinces - Chonburi, Rayong and Phuket - and the capital Bangkok, at the top end of a 328 baht and 354 baht ($9.11-$9.84) range. The raise makes Thailand's monthly minimum wage - at 9,840 to 10,620 baht ($273.33-$295.00)- among the highest of its peers in Southeast Asia with such measures. By comparison, Vietnam, a regional manufacturing base, has a monthly minimum wage of between 3.25 million dong and 4.68 million dong ($138.82-$199.90). ($1 = 36.00 baht) ($1 = 23,412.0 dong) Sky, vinapu and floridarob 2 1 Quote
reader Posted December 9, 2022 Author Posted December 9, 2022 600 baht minimum wage? From Thai PBS World Morally, it’s undisputed. Economically, it’s questionable. Politically, it’s a no-no. All of them, of course, come with a big “Unless”. That’s how Thailand should proceed with the Pheu Thai Party’s vision on what must be the minimum amounts unskilled Thai workers should be paid in a day. The party’s promise of 600 baht a day is great. Unless it ruins the economy or simply enables labourers to pay more for telecom services, or houses, or medicine, that is. It’s about time the contribution of unskilled labour was fully acknowledged, but the high minimum wage idea requires a revamp of national thinking, affecting practically all other national policies. Simply put, it’s a good moral initiative as long as the initiator is able to create a suitable environment. Otherwise, what is “good” morally could turn into a great destroyer. Illegal and cheaper foreign workers would flood in. Labour abuses would intensify. Entrepreneurs would save their hides and their customers will end up paying the price. It’s questionable economically unless a new value is drilled into the owners of businesses. They must wholeheartedly accept less profits and learn to share the incomes with those who deserve the sharing. They must have this reversed thinking that something must be wrong if they become too rich while their employers are still poor. Foreign investors will need a lot of convincing, too. Continues at https://www.thaipbsworld.com/high-minimum-wage-devil-is-in-the-details/ vinapu 1 Quote
PeterRS Posted December 10, 2022 Posted December 10, 2022 15 hours ago, reader said: It’s questionable economically unless a new value is drilled into the owners of businesses. They must wholeheartedly accept less profits and learn to share the incomes with those who deserve the sharing. About time, too! The disparity between those at the top of the earning ladder and those at the bottom just gets wider and wider. It's time those who earn massive profits in Thailand finally begin to accept that a tiny portion of those obscene profits should be shared with those who help generate them. The elite need to learn that Thailand exists not just for them. vinapu 1 Quote
