PUBLISHED: 5 Sep 2024 at 17: 54
The Pheu Thai Party-led government’s workers plan, especially the proposal to increase the normal minimum wage to 400 baht global, remains intact, according to Caretaker Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.
Mr. Phiphat assured readers that the wage increase, which will target particular professions and specific industries, will take effect on October 1 with more details set to be announced shortly.
According to him, the pay committee, which is led by Pairoj Chotikasathien’s permanent secretary for labor, will likely meet half before finalizing and releasing the specifics of the wage increase.
The new wage rate will be made public this month, but it wo n’t affect all workers and business owners.
” The state is committed to carrying on the preceding government’s plan, and the Labour Ministry has previously submitted its proposal]for participation in the administration’s plan statement], “he said.
The Pheu Thai-led government’s important election assurance is to raise the regular minimum income. Within its first year of power, the government wants to raise the compensation from 400 to 600, and by 2027, that is the government’s goal.
Recently, the bilateral council approved a 400-baht regular income on March 26, which took result in pieces of 10 counties on April 13, including Phuket, Koh Samui in Surat Thani, Pattaya in Chon Buri, Chiang Mai City in Chiang Mai, and Pathumwan and Watthana towns in Bangkok. It applied to tourism-related businesses and four-star hotels with at least 50 employees.
Additionally, the labor minister pledged to assist employees who are affected by business closures and pay them fair wages.
According to information from the Department of Industrial Works, 1, 260 factories were opened and 667 factories were shut down between January and July of this year. The rate of factory openings was close to a five-year average.
After dividing the number of closed factories from the number of new factories, there was a rise in investment of 167.6 billion baht and an increase in employment of 25, 663 people.
Meanwhile, Thaweesan Wichaiwong, president of Khon Kaen’s Industry Council, said the Federation of Thai Industries is opposed to the nationwide, across-the-board wage hike of 400 baht.
He argued that the provincial’s inflation indices and economic conditions should be adjusted to accommodate wage increases otherwise they would hurt SMEs ( small and medium-sized businesses ), which would have to bear additional costs.
Mr Thaweesan added that the wage hike is a double-edged sword. Eventually, the extra costs will be passed on to consumers, and some manufacturers might relocate to countries with lower labour costs.