PUBLISHED: 6 Apr 2024 at 04: 00
The Labour Ministry is confident it will reach the president’s goal of raising the country’s normal minimum wage to 600 ringgit by 2027.
Labour Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn yesterday provided an update on this year’s second minimum income surge to 400 ringgit per day, saying the fall may come into effect on April 13 starting with people working at upscale hotels and resorts in 10 regions: Bangkok, Krabi, Chonburi, Chiang Mai, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phangnga, Phuket, Rayong, Songkhla and Surat Thani.
He emphasized that the steps involved in the rise must be taken step-by-step to allow all sectors to get ready for its effects, and that his ministry will continue to raise the minimum daily pay until it reaches 600 baht in 2027, in accordance with the government’s policy.
For the sake of stability and survivability, Mr. Pipat said,” What I meant by that is that we must try to make it happen sector by sector and occupation by occupation.”
The labor minister raised the issue earlier on Thursday during the opening debate, arguing that at least three to four million workers would lose their jobs if the government imposed the same wage increase all at once across the nation.
According to Mr Pipat, 12.82 million workers, accounting for 71 % of the country’s employment, are currently working at SMEs in the country.
Therefore, if the 400- baht daily minimum wage were to be imposed in all parts of the country at the same time, then up to 40 % of the country’s SMEs would be at risk of closing down, and a total of five million employees would be affected, he said.
He added that the tourism industry is crucial to the country’s employment and economy, and that the wage increase is being attributed to hotel employees with four or more stars in ten provinces.
The wage increase, according to Hat Yai Songkhla Hotels Association president Sitthiphong Sitthiphatprapha, is unfair to Songkhla because the average cost for a hotel room in Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Bangkok is much higher, compared to the higher rates in provinces like Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Bangkok.
Another issue has arisen in Songkhla, he said, is that there is n’t a clear standard for determining whether a hotel can be a four-star hotel.