Focus on welfare, not pay, experts say
PUBLISHED : 28 Aug 2023 at 04:30
Labour advocates are urging the new government to focus on protecting workers’ rights and finding a solution to control the prices of consumer goods before raising the minimum daily wage to 600 baht.
As part of its election campaign, the Pheu Thai Party pledged to raise the nation’s daily minimum wage to 600 baht, along with a 25,000-baht a month starting salary guarantee for graduate workers.
However, now that the party has formed a government, labour advocates are saying the administration needs to focus on improving access to welfare benefits as it settles down to work.
Chalee Loysoong, deputy chairman of the Thai Labour Solidarity Confederation, said the new government needs to work harder to protect workers’ rights and safeguard their general welfare. The government should focus more on controlling the prices of consumer goods to help low-income earners, he said.
Meanwhile, Wichai Narapaibul, manager of the Thai Labour Museum, said Pheu Thai’s wage policy might be difficult to implement.
He said it is more important to have a system that promotes improvements in labourers’ skills, which will in turn help them improve their quality of life.
As such, he said, the government should not focus on promoting Thailand as a source of cheap labour for basic industries, but as source of skilled labourers capable of manning advanced industries.
Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said the new government needs to focus on reining in utility prices.
Employers have also voiced their concern about the minimum daily wage pledge, with some fearing they might not be able to sustain their businesses once the new standard comes into effect.
Direk, 71, who owns a stationary shop in Phimai district, Nakhon Ratchasima, said the policies benefit foreign migrant workers instead, as a significant chunk of Thailand’s daily labourers come from neighbouring countries.
“Those migrant workers send their earnings back to their families in their hometowns, so it will not help stimulate the economy,” Direk said.
He said the policy might lead to inflation, which would harm low-income earners even more.
Yupin, a restaurant owner in Pathum Thani said she fears the new daily minimum wage rate will add to her operating cost.