PUBLISHED: 22 Sep 2024 at 08: 02
The important designed vote on the issue reaching a deadlock after a bilateral pay council member was about to lose his seat has caused another delay to a global wage hike.
The council was scheduled to vote on the plan for a 400-baht wage hike on Friday. However, a lack of consensus prevented the conference from being adjourned and rescheduled to Tuesday.
The 15-member committee’s representative( s ) from the government and employees were absent from the meeting on Friday. At least two-thirds, or 10 people, are required to be present for the pay vote to continue.
According to a cause, just nine members attended the meeting, while six– four from the state and two from the individual side– were excluded. The top five company staff were all present. A new twist has emerged that could put the pay vote in more doubt.
Methee Supapong, a government member of the committee and a member of the Bank of Thailand ( BoT), had retired from public service a year ago, according to Labour permanent secretary Pairoj Chotikasathien on Saturday.
The council inquired about Mr. Methee’s career standing in a letter to the BoT. The BoT responded on Friday, stating that he no more represents the organization in any legitimate ability and that he is not accountable for his deeds. As a result, Mr. Pairoj reported that Mr. Methee no longer serves on the council, leaving a vacancy that may cause the committee’s income vote to be postponed beyond the Tuesday meeting.
He emphasized that the pay vote may take place at the request of all 15 committee members. ” We must wait for that”, he added.
Mr. Methee left last year and has since joined the council. In the early weeks of his pensions, the BoT continued to embrace Mr Methee’s position as its representative. But, Friday’s reply from the BoT successfully removed him from that location.
” In practice ,]Mr Methee ] should refrain from attending meetings and allow someone else to take his place”, Mr Pairoj said.
But, finding a replacement may take some time. The government is responsible for appointing Mr Methee’s son, a process that may get away to 15 times. The bilateral committee has the right to call a wage meet within a week after the government approves the substitute and the appointment is announced in the Royal Gazette. By that point, Mr. Pairoj himself may have retired as the innovative fiscal season officially begins on October 1.
One of the four state representatives who was not present at the pay meeting, Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, chairman of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office under the Commerce Ministry, reported to have traveled to the Labour Ministry, but Mr. Pairoj declined to comment on information that he had left after being informed that the vote had not been established. Had he entered the meeting, the quorum would have been fulfilled, a source said.