Minimum daily wage raised
BANGKOK: -- The Labour Ministry is aiming to raise the minimum daily wage by Bt1 to Bt8 in the provinces while the Thai Labour Reconciliation Committee (TLRC) claimed the Bt2Bt4 hike for Bangkok was not enough to meet the high living costs, as prices of fish sauce to cooking gas will rise in December.
Labour Congress of Thailand (LCT) chairman Panas Thailuan Wednesday spoke as a member of the ministry's subcommittee to scrutiny minimum wage proposals, and said that 65 provinces had so far submitted their requests for wage rises next year.
However, 18 northeastern provinces - except Loei - and northern provinces such as Nan, Phayao and Mae Hong Son, that had the country's lowest wage of Bt143 a day, did not request a raise, Panas said.
The provincial subcommittee's reasoned that the economy was slow and they did not want to impact on business operators.
They also preferred an elected government to consider their wage hike, he added.
Panas said his subcommittee planned to propose wage rises as suggested by the provincial subpanels ranging from Bt1 to Bt8.
Bangkok's initial request for a Bt7 hike was adjusted by the provincial subpanel toBt2 on the grounds that workers currently received a Bt191 daily wage and another Bt7 would be too high, said Panas. His subcommittee thought Bt4 hike would be more appropriate.
The Bangkok daily wage would be further discussed so it would not be inequitable to provinces in the vicinity, such as Samut Prakan that requested as Bt6 hike, Panas said.
Ayutthaya and Loei asked for Bt8, while other provinces asked for Bt3 to Bt7, he added.
Panas said his subcommittee would scrutinise the provincial proposals for minimum wage raises on October 16, before submitting the figures for the Central Wage Committee's consideration and the Cabinet's consideration for the implementation from January 1, 2008.
The subcommittee would take into consideration factors such as employers' ability to pay such wages, industrial production, inflation rate, employment and the national GDP, he added.
TLRC president Wilaiwan Saetia yesterday noted that if Bangkok only got a Bt2Bt4 hike, it would be not sufficient to cope with the workers' high living costs and, more importantly, the authorities intention to increase the price of fish sauce, sugar and cooking gas in December.
The government should review its pricing policies and raise the Bangkok daily wage to Bt223 a day, she said and warned that the Bt2Bt4 hike would lead to labour movements against the government.
--TNA 2007-10-15
