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Thailand: Labour body calls for poll pledge on wages
The minimum wage hike has emerged as the latest hot potato for the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) after labour groups piled pressure on the government not to backtrack on its election promise.
Meanwhile, the Democrat Party has urged the government to adopt its income guarantee initiative to help achieve the target of raising the daily minimum wage to 400 baht, the rate which the PPRP promised during the election.
Former Democrat MP Atavit Suwannapakdee was referring to the party’s election campaign promise of a minimum guaranteed salary of 120,000 baht a year, which is equivalent to 329 baht per day or about 400 baht following deductions for holidays.
However, Mr Atavit pointed out there is a big difference between the Democrat initiative and the PPRP’s campaign promise to raise the daily minimum wage.
“The Democrat’s policy is not to increase the wage and put the burden on the employers.
“Rather, it guarantees that income by having the government pay the difference if the yearly income guarantee target is not met,” he wrote on Facebook.
He said the party’s initiative works in a similar fashion to an income supplement scheme in Singapore in which lower-income workers receive top-ups, or “workfare”, in addition to their salaries.
It can also be delivered in a variety of ways.
According to the former MP, the proposed income supplement can be paid in the form of an education subsidy for the employees or their children, debt repayment support, healthcare needs, or as retirement savings.
“This will not financially strain small and medium enterprise (SME) operators during an economic downturn but instead boosts the workers’ income,” said Mr Atavit.
Labour activists have threatened to petition the Administrative Court if the PPRP-led government fails to raise the minimum daily wage to 400 baht within its four-year term as promised.
Somporn Kwannet, chairman of the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee, said labour networks know better than to expect a big wage hike, so they are waiting for guidelines or a plan for a progressive adjustment of the wage to their desired target.
“While the daily minimum wage of 400 baht may not be implemented immediately, the government must have a clear-cut plan to reach the goal within its four-year term.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1712468/labour-body-calls-for-poll-pledge-on-wages