Labour minister promises minimum wage hike as New Year's gift
Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn promised on Friday that the minimum daily wage would be raised by November as a “New Year's present” for Thai workers.
“The minimum daily wage would definitely be hiked within this year. The proposal would be submitted for the Cabinet's consideration on September 25 so that the new wages could be announced within November, in time to become a New Year's present for Thais,” Phiphat said.
The labour minister was speaking during his visit to the head office of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), where he was welcomed by senior FTI executives, including its chairman Kriengkrai Thiennukul.
They discussed the proposed increase in minimum wage and also the need to raise labour productivity.
Phiphat disclosed that he had discussed the wage increase with FTI, which was a representative of the business sector, because it had a good understanding about labour issues.
The labour minister said he was aware of the widespread concern in the private sector regarding the proposed increase in minimum wage.
“I will discuss with relevant agencies the proposals I received today so that the issue can be tackled precisely, with no severe impact on employers and with an outcome that is acceptable to employees,” he said.
Phiphat did not say by how much the minimum daily wage would be increased. Earlier, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had reportedly said that the amount should be raised to 400 baht per day by the year-end.
Thailand’s minimum daily wage ranges between 328 and 354 baht, depending on the province.
During their meeting with the labour minister on Friday, FTI executives pointed to Thailand’s need to improve labour productivity to boost competitiveness.
Kriengkrai said the FTI was working closely with the Labour Ministry to improve the country's labour productivity and competitiveness. “We need support from the Labour Ministry for the industrial sector to grow,” he added.
The FTI chairman also said that Thai industries needed to adapt in order to survive the digital transformation. They have to transform themselves from original equipment manufacturers to original design manufacturers or original brand manufacturers.
He said Thai manufacturers needed to adopt digital and automation technologies while replacing unskilled labour with high-skilled labour.
Meanwhile, FTI vice chairman Suchart Chantaranakaracha asked the Labour Ministry to push for improvement of labour productivity to boost Thailand’s competitiveness.
He also suggested that the government finance efforts to produce more graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to meet the high demand in the labour market.
Suchart called for government incentives to encourage businesses to hire more elderly people in order to help ease labour shortages as the country is becoming an ageing society. He also suggested upskilling and reskilling for elderly people to facilitate their return to the labour market.
He said the FTI supported the idea of “paying by skills” to increase the earnings of workers while helping their employers to cut production costs.
Phiphat said he agreed with the idea of paying a minimum wage in accordance with a worker's skills, which he described as a “fair option”.
“We will set no flat rate for the minimum daily wage. They will be paid as per the worker's skills and experience. A universal rate would be unfair to workers with skills and experience,” the labour minister said.
