Jetro Bangkok urges Thai govt to be prudent about wage hike
The chief of the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro’s)’s Bangkok office has warned the Thai government to carefully weigh adverse impacts on both local and foreign investors before it decides to raise the daily minimum wage to 400 baht.
Junichiro Kuroda, president of Jetro Bangkok, was expressing concern about the reported plan of the Pheu Thai-led government to implement a daily minimum wage of 600 baht nationwide by 2027 and possibly 400 baht at the beginning of next year.
Kuroda made the comments during a ceremony to open a factory for Murata Electronics (Thailand) Co Ltd in the World Industrial Estate in Lamphun’s Muang district last week.
“I would like the government to consider the impact on the stakeholders carefully by taking both local and foreign investors into account so that Thailand can maintain its competitiveness in the region,” Kuroda said.
One of Pheu Thai’s flagship election campaign pledges was to raise the daily minimum wage to 600 baht by 2027.
During a parliamentary debate on the government’s policy statement last month, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin floated the idea of using the rate of 400 baht before the 600 baht rate was enforced.
Currently, the minimum daily wage varies based on provinces – from 328 baht to 354 baht – after that last wage increase took place in October last year following a two-year freeze.
Kuroda suggested that the new government should focus its investments in basic infrastructure and innovations as well as the development of skilled labour for future industries, instead of giving priority to raising the minimum wage for unskilled labour.
Kuroda added that logistics pressures might prompt foreign investors to reduce risks by distributing investments to other Southeast Asian nations.
The opening of the new Murata factory underlined Japan’s strategic partnership with Thailand.
