Pita discusses minimum wage hike, other policies with commerce chamber

Pita held a press conference with the chamber chairman, Sanan Angubolkul, after more than two hours of discussions. He revealed that Move Forward is currently discussing 13 topics with the chamber, including the Eastern Economic Corridor, the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy model, the cross-border economy, energy price structure, and minimum wage mechanism. 

There will be more discussions on the details, he said, adding that the purpose of today's meeting was to keep the private sector informed of the progress in the formation of the coalition government as well as to listen to what the private sector wants.

Chamber chairman Sanan added that the discussions were creative and enjoyable and they now have a better understanding of what the coalition government's plans  to do, and they can see their determination. 

He emphasised that several policies of the coalition government are in line with the chamber's policy. As a result, he saw numerous excellent opportunities to collaborate closely with the government. 

"We have asked the eight coalition parties to handle three urgent issues," he said.The first is to form a new cabinet as soon as possible to minimise the impact on the national budget; the next is to reduce electricity costs, and the last one is to improve farmers’ living conditions and the financial health of small and medium-sized businesses," Sanan said. 

Pita and Sanan also agreed to appoint a representative for each side to facilitate collaboration. Party deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakun will represent Move Forward and the chamber will be represented by its secretary-general, Kitsana Vachekrilas.

Pita assured that the hike in minimum wage would be carefully implemented following discussions with all relevant parties.

"It's not just an economic agenda perspective; it's also a social mechanism to ensure that the economic system is fair," he said. "However, we recognise that it must be a comprehensive and a two-sided approach for SMEs, both employers and employees, and that we must propose several mechanisms to ensure that we are lowering their costs in terms of energy prices, living costs, and tax deductibility after an increase [in minimum wage] from 350 to 450 [baht]." 

He assured that in collaboration with the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the minimum wage and business costs would be thoroughly investigated.

When asked what he plans to do while waiting for the official results from the Election Commission, Pita said that he and the eight coalition parties, along with eight working groups, will meet and greet all other groups, including the Thai Bank Association, the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organisation, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, among others. 

He said that with this working plan, his coalition government would be ready to work on their first day in office.