Minister ‘sorry’ for daily wage rise delay

Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has apologised to all minimum wage earners looking forward to a daily wage increase to 400 baht after yesterday’s tripartite wage committee meeting was adjourned again due to a lack of a quorum.
The minister, however, expressed optimism that the next meeting could still be held later this week at the earliest if the Bank of Thailand (BoT) responds in time to the ministry’s request for a new BoT representative on the committee, replacing someone who retired a year ago.
According to Mr Phiphat, the committee comprises 15 members — five representing the government, including the BoT, another five representing employees, and the other five representing the employers.
Because any new decisions by the tripartite committee require a two-thirds majority vote, it is important to ensure all committee members are present at such an important meeting, which explained why yesterday’s meeting was called off, he said.
Labour permanent secretary Pairoj Chotikasathien has already begun looking to arrange the next meeting and is now working with the BoT regarding its new representative on the panel, Mr Phiphat said.
Even though the promised wage increase would not likely come on Oct 1 as expected, the government was committed to pushing for the 400-baht daily rate, he said.
Mr Phiphat said the last time the minimum daily wage was adjusted nationwide was in 2012 when it was increased to 300 baht.
Despite the continuous rise in living costs, he said the wage rise over the past 12 years was only about 8 baht per year on average.
He dismissed criticism that the government was buying time, saying the government wasn’t in a position to force the wage committee to agree on its proposal.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the government has a clear policy of pushing for the 400-baht minimum wage; however, it requires approval by the tripartite committee.
She said that to achieve the goal, the government will try to convince the committee through talks about raising the daily wage.
Asked if the proposed wage increase was being stalled by the employer contingent on the committee, the PM said she didn’t think so and that she still believed more detailed talks about the proposed rise with all three groups on the panel would be fruitful.
As for the new timeframe to raise the wage to 400 baht, she said, she still believes it will come later this year.