Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn is optimistic that the 400-baht national minimum daily wage will become effective on January 1st.
He said that the only problem now is that a new member of the 15-member tripartite Wage Committee, the acting director-general of the Department of Labour Welfare and Protection, proposed by the Labour Ministry, is yet to be approved by the cabinet.
He said, however, that he expects the Wage Committee to meet at the end of this month or in December to finalise the minimum wage, adding that at least two-thirds of the committee members must be present to form a quorum.
The labour minister offered an apology for the government’s failure to fulfil its election promise to raise minimum wage to 400 baht per day from October 1st.
The Wage Committee failed to meet on September 16th, September 20th or October 14th, due to the lack of a quorum and the private sector has expressed concern that the increase in the minimum wage will increase the financial burden on businesses at a time when many, especially SMEs, are struggling to stay afloat. It will also make Thai products less competitive in the global market.
The private sector wants the minimum wage to be determined according to the skills of workers, instead of a blanket increase.
