Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha praised Thailand’s workers as being vital in the development of the country and, as such, it is necessary that their quality of life be improved and their skills developed to cope with changes in and the needs of the labour market.
In his statement on May Day (aka Labour Day), Government Spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said that the prime minister also thanked all workers for their dedication and contribution to the development of the industry, agriculture and business, which helps drive the Thai economy.
Many Thai workers are, however, still earning under 15,000 baht a month and they can hardly make ends meet, resulting inindebtedness.
According to the Economic and Business Forecast Centre of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, an opinion survey of 1,300 workers across Thailand, taken between April 18th and 24th, 77.2% do not have enough income to make ends meet and 73.5% do not have any savings due to the high cost of living, with many having to borrow.
Thai household debt increased by about 25.05% this year, with each household accumulating 270,000 baht in debt and each having to repay up to 9,000 baht a month.
Most respondents want the government to adjust minimum wages, stabilise the cost of living, increase employment and to try to control prices of consumer products.
