BANGKOK, 6 September 2011 – Most of fourth-year university students have voiced agreement with the policy of the government to increase the salary for fresh graduates to 15,000 baht, according to a recent survey by Bangkok University Research Institute (Bangkok Poll).
The survey was conducted with 1,185 fourth-year students at different universities in Bangkok and vicinities. The respondents were asked about their opinions towards the government’s policy to increase salaries for bachelor’s degree holders to 15,000 baht.
The survey’s result shows 39.6% of the respondents want to work in private organisations. 25.7% of them want to run private business while other 18.2% and 16.5% want to work in public agencies and state enterprises respectively.
41.9% of the respondents are not sure if the policy can be implemented. 29.5% are confident that it will be implemented while 28.6% think the opposite. However, the majority of the respondents agree with the policy in many aspects as follows.
61.7% agree that the policy will be enforced on 1 January 2012. 57.1% agree with the idea to use quality of graduates as criteria to indicate who should get the 15,000-baht salary. 56.9% agree that any degree holders whose income remains under 15,000-baht should be given additional subsistence income.
Nonetheless, 69.4% of the respondents are worried that the policy might make it more difficult for them to seek jobs while other 30.6% do not think so as they reason that job opportunities are still open wide in their fields.
30.0% of the respondents are concerned that private companies will recruit fewer graduates while 18.5% think the policy will lead to potential lay-off as employers cannot afford long-term employment due to financial burden. 17.9% are afraid they will be unable to get jobs.
Asked for what they want to tell the new government, 33.0% want the government to press ahead with policies as announced in election campaign. 12.0% want the government to develop the nation for people’s benefit while 10.4% want the government to work hard.
