BANGKOK, 23 April 2012 – Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will submit assistance measures for SMEs affected by the minimum wage increase to the Cabinet during its weekly meeting tomorrow.
Permanent Secretary for Labor Somkiat Chayasriwong said after a government executive meeting chaired by PM Yingluck today that the Ministry of Labor had proposed three measures to help the SMEs. The first measure is a tax rebate of 1.5 times the extra wage they now have to pay to their employees. The second measure imposes a lower tax on the sales of their old machines and the last measure is a tax rebate on depreciation costs of new machines.
The permanent secretary said the measures would be implemented in parallel with skill development. Workshops to increase workforce efficiency will be held in a month from now with the National Economic and Social Development Board playing the central role.
The minimum wage of 300 baht will be in effect nationwide on 1 January 2013 as previously planned, despite the business sector’s request that it be postponed to the year 2015.
