BANGKOK, 1 March 2012 – The Central Wage Committee has resolved to increase the minimum wages of 22 professions by up to 40% in April, depending on job difficulty and financial status of the employers.
Chairman of the Central Wage Committee Somkiat Chayasriwong said the average wage increase ranged from 11-40%. The lowest rise belongs to entry-level inventory clerks, whose wage will increase from 250 baht to 320 baht a day. Thai cooks and masseurs are among the jobs with the highest wage hike of more than 40%, from 280 baht to 400 baht a day and from 310 baht to 440 baht a day, respectively. The new wage rates will be effective from 1 April 2012 onwards.
Even though the wage increase would be a big jump at first, the chairman said it would be stabilized in a long run. He also reiterated that the committee could not raise the minimum wage for all workers to 300 baht at once, citing that the wage adjustment would be greater than the increases in product prices and inflation.
Previously, the Cabinet agreed to raise the minimum wage for laborers to 300 baht a day in seven pilot provinces on 1 April 2012 and in 70 other provinces on 1 January 2013. A 15,000-baht salary increase for state enterprise employees and civil servants was also approved recently by the Cabinet with a retroactive effect to 1 January 2012.
