The Ministry of Labor is pushing a proposal to raise the daily minimum wage by 5-8% in October, as opposed to early next year as originally planned.
Labor Minister Suchart Chomklin said at Government House that minimum wages could be adjusted as early as October 1 due to surging living costs. He noted that provincial wage committees had already determined new minimum rates for their respective provinces, adding that a team of labor authorities would soon finalize the increments.
According to the labor minister, the new increments, which will be established at 12 different rates, will vary between 1 and 2 baht for certain provinces and will be implemented based on the GDP status of each province.
Suchart has tasked a team of experts to finalize new minimum wages by the end of this month in order to allow the proposal to be analyzed in greater detail before being submitted to the Cabinet for consideration in September.
Due to the high cost of living and production in Phuket, the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) region and Bangkok, Suchart indicated that the wage hike could initially begin in those areas.
The daily minimum wage in Thailand varies between 313 and 336 baht in various provinces. A 5-8% increase would amount to between 16 and 27 baht per day.(NNT)
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