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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/politics/40022847

Business bodies show the red flag to Pheu Thai’s minimum wage hike pledge

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2022

The Pheu Thai Party’s pledge to raise the daily minimum wage to 600 baht a day if it forms the government after the next election met with opposition from three leading business organisations on Wednesday.

Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC), said the TCC, the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), and the Thai Bankers’ Association (TBA) considered the current daily minimum wage as already suitable to the current economic situation of the country.

Sanan was speaking to reporters in his capacity as the chair of the joint standing committee of the TCC, FTI and TBA after the committee held a meeting on Wednesday. He was referring to a policy to hike the minimum wage announced by Pheu Thai Family Project leader and likely PM nominee Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday.

During a caucus held to kick off Pheu Thai’s election campaigns, Paetongtarn said if Pheu Thai won the general election next year, the party-led government would increase daily minimum wage to 600 baht by 2027.

Sanan said the joint committee believes the current minimum wage should not be raised as Thailand’s economy has not fully recovered from the impact of Covid-19.

Moreover, he said, the joint committee thinks that daily minimum wage rates should vary in different parts of the country, in accordance with the considerations of the provincial wage committees and tripartite national wage committee by taking into account workers’ living cost, inflation rate and the consumer price index.

Currently, the daily minimum wage rates vary from 328 to 354 baht depending on the province.

Sanan said if the next government increases the daily minimum wage to 600 baht nationwide, businesses would see their costs go up by almost 70 per cent, although the increase might be gradually implemented.

He said the businesses might not be able to cope with rising cost and many SMEs might have to shut down.

Sanan said the next government should focus on development of labour skills because when workers have high skills, their wages or salaries would automatically be higher.

He warned that any wage increase would also affect Thailand’s competitiveness.

Related story:

Thaksin’s daughter vows to make Thais richer, unveils 10 key policies

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/politics/40022842

Minimum wage could rise to 800 baht a day if Pheu Thai elected: Thaksin

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2022

Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was quick to raise the projection his daughter made yesterday that the daily minimum wage could nearly double to 600 baht under a Pheu Thai government.

It could rise to 800 baht a day, Thaksin said.

The minimum wage currently ranges from 328 baht a day in less developed provinces to 354 baht in the wealthiest.

Thaksin made the comment during a Facebook broadcast hours after his youngest daughter – Paetongtarn Shinawatra – made her minimum wage projection during a speech at Pheu Thai party’s head office.

Paetongtarn was outlining her vision for the future of the political party – Thailand’s largest – as it prepares for next year’s general election.

Nearly doubling the minimum wage and raising monthly salaries for university graduates to 25,000 baht were two of many policy goals she announced in her speech. These two goals were met with widespread skepticism.

Thaksin fired back, saying critics of the wage hikes lacked knowledge of economics and “compassion for their fellow human beings”.

“Phue Thai can expand Thailand’s economy even amid a global recession. In four years, we will boost economic expansion to 5% on average a year, possibly 7% in the first year because we will be starting from the low base created by the military government,” Thaksin said.

This growth would generate more growth, which would cause wages to rise, Thaksin said, adding that an expanding economy would attract more than 300,000 university graduates into the workforce each year.

“When new graduates are employed, the economy will grow further and make it possible to raise wages,” Thaksin said.

Thaksin said the minimum wage would rise due to demand for workers, explaining:

“The government is not directly responsible for these wages. If the economy expands, private companies will compete against each other by raising salaries to attract new talent,” he said. “Those who continue to pay low wages will be left without capable employees.”

Thailand is expected to hold a general election on May 7 next year. The Constitution stipulates that an election must be held within 45 days after the House of Representatives’ four-year term ends. The current term ends on March 23, 2023.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/politics/40022838

Thanathorn’s bill to free local administrations from government control trips at first hurdle

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2022

A charter amendment bill sponsored by voters and spearheaded by progressive politician Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit failed to clear the first reading in Parliament on Wednesday.

The bill, sponsored by Thanathorn, chairman of the Progressive Movement, and 75,591 voters, received more “Yes” than “No” votes but the number of approval votes was not enough for the bill to sail through the first reading.

The bill received 254 approval votes and 245 MPs and senators voted against it while 129 parliamentarians abstained.

A charter amendment bill requires the support of at least half of the current members of the House of Representatives and Senate to pass the readings. The number of approval votes must include one-third votes from senators. In this case, the bill needed 375 votes, including at least 84 votes from senators to be passed.

Voting was by roll-call voting. Results showed that only six senators had voted for the bill.

While the bill received support from opposition parties, coalition partners were divided in their stance.

Nearly all Democrat Party MPs voted for the bill while Bhumjaithai Party MPs abstained. Some of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party members abstained while all the others voted against the bill.

The bill sought to free local administrations from control of the central government, especially on budget spending and appointments of executives. The bill sought to amend Sections 249, 250, 251, 252, 253 and 254 of the charter.

Before the voting in Parliament, Move Forward Party spokesman Rangsiman Rome and Prit Watcharasin, a co-sponsor of the bill, assured senators and MPs that the bill did not seek to end election of village heads and tambon chiefs as alleged by opponents.

But the bill sought to end appointments of officials in local administrations. They added that the bill would provide a five-year grace period if it was enacted.

On November 29, Thanathorn, who is not a lawmaker, went to Parliament to stand in front of the MPs and senators to defend the bill when the two chambers started deliberating the first reading.

In his speech to a joint sitting of Parliament, Thanathorn said he hoped MPs and senators would realise the significance of decentralisation of administrative power to local administrations.

He said he was happy that his campaign for months had led to the drafting and presenting of the bill to Parliament.

Among other things, the bill aimed to allow local administrations to equally share local taxes with the central government instead of sending 70% to the government.

The bill would also have allowed local administrations to manage their public services freely, Thanathorn said.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/politics/40022835

Price controls top Thais’ New Year wishlist: Govt survey

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2022

The majority of people in Thailand want the government to relieve their financial burdens, according to a National Statistical Office survey published on Wednesday.

The survey on “New Year’s gifts” people want from the government was conducted from October 17-31 on 6,970 people aged 15 or above. The survey found that:

91.1% wanted prices of consumer products controlled

67% wanted lower electricity and water bills

30% wanted agriculture issues tackled, including low crop prices, high fertiliser prices and more market channels

23.4% wanted unemployment issues tackled

Asked which measures benefit people the most:

75.8% said Khon La Khrueng (Let’s Go Halves)

69.9% said the state welfare card

59.2% said the electricity bill cut

25.1% said Rao Chana (We Win)

14.8% said Mor33 Rao Rak Kan (Section33 We Love Each Other)

Asked if they were satisfied with the govenment’s management:

42.1% said very satisfied

41% said moderately satisfied

14.7% said less satisfied

2.2% said not satisfied

62.2% of people in the South were “very satisfied” with the govenment’s management compared to 22.2% in Bangkok.The majority of people who were very satisfied with the govenment’s management were also aged over 40.

Asked if they were satisfied by the government’s economic crisis management:

35.4% said very satisfied

40.8% said moderately satisfied

20.6% said less satisfied

3.2% said not satisfied

54.8% in the South were “very satisfied” with the govenment’s economic crisis management compared to 19% in Bangkok.The majority of those very satisfied were aged over 40.

Respondents were also asked for their advice for the government. Popular advice included launching measures to cut electricity and water bills, control consumer product prices and increase subisidy under the Khon La Khrueng scheme. To create jobs, it should promote domestic tourism, grant soft loans and seek market channels for agriculture products.The government should also do more to combat drug abuse narcotics by building unity in communities, creating awareness on prevention and enforcing laws strictly to punish people involved in narcotics.The government should cooperate with private and public sectors to mitigate impacts on people from flood, fire and other disasters.The government should also issue public warnings over various types of scams and channels for complaints, such as Online Complaint Centre’s 1212 hotline and the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau’s 1441 hotline, respondents said.

Related stories:

• Bangkokians in favour of more eco-friendly Loy Krathong celebrations: survey
• Prayut preferred as next PM by southern voters: survey
• Most Thais struggling to make ends meet, latest poll finds

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/politics/40022815

Thaksin’s daughter vows to make Thais richer, unveils 10 key policies

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2022

The youngest daughter of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday vowed to make Thais richer, and promised 600 baht daily minimum wage and 25,000 monthly salary for university graduates by implementing her party’s “Think Big, Doable” policy.

Speaking at the party’s caucus at the Pheu Thai Party head office, Paetongtarn Shinawatra revealed her vision of running the country for the next four years if her party secures a landslide victory in next year’s general election.

Paetongtarn, who is the chairperson of Pheu Thai’s advisory committee on public inclusion and innovation and head of the Pheu Thai Family project, is tipped to become the next prime minister if her party wins the election, tentatively scheduled for May 7.

The Pheu Thai held its caucus on Tuesday to formally kick off its campaign for the next election. The highlight of the caucus was the speech by Paetongtarn, who unveiled her 10 economic and social policies.

She said she and her delegates had visited many provinces during the past year to study people’s grievances and issues to come up with the 10 policies.

She said her travels during the year had shown that Thailand has regressed significantly economically, politically and socially under the current government. She said Thailand has regressed so much that it has lost its prominence in the eyes of the international community.

She said a lot of people have accumulated huge amounts of debt and the accumulated issues of Thailand will be tackled through her “Think Big, Doable” platform.

She pledged that if a Pheu Thai-led coalition formed the next govermment, it would spend the next four years reducing the expenses of the people while increasing their income and making Thais much richer by 2027.

The 10 policies Paetongtarn unveiled on Tuesday are:

• Economy: From 2023 to 2027, the Pheu Thai-led government would take steps to boost Thailand’s GDP growth to 5 per cent per year. It will attempt to reduce the wealth gap under the theme “watering the grassroots”.

The Pheu Thai government would use “soft power” to drive the economy by encouraging chefs, designers, architects, singers, song composers, scriptwriters, YouTubers and other professions to use soft power to earn income. Each of them would earn at least 200,000 baht a year.

The government would create 20 million high-skilled jobs that can create an income of 4 trillion baht a year for the country, Paetongtarn said.

By 2027, the daily minimum wage would be raised to 600 baht a day and university graduates would receive a monthly salary of at least 25,000 baht.

• Agriculture: By 2027, the country will use modern agricultural technologies, especially precision agriculture technologies, in farming. Artificial Intelligence will also be used to increase farm production.

• Tourism: By 2027, the country’s income from tourism would rise to 3 trillion baht a year.

• Innovation: The Pheu Thai government would develop an online blockchain-based transaction network of Thailand for farmers to sell their farm products. The network also will be used to distribute assets from soft power-related businesses and to raise funds for startups and small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Pheu Thai government would seriously support and promote research to make Thailand a hub of innovation in Asean. The country will develop a Central Bank Digital Currency to use in lieu of cash and people will have digital wallets. All corners of the nation will have free Wi-Fi access.

• Public health: By 2027, Thailand’s universal healthcare gold card system would be upgraded to allow Thais to receive free medical services from any hospital in the country by simply showing their ID card.

State hospitals would be decentralised to become public organisations and they would have enough doctors and medical personnel to cope with the number of patients. The country will invest heavily to develop modern medical gears that will be available from tambon to large cities. Public health volunteers will be trained as nurses for villages.

• Education: Administrative power for school management would be decentralised as in other developed countries. Bilingual schools will be available in all districts to teach in both English and Chinese languages from Grade 1. Studying could be done both onsite and online, with foreign teachers assisting Thai teachers.

• Drug: The Pheu Thai government would step up suppression of narcotics trafficking to eliminate illicit drugs from the country.

• Basic infrastructure: The Pheu Thai government would tackle both drought and floods with systematic and comprehensive measures. Canals would be dug to connect major rivers, and monkey-cheek reservoirs would be built along major waterways for effective floodwater draining.

Landfilling will be undertaken on the seashore along the Bang Khun Thian district as well as in Samut Prakan and Samut Sakhon provinces to prevent the rising sea from affecting Bangkok. There would be plenty of public lands along the coasts for public purposes.

• Transport: By 2027, Thailand would become the logistics hub for Asean. The Pheu Thai government would invest massively in railway systems. Double-track railways would run to major provinces, such as Chiang Rai, Mukdahan, Nakhon Phanom and Phuket, to allow trains to run at 160 kilometres per hour to cut travel time by half. High-speed railway from China would be extended to Singapore.

The management systems of all electric trains in Bangkok and surrounding provinces would be overhauled so that a common ticketing system could be used at 20 baht per trip.

The capacity of Suvarnabhumi Airport would be expanded from 45 million passengers to 100 million.

• Energy: The energy price system would be overhauled to reduce the prices of petrol, cooking gas, and electricity.

Campaigns will be launched for households to use solar power panels to reduce power bills, and reduce the country’s oil bill for generating power.

Paetongtarn added that the Pheu Thai government would also push for reform of political rules so that the country would have genuine democracy and the prime minster would be elected only by people’s representatives in the House, not the Senate.

She said the Pheu Thai government would also use advanced computer programmes to monitor the spending of taxpayers’ money by government agencies to ensure integrity and transparency.

Related stories:

Thaksin’s youngest daughter to take centre stage when Pheu Thai launches election campaign next week

Moves to link Paetongtarn to Chinese mafioso politically motivated: Pheu Thai