Stipends to bring new pay to Bt15,000
New graduates who work for state agencies will not get a minimum salary of Bt15,000 but a monthly stipend that will bring their monthly pay up to that level, according to the Finance Ministry.
Deputy Finance Minister Viroon Tejapaibul said the government is not able to offer full salaries for civil servants, state employees and soldiers with desk jobs, but can offer them monthly stipends.
Those who do not hold bachelor's degrees will get an additional stipend to take their total income to at least Bt9,000 per month, he said.
The pay hike is estimated to cost Bt24.53 billion annually and benefit 649,323 persons, he said.
The Comptroller General's Department will consider increasing salaries later, he said. Viroon said the Finance Ministry will submit the package to the Cabinet for approval next week. Pay rises will take effect in January next year, he said.
Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala said he would consult next week with state banks and ask them to implement debt restructuring for those who owe money to underground lenders.
The government will ask for loans from the Government Savings Bank and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives to finance village funds, he said. Each of 70,000 villages will get Bt1 million, totalling Bt70 billion, he said.
The government will use village funds as a tool for debt restructuring, he said, adding that past governments had also carried out debt restructuring for the people. So far, banks have lent Bt44 billion for debt refinancing. There are about 580,000 people waiting for debt restructuring with state banks, with a combined debt of Bt67 billion, he said.
Meanwhile, Satit Rungkasiri, director-general of the Revenue Department, said he has proposed to ministers a tax deduction of Bt300,000 for first-time car buyers. They could get the deduction for five years.
