Better skills will make Bt300 wage worth it
In order to make Bt300 daily minimum wage fair on employers, a skill-enhancement exercise and evaluation strategies should be put in place in large provinces before the hike can take effect nationwide, the Labour Ministry told a Bangkok seminar yesterday.
Workers and employers should try to make compromises in the meantime because the higher wages will possibly burden employers and likely force tens of thousands of small businesses to immediately close down, permanent secretary Somkiat Chayasriwong said. Therefore, he added, skill enhancement and evaluation should become part of the national agenda and be implemented throughout 2012.
The Bt300 daily wage should then be introduced in Bangkok in 2013 and in other large cities before it is extended to the rest of the country, he said. The Labour Ministry will propose to the government that it tentatively make 2012 the "year of increased productivity" and make skill enhancement and evaluation part of the national agenda.
"More skilled labour will make employers feel it is worthwhile having to shoulder higher expenses because they will get better returns," he added.
A budget of Bt3 billion is being sought to improve the ministry's 12 skill-development institutes and 65 provincial skill-training centres. More emphasis will be placed on regional centres to develop labourers' skills in relevant fields, such as planting and producing rubber in Region 12 based in Songkhla, and in the assembly of vehicles and machinery in Region 1 based in Samut Prakan.
Under a planned joint cooperation between the Labour Ministry and waterworks and electricity agencies, small- and medium enterprises that agree to pay a daily wage of Bt300 to workers who undergo training will be given discounts in utilities as well as tax incentives, he said.
Asst Prof Wichai Thosuwannajinda from Kasem Bundit University (KBU) said government subsidies for SMEs should be a short-term measure because it would not be fair to taxpayers.
He said another populist policy guaranteeing that every university graduate would make a minimum monthly salary of Bt15,000 would result in fewer students studying arts and humanities and more focusing on skills needed in the employment market.
Anusorn Thamjai, dean of KBU's Economics Faculty, said he was all for increasing the daily wage to Bt300 because it would lift the standard of living and help cut down problems associated with poverty. He called for cost-related incentives for SMEs and government-assisted improvement of logistical structure for them.
Meanwhile, a clay-doll factory with no labour union in Nakhon Pathom is planning to cut down on work incentives and meal subsidies once it starts paying the Bt300 daily wage, local labour counsellor Daorueng Chanok said.
