Employers state demands ahead of wage hike

The Employers Confederation of Thailand (Ecot) is pushing the government to take its demands into account before it goes ahead with a plan to raise the daily minimum wage to Bt300 across the country from January 1.

The group’s key demand is that the law must clearly state that the increased daily minimum wage will be fixed for three full years. 

“The government is expected to amend laws related to wages urgently,” Ecot chairwoman Siriwan Romchatthong said yesterday.

The demands were formulated at a recent workshop held by Ecot members, she said. 

Ecot also wants the definition of the daily minimum wage amended to include overtime wage, living allowances and other forms of income. Ecot believes unskilled alien workers and workers aged between 15 and 18 years old should be paid just 75 per cent of the rate for six months before they can receive Bt300 a day.

“Also, hourly wages must be applied in the service sector and any sectors where workers are not required to work eight hours a day,” Siriwan said. She said Ecot wanted the government to reduce employers’ contributions to the Social Security Fund, and to stop collecting them for one year, if the Bt300 minimum daily wage were implemented. 

Ecot also wants tax benefits provided to employers for three years, during which period wage costs should be treated as three times the actual amount paid on tax forms; taxing of small and medium-sized enterprises only on that portion of their corporate income exceeding Bt3 million; the extension of Board of Investment privileges for an additional three years; and the raising of the ceiling on tax-exempt machinery replacement from Bt10 million to Bt20 million. 

“The government should also provide small and medium-sized enterprises with access to soft loans,” Siriwan said.

If the government wants employers to raise the daily minimum wage to Bt300 across the country, it should ensure infrastructure standards are equal across the country, she said. 

“The government should also reduce legal obstacles to investment in technology, and relax rules governing the hiring of alien workers.” 

Siriwan said she hoped the government would soon give clear answers about how it intends to help employers when it comes to the policy to raise the minimum daily wage. 

“The measures should become clear by next month. We need to make preparations for the wage hike and work out our business plan too,” she said.