Raises planned for university officials
The Cabinet yesterday approved a budget of Bt11 billion to increase the wages of more than 50,000 employees at 79 universities, Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana told reporters after the Cabinet meeting yesterday.
He said 54,801 employees who had started working before January 1, 2012 will be getting the raise and will be paid in lieu from the date of employment. The project will cost around Bt11.7 billion in the first three years.
Phongthep has instructed the 79 universities to use their own budget to pay these employees for the 2013 fiscal year and that they will be reimbursed later. From the next fiscal year, the universities will be provided state funding for the raises, he said.
He added that the Education Ministry had proposed the salary issue to the Cabinet in an attempt to cut down the difference in wages between them and government officials working in universities. Now, employees who started working from January 1, 2012 will earn as much as their counterparts working on government contracts.
Of the Bt11.7 billion, Bt3 billion will be spent for the 2012 fiscal year, Bt4.2 billion for 2013 fiscal year and Bt4.5 billion for 2014 fiscal year.
