Labour officials to ensure new minimum wage being paid
The Department of Labour Protection and Welfare will conduct random checks to ensure that businesses are paying the minimum wage, which increased effective April 1.
Failure to pay the minimum wage will earn a formal warning to pay it retroactively to April 1, department chief Anantachai Utaipatanacheep said on Tuesday.
Further failure to comply will lead to charges under the Labour Protection Act 1998. Conviction could mean six months in jail, a Bt100,000 fine or both.
The Cabinet on January 30 approved increases between Bt5 and Bt22, increasing the minimum wage to Bt308-Bt330, varying among the provinces.
The department’s branch offices have received no complaints so far about employers failing to pay the revised wage and nor has its website (www.labour.go.th), Anantachai said.
He believes that’s because employers are paying the right wage and workers know their rights, or because payday hasn’t come around yet at establishments where workers are paid monthly or twice-monthly.