Cabinet approves 10% pay rise for state employees

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2023

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Civil Service Commission’s proposal to raise salaries of junior level government officials and state employees by 10% for two years to offset rising living costs.

The pay rise will take effect in May after the fiscal 2024 budget bill is enacted by April next year.

The hike will ensure a starting salary of 18,000 baht for newly recruited civil servants and corresponding upward adjustments in the pay of existing civil servants, said Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).

The Budget Bureau and relevant government agencies will discuss budget sources for the pay hike.

The pay rise for junior civil servants was proposed by Foreign Minister and Deputy PM Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, who is in charge of the Office of Civil Service Commission (OCSC).

The OCSC, NESDC, Finance Ministry and Budget Bureau agreed to endorse the proposal to raise salaries of junior officials by 10% at a meeting chaired by Parnpree last week.

Thailand has about 1.68 million state workers – 427,000 teachers and educational staff, 421,000 civil servants, and 325,000 military personnel.