Cabinet okays relief measures, increase in daily wages

A budget of 51.76 billion baht has been approved to fund the measures, while the government will see an estimated 21.4-billion-baht revenue loss.

Here’s a summary of the key measures:

- The Energy Ministry aims to subsidise household electricity bills from September to December to soften the impact from rising energy prices, with a budget of 9.12 billion.

Under the measure, households that use 301-500 units per month will receive 15 to 75 per cent subsidy on their bills. Meanwhile, those using less than 300 units per month will get a subsidy of 0.9204 baht per unit.

- Extension of the diesel excise tax cut of 5 baht per litre until November 30 in a bid to keep the retail price of the fuel at around 35 baht per litre. This measure will cost the government around 20 billion baht, plus another 1.4 billion baht from electricity generation.

- Subsidy on LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) used for cooking for holders of state welfare cards at 100 baht per person per month until December 2022. This measure is expected to use a budget of 302.5 million baht.

- Subsidy for new-born babies under a 933.6-million-baht budget, expected to cover 2.35 million newborns in September.

- Compensation for medical professionals and public health staff under six government projects related to Covid-19 treatment, worth 13.12 billion baht.

- Promoting the growing of organic rice under a budget of 1.74 billion baht.

- Supporting the liquidity of village and community funds using a budget of 714.64 million baht.

The Cabinet also approved a new daily minimum wage rate as agreed upon by the Tripartite Wage Committee, to be effective from October 1.

Under the new rates, daily wages for unskilled workers, for example, will rise 5.02 per cent, averaging about 337 baht per day.