Despite 53% wage hike, construction workers mark Labor Day with gripes over low pay

Laborers, some shown here improving the diminishing beach landscape for the May Day celebration, say 300 baht a day is still not enough for them to make ends meet in today’s ever changing economy.

Vittaya Yoondorn
Despite seeing their wages rise 53 percent in the past year, Pattaya-area construction workers marked Labor Day 2013 with continued grumbles about low pay.
The itinerant laborers say that the increase in Thailand’s minimum wage from 196 baht on March 30, 2012 to 300 baht per day April 1 this year hasn’t translated into easier lives. They still must contend with employers who defer wages, deduct rent at shabby construction camps and extensive overtime hours, just to make ends meet.
Ekachai Lainamthong, 48, a construction foreman, said laborers are an important cog in Thailand’s economic machine. He hoped construction workers annually would receive a paid Labor Day holiday on May 1 and that Ministry of Labor officials will continue to ensure that employers pay the legal minimum wage.

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