BANGKOK, Nov 22 – The Cabinet on Tuesday postponed implementation of the Bt300 (US$10) national daily minimum wage policy in seven provinces, scheduled to take effect Jan 1 next year to April 1, according to a deputy government spokesperson.
Anuttama Amornvivat, deputy government spokesperson, told a news briefing that the cabinet’s decision came after the government acknowledged the request of the Wage Tripartite Committee to delay implementing the wage hike in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Nakhon Pathom and Phuket provinces.
Previously, the minimum wage for workers in the designated provinces was set to be increased from Bt215 to Bt300, effective in January next year.
As a large number of factories were hard hit by the country’s worst floods in decades, Ms Anuttama explained, the postponement will mitigate the impact on flood-affected employers. Overall restoration was expected to be completed within three to six months.
Meanwhile, the daily minimum wage hike to Bt300 policy in the other 70 provinces will take effect in Jan 2013 as earlier agreed by the Wage Tripartite Committee, comprising representatives from government, employer and worker organisations, the deputy spokesperson said.
The policy to raise the minimum wage of workers across the country to Bt300 per day is a major campaign promise promoted by Prime Minister Yingluck’s Pheu Thai Party leading up to the July general election.
