Thailand to Scrap Nationwide Minimum Wage

A file photo shows cash (L-R) 100, 500 and 1000 Thai baht from an ATM machine in Bangkok, Thailand, 01 February 2012. EPA/NARONG SANGNAK


BANGKOK (DPA) — Thailand's Labour Ministry is proposing a plan to abandon the country's daily minimum wage in 2016.

The current minimum wage of 300 baht per day (about 9 dollars) applies to all 77 provinces across Thailand. 

The wage is not in line with current labour market situation or inflation rate, Ministy of Labour permanent secretary Nakhon Silpa-archa told a seminar on minimum wage. 

The ministry said it will determine an appropriate system to set the rate for minimum wage by October, Matichon reported.

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The nationwide wage policy was decreed by Yingluck Shinawatra's government in 2013 as part of her election campaign.

Prior to that, minimum wages varied based on each province's standard cost of living. 

The rate in Bangkok and six other rich provinces was already set at 300 before 2013.

However, in some provinces, the hike represents up to 70 per cent increase in minimum wage.

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