Pay decision on hold
The National Wage Committee's sub-panel yesterday postponed its decision on whether to increase the daily minimum wage, saying it needed time to study the implications on a province-by-province basis and take into account inflation and oil price situation.
The sub-panel's chairman, Social Security Office (SSO) secretary-general Pairoj Suksamrit, said yesterday's meeting considered the hike proposals - ranging from Bt1 to Bt7 - of 32 provinces. The remaining 44 provinces, including Bangkok, had not requested a rise. The sub-panel agreed it would need more time to study each province's proposal and would have to wait for the unstable inflation rate and oil prices to stabilise. He said the wage hike would be brought to the panel's consideration by the end of June. The sub-panel needed to be careful because the economic situation was not stable, and rushing the decision might have a negative impact on small industries, possibly leading to lay-offs, said Pairoj. Judging by the cancellation of SSO membership holders, lay-offs from January to April were lower than during the same period last year - 91,609 cases compared to 39,229, he said. The Labour Ministry has also prepared measures to tackle future unemployment problems, including the Unemployment Insurance Fund that has Bt10 billion in reserve to compensate SSO members who get laid off.
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