Labor chief: Phuket not consulted on minimum wage hike

PHUKET: Authorities in Phuket have yet to be consulted on whether or not the minimum wage hike to 300 baht a day should be implemented here.

Of the seven provinces listed to be the first to introduce the raise, if the raised is approved, Phuket will be the only province not near Bangkok to do so, Phuket Provincial Labor Office chief Sutthipong Saisakaret told the Phuket Gazette today.

The revelation came as the news was announced that the Central Wage Committee will meet on September 14 to decide on recommending the raise to the Minister of Labor.

“The increase in the minimum wage is for the Central Wage Committee to decide, but we in Phuket have not yet received any orders from the central government to consider any of the issues involved,” chief Sutthipong said.

“We still do not know any of the details. We have our provincial sub-committee on the minimum wage rate, but the sub-committee has no power to make a decision about whether to adjust the minimum wage. We just give suggestions.

“However, the Central Wage Committee has yet to ask us for any information or suggestions [about the proposed hike],” he said.

At the most recent sub-committee meeting, held just before the July 3 election, the provincial subcommittee recommended a rise in the minimum wage, chief Sutthipong said.

“But I cannot remember by how much,” he added.

Chief Sutthipong declined to comment on the potential impact of such a large increase – more than 30 per cent – in the minimum wage.

“That question is best left to employers to answer,” he said.

The current minimum wage rate in Phuket is 221 baht a day – already the highest in Thailand.

— Janpen Upatising