Govt measures not enough, Bt300 wage to begin hurting soon: Chamber poll

More than half of the respondents to a business poll said the government's proposals for mitigating the impact of the new Bt300 minimum wage were insufficient, and consumers and the very workers the higher wage is meant to help could see negative effects around midyear.

As well, according to the same poll of 600 enterprises nationwide by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC), most are worried that the rapid appreciation of the baht will hurt the ability of Thai exporters to compete against rivals in other countries. They called on the government to come out with urgent and concrete measures to stabilise the baht and not allow it to go below 30 to the US dollar.

The survey found that most enterprises would be able to cope with the higher cost of labour for only seven months before taking steps to maintain their profits, or even shutting down in extreme cases.

The Nation