PM promises Bt300 minimum wage nationwide next year

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised Tuesday to raise the daily minimum wage for unskilled workers to Bt300 nationwide within next year.

In her special speech to mark the Labour Day, Yingluck also promised that her government would support workers to develop the skills so that they would be ready to face tough competitions from workers from other ASEAN countries when Thailand joins the ASEAN Economic Cooperation. The speech was broadcast on TV pool.

Yingluck said the government would also provide language training to the workers so that they would be prepared for the AEC.

Yingluck thanked workers for their contribution to the economic and social developments of the country. She said her government was trying to increase the quality of living for workers through various means, including the wage increase. She said Bt300 daily minimum wage has been enforced in seven provinces and will be implemented nationwide by next year. But employers have called on the government to delay the Bt300 rate for at least two years or else they would have to cease their operations.

The Nation