Thai workers call for immediate equal minimum wage hike

BANGKOK, January 18 (TNA) - Thai workers have called for an immediate increase in their minimum wages to 300 baht per day equally throughout the country, citing a recent survey showing that local workers’ daily expenses have now gone up to 561.79 baht. President of the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee (TLSC) Chalee Loysoong and representatives of local labour's networks publicly announced the demand in a joint press conference Wednesday, pointing out that the Thai government’ recent decision to delay its planned minimum wage hike from January 1 to April 1, 2012, with only first taken effect in seven provinces, did not comply with a policy announced during its electoral campaigns and has aggravated local workers' hardships in the wake of the country's massive floods late last year. The TLSC president also said that local workers also oppose the government’s plan to defer minimum wage hikes in most provinces for 2-3 years, threatening that the affected workers nationwide would take further actions if the government failed to keep its electoral promise on the equal minimum wage hike. Meanwhile, President of Thai Auto Parts And Metal Workers’ Union Yongyuth Mentapao proposed that the Thai government overhaul the country's wage structure in all industries after daily minimum wages are raised to 300 baht, claiming that it appears to be unfair for workers in the automobile industry with working experiences of less than seven years and those being newly-employed to be paid the same daily 300 baht minimum wage, under the government's policy. (TNA)