Kittiratt: Workers won’t lose jobs

Published: 19/10/2011 at 05:38 PM
Online news:

People working at the flooded factories will not lose their jobs and will still get monthly income from the Social Security Fund, Commerce Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said on Wednesday.

Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong bursts into tears and consoles people at a Japanese business in the Hi-Tech Industrial Estate in Ayutthaya's Bang Pa-in district of Ayutthaya when floodwater finally broke through the dyke on Oct, 13, 2011.

Mr Kittiratt said no foreign manufacturers planned to move production bases to other countries because they understood that the disaster was not something that could be easily controlled.

He said he had discussed ways to help ease the hardship of people with loan repayments to meet with commercial banks. It was confirmed that the banks would come up with assistance measures, including offering a moratorium and lower loan rates during the reconstruction period.

The deputy prime minister said the government needs to invest several hundred billion baht in megaprojects to systematically solve the flood problem to prevent flooding in the future.

This would help restore the confidence of foreign investors and prevent them from moving their bases out of Thailand, he added.

"The government needs a bigger budget deficit next fiscal year to assist the flooded manufacturers. The commercial banks will also help their debtors affected by the floods in order to protect their debts from turning to non-performing loans," said Mr Kittiratt.

He said the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Thailand had regularly discussed the situation to jointly map out problem solving guidelines, to oversee the liquidity in the system and to enhance the strength of financial institutions during these hard times.

Mr Kittiratt insisted that the government will push ahead with all promised populist policies, including the 300 baht daily minimum wage.

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franklin
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Discussion 8 : 20/10/2011 at 02:29 AM8
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“Workers won’t lose jobs”. So apparently the answer to the question posed in an article 2 days ago,”Government Wrestles with Telling Truth or Lies about Floods”, has been answered and it was continue to “Tell Lies”! Talk about being out of touch with reality! How in the world can people who are so hyper-sensitive about ‘losing face’ continue to act in the most ‘face losing’ manner while under the limelight on the worlds stage? I boggles the mind. On the Ridiculous Scale, this statement comes in a close second to the airlifting of ‘condoms’ to the flood victims of Ayuteya so as to avoid a baby-boom in the 9 month future!! “Workers won’t lose jobs”? Sure! but the jobs won’t exist any longer!
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falangsur
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Discussion 7 : 19/10/2011 at 11:48 PM7
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How on earth can someone guarantee these jobs? How can they guarantee companies will not leave? He says tehy will not leave - but money must be spent so they do not leave? So apparently some will leave. Read what effect this is having Western Digital's business. Western digital is ultimately responsible to its shareholders - who will most likely ressure them to leave Thailand and find another location without these risks. Our leaders lose credibility when making statements that NO ONE can know for sure. If you say "I do not know" you do not lose face. I for one would be shocked we do not see a decline in companies here. The migrant workers going home seem to know better.
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thommy
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Discussion 6 : 19/10/2011 at 09:59 PM6
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Under socialism, the state guaranteeing jobs because there is no private sector. I do not think there is Socialism in Thailand. In Thailand, the companies themselves decide what they do or not. The Commerce Minister of Na-Ranong Kittiratt can never give a job guarantee.
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hawaiiman
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Discussion 5 : 19/10/2011 at 09:26 PM5
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Even though I support the wage increase, delaying it for 6 months is a good idea. As Indonesia is getting more investment than Thailand due to incentives, this delay would at least give investors the appearance of a business friendly environment.
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CFD buddy

Discussion 4 : 19/10/2011 at 08:12 PM4
Back to the reality. Factories are damaged as you could see. Machineries are severely damaged. If these factories need to resume, they will do the same as like starting a new factory. The reconstruction cost may not be smaller than building a new factory at other countries in which the costs are lower. Adding that the salary hike scheme will be implemented soon, the investors are not idiots as the minister thought. Also, the investors will consider that will this kind of incident recur next year or near future??? Why they have to risk again? The global economics are really really bad. Over supply is everywhere. Why they have to start if they have another plants operating under capacity?

One of the advantages for manufacturing in Thailand is supply chain is available in Thailand. But now the supply chain is disrupted.

Will the bank or any institutions finance foreign investors whose factories are damaged by the flood? Don't forget that some of the banks are already in trouble due to the crisis last year.

Could we still believe what they say?
from iPhone application.
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paul_giles
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Discussion 3 : 19/10/2011 at 07:43 PM3
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Currently, the factories are paying workers about 45% of their normal salary and say that they'll be back to work in 3-5 months.
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bkkblue
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Discussion 2 : 19/10/2011 at 06:31 PM2
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When Abhisit came to power the National Debt stood at 23% of GDP. When Yingluck came to power the National Debt stood at 40% of GDP. Legally, Thailand's National Debt is capped at 50% of GDP, so I fail to see how Puea Thai will be able to pay for everything that they are promising. They just don't get it - the money's gone already, the cupboard is bare!
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cocoricco
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Discussion 1 : 19/10/2011 at 06:10 PM1
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Empty promise considering the economy in Europe/America and the wage hike scheme. The government can never promise private sector jobs. Another irresponsible promise. Can't wait until this government gets a good reality check. So sad for the average tax payer that will have to pay for the mock payback that leads to nowhere.
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Kittiratt: Workers won’t lose jobs | Bangkok Post: breakingnews