Small firms face 'shock' of wage rise

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Small firms face 'shock' of wage rise

CENTRAL BANK OFFICIAL ISSUES WARNING

Published: 9 Dec 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

Business operators must adjust or go out of business following the full-scale increase of the minimum wage to 300 baht per day, a central bank senior official has warned.

The Labour Ministry conceded Saturday that the nationwide wage hike from Jan 1 would place more than 2,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in hardship.

Somsajee Siksamat, director of the Bank of Thailand's Statistics Office, described the coming wage increase as a "shock" to the economic system.

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robertt
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Discussion 5 : 09 Dec 2012 at 07.515
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2000 SME's, doesn't sound like a lot of employees at risk of losing their jobs.
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Eric
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Discussion 4 : 09 Dec 2012 at 07.424
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INternational Labour Organisation just yestday issued a report that aside from China which has yearly wage increases, rest of Asia is far behind in providing sufficient wage increase and still dependence on low wage for its economy. Thailand andMalaysia were singled out as examples of government attempt to provide a decent and appropriate wage increases while others are still lacking behind. SMEs better look inwards and improve their management and productivity and not depend on low salaries to be profitable.
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upena
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Discussion 3 : 09 Dec 2012 at 05.313
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"She said a certain number of workers would have to lose their jobs as a result of the wage increase, which was expected to lead to a significant decrease in jobs, drive up inflation and result in a stronger baht."

Not sure about the stronger baht, but inflation and unemployment are a given. Plus, since there will be fewer worker doing the same or more work, the quality will definitely decrease.
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ricefield
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Discussion 2 : 09 Dec 2012 at 04.582
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All my life I've owned businesses and not once did I ever pay minimum wage to anyone who worked for me. If you keep your employees happy and their families fed and secure they will do more for you than you ever could for them. If your business can't afford the minimum wage increase and goes broke so be it - your business model was flawed, or you have taken too much out for yourself.
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wakeup
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Discussion 1 : 09 Dec 2012 at 03.271
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All raising wages arbitrarily does is cause firms to raise prices, thus inflation, thus your 300 minimum wage is right back where it started - only it's too late to change your vote for PTP. If you want poor people to make more money, give them the skills they need to move past menial labor and become entrepreneurs - wealth distribution by showing them how to grab a bigger piece of the market.
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Small firms face 'shock' of wage rise | Bangkok Post: news