Nearly half of the people polled were concerned that workers would be laid off because of the impact of the 300 baht daily minimum wage nationwide policy, Nida Poll reported on Friday.
Nida Poll of the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida) conducted a survey on “Impact of Wage Hike Policy” from Nov 14-15, seeking opinions from 1,247 people nationwide.
The pollster said 48.04% of the respondents were worried that because of the wage hike, manufacturers would lay off Thai workers and turn to hiring foreign workers whose wages are lower.
However, 45.07% of the examples believed the impact of wage hike policy would be minimal because employers had been prepared for it and that workers are now almost getting 300 baht a day, while 6.90% of them were unsure.
Asked whether they have any concern over possible price increase of products caused by the wage hike, 68.40% said yes because the wage is a production cost of manufacturers, 29.27% said they were not worried because manufacturers would find ways to cut costs, and 2.33% were unsure.
Some 69.45% of the polled people did not think that the wage increase policy would help boost people’s savings, citing the current high cost of living and the fact most workers do not have any savings at all.
However, 25.66% of them disagreed, saying a higher daily wage would enable them to have some money left for savings.
Asked about the businesses that could be forced to shut down by the increase in labour costs, 48.84% said they did not think this wouldhappen. They said manufacturers are currently paying nearly 300 baht a day, or more, for workers and that they must adapt to survive the wage hike environment.
However, 39.37% of them believed some small and medium enterprises would be forced out of business as they could not afford the increase in labour costs.