New minimum wage to come into force on January 1

The tri-partite Wage Committee agreed today to increase the country’s minimum wage by between 7 and 55 baht per day, with the highest minimum rate of pay being 400 baht per day, effective January 1.

Only workers in Phuket, Chachoengsao, Chon Buri and Ko Samui district of Surat Thani will receive the maximum rate of 400 baht.

The rate in Mueang district of Chiang Mai and Hat Yai district of Songkhla will be increased to 380 baht while the rate in Bangkok and six surrounding provinces will be adjusted to 372 baht.

For the remaining 67 provinces, there are 17 wage rates representing an average increase of 2% from the current rates, to be decided by the wage committees in each province based on the cost of living, social conditions and the abilities of the employers to cope with the wage rise, said Boonsong Thapchaiyuth, permanent secretary of Labour.

Boonsong said that the Wage Committee has entrusted the sub-committees in each province to recommend a suitable minimum wage for their province and their feedback was taken into account.