PM backs Bt250 wage

At a seminar with representative of employers and labour leaders, he said skills training and quality improvement were needed to make the rise reasonable for employers and consumers. The government is balancing two approaches to industry, between giving workers more income and making industry thrive with higher profits while carrying more costs, he said.

Phayungsak Chartsutthiphol, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries and a key representative of employers on the Tripartite Wage Committee, said welfare could be enhanced as an incentive and an alternative to hiking the daily wage.

Chinchot Saengsang, a labour leader representing employees, said the government should control the prices of goods more effectively and a stronger industrial sector meant that Thailand did not have to rely solely on the export sector.