22 jobs to be paid above minimum wage rates

The Bt300 daily minimum wage will be implemented in seven provinces, including Bangkok on the same day, said Labour Ministry permanent secretary Somkiart Chayasriwong, who also chairs the committee. The committee did not discuss a demand by labourers calling for a blanket minimum daily wage of Bt300 in all provinces, not just in the seven provinces initially, he added.

The highest raise is for Thai-food cooks, going up 40 per cent from Bt280 to Bt400, while the lowest rate of increase is 11.7 per cent, for carpentry work Class 1, from Bt300 to Bt335, he said. Somkiart did not give details of the criteria used by the committee to determine the raises in both categories.

The jobs are divided into six groups, then subclasses, depending on skill levels in the same groups: auto repairs; service sector; electronic and computer technicians and repairmen; handyman and helpers in computer-assisted designs; construction workers, and industrial workers.

In the list, auto paint repairmen Class 1 will get Bt400 a day from Bt315 at present, while Classes 2 and 3 will get Bt465 and Bt530, respectively, up Bt380 and Bt445, respectively at present.

In the service sector: Thai-food cook position Class 2 will get Bt510 from the current Bt360; traditional masseurs Classes 1, 2 and 3 will get Bt440, Bt580 and Bt720, respectively from the current Bt310, Bt410 and Bt510; while spa service people in Class 1 and 2 will get Bt490 and Bt650 respectively, up from the current Bt350 and Bt460.

The Labour Ministry will soon grant a special fund to help small- and medium Japanese enterprises affected by the flooding who have not received a 10 per cent tax deduction like large-scale firms, he said. The flood-hit Japanese SMEs are being affected the Bt300 daily wage.