THAI union wants tax allowance for all

Jamsri Sukchotirat, the union's chairwoman, said it was not fair to pay this allowance only to the co-pilots. There are 4,000 people working with THAI under a 2005 agreement that scrapped this benefit, and they should get it back as well. In 2005, THAI announced big changes in its compensation agreement with its employees. One change was regarding tax payments. Since then, most new employees have been responsible for paying their own income tax. And last June, co-pilots who had started working for THAI after January 2005 saw this tax benefit cut as well.

The co-pilots called for the company to continue paying their income tax, which is similar to the practice of other airlines as a way of conforming to international standards. The co-pilots reportedly held a job action on the issue during this year's Songkran period. They refused to work for extra periods, while supervisors also stopped working, citing illness. The payment was approved yesterday, but defined as an "extra allowance". The board said reinstating the allowance was aimed at keeping skilled pilots working for the company and avoiding a brain drain.

Despite this controversy, Jamsri said she was pleased with the board's approval of a monthly increase for employees. It approved a budget of Bt530 million to cover the pay rises. Low-level employees will get an increase of more than 3 per cent and the executive level 1.6-1.7 per cent, retroactive to January this year.