"Backing away from his emphatic ''employers just cannot afford it'' stance of nine months ago, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra now says he wants to see a 9% increase in the minimum wage to bring it up to 200 baht a day for those working in and around Bangkok. Such an increase would cover just one return bus fare to work, which is less than joyful news for those employees who have to change buses on the way. It would be easy to dismiss this latest handout as a cheap populist ploy to win back some of the public support which evaporated after his questionable sale last month of his holdings in Shin Corp to Temasek Holdings. And, as such, it could well backfire. In last year's stand-off, the workers were demanding an increase in the basic wage to 233 baht a day and made it very clear they did not want this figure to be treated as a mere negotiating tactic. There was a great deal of bitterness when the Central Wage Committee rejected this 233-baht figure and slashed it to a ''take it or leave it''184 baht a day instead. Many workers in the provinces had to settle for 140 baht a day. No celebratory parties were held."
Full article www.bangkokpost.net/News/20Feb2006_news16.php
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Originally Posted by John Botting
