AWOL Cha Am
4 January 2013
FREE weekly issue 2 13
Page 3 English Corner Hua Hin Live Poor Old Sticky
priced Victor
guesthouse
out
minimum wage hike causing anxiety
hua hin, THAILAND Fears are growing among the small businesses in the Hua Hin area that they will be forced to raise their prices to enable them to comply with the new minimum wage of 300 baht per day which is in force nationwide since 1st January this year. Some are also concerned that they may have to operate with less staff, affecting the quality of their service, in order to avoid increasing their prices. Particularly affected are the labour intensive businesses that serve the tourists, such as restaurants, bars, guesthouses, massage shops and spas, who are worried that customers will not understand why they are putting prices up at a time when most people around the world are having to tighten their financial belts. One local restaurant owner commented on the knock-on effect the minimum wage might cause by pointing out that if the least skilled employee like a dishwasher is earning over 8000 baht a month, those further up the scale will be expecting more also. Federation of Thai Industries’ vice chairman Taweekit Chaturacharoenkhun predicted on Wednesday that between five and ten per cent of Thailand’s labour intensive businesses, unable to tolerate the new Bt300 daily minimum wage, will close down in the first quarter of this year. He said labour intensive small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly in the textile, service and agricultural sectors, will be severely impacted. He added that the impact of the minimum wage increase will be clearly seen in the second quarter. It does seem almost inevitable that this will be the tipping point for some in the area, and it can only be hoped that customers will be sympathetic to those who raise their prices to avoid closing down.
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