[asivisepo]

The government’s policy to raise the daily minimum wage of workers to 300 baht is aimed at improving living standards at a time when the cost of living is increasing, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said on Saturday.

The new daily minimum wage will take effect on Sunday in seven provinces: Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Nakhon Pathom, Pathum Thani and Phuket. The increase is 40% from current levels. Increases in other provinces will follow later.

Speaking on her weekly "PM Yingluck Meets the People" talk show on NBT, the prime minister said the government realised that the wage increases would affect the production cost of manufacturers, but the impact would be minimal.

Most large manufacturers, she said, were already paying daily wages in excess of the new minimum wage. For small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that would be affected by the policy, the government would come up with proper measures to help ease their hardship, she added.

"According to past statistics, the daily minimum wage of workers has not been raised for several years, while the cost of living has been constantly increasing," said Ms Yingluck.

"If workers' wages are not raised, they would not be able to survive. In fact, the increase in the daily minimum wage is not too high, as some critics hjave sais."

The premier said she had instructed the ministers of labour and industry to oversee and provide needed assistance for the SMEs affected by the need to pay their workers more.