Thailand's new wage hike slightly affects costs of living

BANGKOK, January 19 (TNA) - The Ministry of Commerce says that a new wage hike across Thailand this year, effective as of April 1, should slightly affect people's costs of living, at least in the short run. Thai Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong made the assessment on January 18, soon after the government announced the new wage hike by 8-22 baht per day in different provinces, pointing out that the new wage hike should raise the prices of goods and services on the domestic market by only 0.0008-0.1 per cent. Sontirat told journalists that his ministry, thus, sees it is irrational to allow any immediate increase consequently in the prices of goods and services in the country and he will hold a meeting with large-scaled producers of goods and services from all local sectors next week to seek their cooperation on keeping the prices of their goods and services intact, at least for a certain period of time. The minister revealed that at next week's meeting, he will, however, listen to opinions and problems of the producers of goods and services and will allow some of them to propose an increase of their prices in the coming months to his ministry's Department of Internal Trade for further consideration and a decision. The minister urged consumers who face increased prices of goods and services unfairly to immediately report to his ministry's hotline, 1569, with sellers, if found guilty, each facing a seven-year jail term or a fine of 140,000 baht at the maximum or both. Meanwhile, Don Nakornthab, Senior Director of the Bank of Thailand's Macroeconomic and Monetary Policy Department, told reporters that the new wage hike, which represents a 3.4 per cent increase on average nationwide, is considered appropriate as it is in line with the expanding Thai economy and raises income and consumption of low-income earners, while reducing a high level of household debts currently. BOT Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob stated that the central bank has sent a letter to Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong to report that there are no risks from inflation, as the general inflation last year stood at only 0.60 per cent, much lower than a targeted range of 1.4-2.5 per cent. According to the BOT governor, the low inflation helps maintain Thailand's competitiveness without any risk of deflation and the BOT's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is expected to continue keeping the key interest rate at its relaxing level for a certain period of time to support and sustain the growing Thai economy. (TNA)