Employees in Thailand in line for higher salaries

This was revealed by Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, who said the authorities would discuss the matter with employees towards the end of this year.

Arkhom said Thailand’s inflation would remain high for the rest of this year, eventually forcing the Bank of Thailand to raise its policy interest rate, which has remained unchanged at 0.50%.

“The Thai economy is suffering impacts not only from COVID-19 but also high inflation resulting from the Ukraine war. Inflation this year is unlikely to go down to levels seen many years ago,” said the finance minister.

However, Thailand’s inflation rate, which has ranged between 6% and 7% in recent months, is still considered low when compared to other countries, he added. 

Arkhom also defended the government’s monetary and financial policies to aid the economy over the past two years during the pandemic. He said government borrowing was necessary to help stimulate the economy as people’s incomes fell. 

“Other countries, as well as Thailand, did the same thing,” he said, referring to government borrowing. 

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The finance minister also said that the World Bank and International Monetary Fund had encouraged countries to issue relief measures for their citizens despite incurring rising public debt.