Labouring under a stacked deck

Postbag

Published: 13 Jan 2013 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

In all the debate and commentary on the 300 baht per day minimum wage, several key factors have been consistently overlooked. I will take Koh Samui as an example, but sources in other coastal tourist areas tell me much the same story. Most Thais in these places work in the tourist service industry in hotels, resorts, restaurants, small shops, massage shops and bars. They work as staff, receptionists, cleaners, cooks, cashiers, wait staff, and bartenders, to name but a few occupations.

BONDED IN SADNESS: Badri Nath Singh, whose 23-year-old daughter died after being sexually attacked on a bus in Delhi, holds the hands of his son, Gaurav.

These workers, generally speaking, are not offered 300 baht a day since the owners foil any mention of this by saying that the 300 baht rate ''only applies in Bangkok'' or is only for big companies or factories. An employee who pushes the issue will quickly be out of a job.

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robins
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Discussion 5 : 13 Jan 2013 at 14.135
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I suspect that with very few exceptions, all politicians from both here and our home countries are from that 1% of humans affected by psychopathy. The lack of remorse, glib personalities and willingness to lie with a straight face are almost a prerequisite to success.
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lungstib
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Discussion 4 : 13 Jan 2013 at 10.454
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When you are extremely rich and intend to stay that way you must get involved in politics to keep things working in your favor. Much of the world is presently being run by wealthy people and thay can always find ways to ensure the money doesn't get spread around more fairly. Democracy doen't seem to have brought the 'poor majority' to power. Why?
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Renaissance
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Discussion 3 : 13 Jan 2013 at 10.243
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I think that the start of a radical change in government will happen when people around the world rise up country by country against the corruption of politicians. This will surely happen. The greed and almost complete absence of ethics and integrity of politicians seemingly everywhere (especially in Thailand) are responsible for the destruction of forests and ecosystems, the division of societies, financial hardship, health problems, and a host of other ills in society, and even economic collapses, as they pursue their self-serving, self-enriching, corrupt agendas. Politicians are becoming more and more harmful to mankind and irrelevant.
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dao
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Discussion 2 : 13 Jan 2013 at 09.272
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A skilled worker will get paid more .Job training can improve peoples skill sets . Where is the job skills training ?
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kena
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Discussion 1 : 13 Jan 2013 at 09.011
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I agree with Martin that drugs can be bad. But he doesn't mention the most harmful drug of all: alcoholic drinks. It's also the favorite drug of Mr. Chalerm - who is in charge of Thailand's 'War on Drugs' - amazing Thailand, indeed.
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Labouring under a stacked deck | Bangkok Post: opinion