The Lao government has agreed to hike the minimum wage to help workers
cope with rising inflation in the country, Vientiane Times reported on
January 19, 2011.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare agreed to the wage rise ‘‘in
principle’’ after meeting with representatives of the Lao Federation of
Trade Unions and the Lao Chamber of Commerce. However, the ministry,
labour unions and chamber has not yet decided on how much to raise the
minimum wage, the paper said.
Monthly
Consumer Price Index: Asia
(Source: IMF, DEIC Database
and the Economist, compiled by the Research
Department, Bangkok Bank PCL)
Country
|
YoY % |
Lastest
|
China
|
5.1% |
Nov-2010 |
Hong Kong
|
2.9 % |
Nov-2010 |
| India |
8.3 % |
Nov-2010 |
| Thailand |
3.0 % |
Dec-2010 |
Vietnam
|
11.8 % |
Dec-2010 |
| Indonesia |
7.0 % |
Dec-2010 |
| Malaysia |
2.0 % |
Nov-2010 |
| Philippines |
3.0 % |
Dec-2010 |
| Singapore |
3.8 % |
Nov-2010 |
South Korea
|
3.5 % |
Dec-2010 |
| Cambodia |
3.7 % |
Oct-2010 |
| Laos |
6.7 % |
Nov-2010 |
|
‘‘I cannot
say now how much we should increase the wage by because we
don’t yet have a committee in place to study any wage increase in
comparison to the country’s inflation rate,’’ Khamla Lolonesy,
president of the trade unions’ federation, said.
He said a proposal for the wage increase should be sent to the
government for approval by the middle of the year 2011.
The minimum wage with allowances in Vientiane is about 500,000 kip
($66.88) a month, one of the lowest in the region. In neighboring
Thailand, the minimum wage in Bangkok is about $200 per month.
According to the Bank of Lao, the inflation rate in Laos in 2010 was
ended up more than 8%.
|
|
