Bonus Increase and Pay Raise for Government Officers

At a time when most western governments are telling their public sector workers to expect pay cuts, it is interesting that Thailand, which continues to have a robust and growing economy, can buck this trend.

Mr. Todsaporn Sirisumphan, Secretary-General of the OPDC said, “We have been discussing  bonuses for government officers for 2009 to be paid from a bonus pool of one billion baht which will be available in October this year. We have informed all sectors to make sure that the bonus is distributed evenly to all levels and rankings. The previous problem was that bonuses were paid unfairly because those in the higher rankings received a bonus much greater than those in the lower ranks. Government officers should receive an additional increase in their bonus of between 4,000 and 5,000 baht per person. As for the higher ranking officers who are already getting a much higher salary, we have proposed that they don’t get this additional increase in their bonus amount.”

“This proposal is a separate proposal to the one put forward earlier about the increase in the officer’s salary. Government officers are to receive a pay raise of 5% which will be effective April next year. The salary increase requires a budget about 30 billion baht,” added Mr. Todsaporn.