The measure of the regime

One of the hallmarks of the “Thaksin revolution” was the way Thaksin Shinawatra and, later, Yingluck did politics was to emphasize not just policies that impacted particular constituencies, but to promote policies that were essentially universal. The 30 baht health care program was iconic.

Under Yingluck, the most significant of these policies was to essentially raise the minimum wage nationwide to 300 baht a day. This was a politically popular innovation, and one that recognized that real wages in Thailand had been stagnant for years, despite productivity increases.

In this context, a report at Khaosod English on the minimum wage is potentially defining of the military dictatorship.

Ministy of Labour permanent secretary Nakhon Silpa-archa told a seminar that his ministry is “proposing a plan to abandon the country’s daily minimum wage in 2016.” He reckons the “wage is not in line with current labour market situation or inflation rate…”. Of course, this proposed change is in the context of the very rich are getting a lot richer.

The wage increase granted by Yingluck was not welcomed by business because it was seen as upsetting the balance in favor of its class.

The military dictatorship, like its predecessors, will be defined by its subordination to the interests of the rich and powerful. At a minimum, PPT would expect that the regime will attempt to have lower wages in provincial areas, meaning yet another return to the past.

Politically, the most powerful elements of organized labor have sided with the anti-democrats and the military dictatorship and have long been unrepresentative of the broader labor movement.