The club is made up of Phuket businesspeople from 245 businesses, across a variety of industries. The letter gave details of four key issues its members are facing.
Club President Nares Srinark explained to The Phuket News that the group was first asking the Government to reconsider the B300 a day wage, due to be introduced in Phuket on April 1.
Employees in the tourism and hospitality industry, Mr Nares argued, were given a base wage, which may be less than B300. However, on top of this an employer would often provide meals, transportation, plus service charge benefits, which totalled far more then B300 a day.
Secondly, the group was concerned about the law that stipulates companies must hire one disabled worker for every 100 able-bodied workers.
The group said this law was unfair because Phuket had very few disabled people, and most of them came from rich families. The remainder, they argued, already had jobs.
If an employer is unable to find a disabled person to work for their business, they must pay B54,000 per year to a special fund in Bangkok to support disabled people.
Third on the list was Phuket’s labour shortage, despite importing labour from Thailand’s north and northeast, the group’s letter said.
“The Government should pay more attention to Thai people who are unable to get Thai citizenship or ID cards for whatever reason, and help them find work in Phuket,” Mr Nares said.
Lastly, Mr Nares expressed concern about start of the Asean Economic Community in 2015, which will allow residents of selected countries to freely travel and work within the region. He said that he could only find limited details on what this means for employers, saying government authorities he contacted were unable to give him detailed information.
Mr Phadermchai accepted the group’s letter, and said he would pass on its concerns to the Ministry of Labour. He would also speak to them before April 1 about the issues surrounding the B300 wage.