Starting salaries of 15,000 a month?

Are 15,000 baht per month starting salaries for all new university graduates really possible or is this just a dream?

In the photo, young people check job listings online at the Bangkok Career Expo 2011 held on Friday and Saturday at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok (Photo by KOSOL NAKACHOL)

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Economics: Don't count on it, Employers say they can't just wave a magic wand and push up salaries overnight, and neither can the new government by Chadamas Chinmaneevong & Somporn Thapanachai

A starting salary of 15,000 baht a month is an appealing prospect for a young university graduate. But most entry-level jobs now pay far less - between 9,000 and 12,000 baht on average - and both job-seekers and employers don't see salaries rising any time soon.

At the recent Bangkok Career Expo 2011, interviews with 83 participants indicated that the new Pheu Thai government would not find it easy to make good on one of its most high-profile election promises.

From the standpoint of employers, if starting salaries are regulated, businesses would have to adjust their salary scales across the board, resulting in higher costs and potentially affecting the competitiveness of their businesses and of the country.

A human resources officer of a well-known hospitality company said politicians could say anything to win votes but they didn't care whether a policy was practical or not.

If we pay a salary of 15,000 baht for new staff, the question is how about our existing staff holding the same degrees and earning only 12,000 baht?" he asked rhetorically.

Do we have to tell them that you should resign and reapply again if you want a new salary? It's nonsense. I think the government should think of a solution for operators, especially small and medium-sized operators. A policy needs clear details before it's launched.

Pheu Thai economic strategists insist the impact of higher staffing costs would be offset by a promised reduction in corporate income tax from 30% to 23% by next year and 20% by 2013. However, most executives surveyed by the Post said such reductions would benefit big companies but not small ones.

Pavorn Maleehom, a human resources officer with Tesco Lotus, believes salary should depend on work experience. The average starting salary at the hypermarket chain is currently 13,000 baht - it was just increased from 12,000 baht last month.

"We think it would be difficult to follow the proposed policy," said Mr Pavorn. "It's not just a case of offering a new salary base to new bachelor's degree holders. We would have to adjust the rates for the majority of our staff. So we have no idea how the policy could be implemented next year.

Young job seekers, while encouraged by the possibility of earning more, were equally sceptical about the Pheu Thai promise materialising.

"I'm looking for a job related to financial accounting. As I talk with many companies here, the average salary for new bachelor's degree holders is about 10,000 to 12,000 baht. My friends and I will accept the offers and we have a forlorn hope of getting 15,000 baht as promised by the new government," said Nuchaporn Songsiri, who will graduate from Siam University in two months.

Maybe in five or 10 years a salary of 15,000 baht would be practical, she added with a smile.

A law student at Thammasat University said she believed 15,000 baht was appropriate given the current cost of living, but that no employer could offer such an attractive salary.

"I think 12,000 baht per month can be possible for us. We have no experience. If we request a high salary, it will be difficult to find a job," she said.

Pawarisa Bunnut, a recent Liberal Arts graduate from Rangsit University, said she expected a monthly salary of 15,000 baht.

"I know that it's a policy of Puea Thai for new graduates, and I think they will be able to implement it but I didn't choose them anyway," she said.

Piyamitn Rangsitienchai, chief executive at the local recruitment firm Prompt Professional Resources & Services, said salaries of 15,000 baht were up to 50% higher than current average levels. "If the private sector was forced to pay such a high rate, employers may change to hiring more freelancers rather than paying salaries for a whole month to employees whose working days are not 30 days in each month," he said.

Another HR specialist said offering a flat rate to all graduates regardless of position or job description may create unfairness as some positions require candidates with more complex skills.

"An engineer or a medical adviser would certainly require a different skill set from candidates filling a general administration job. If the pay is equal, it would have an impact on morale in the long term," she said.

She is also worried about employers' ability to pay as personnel costs generally account for the largest portion of expenses in most organisations. A sharp rise in salaries would certainly diminish profitability, which would also reduce the benefit of a lower tax rate on corporate profits, she added.

Performance-based pay so positions demanding complex skills should offer a premium rate is more appropriate because students are motivated to choose fields of study that match the country's strategic development plan, said the specialist.

(Source: Bangkok Post, Economics, Don't count on it, Employers say they can't just wave a magic wand and push up salaries overnight, and neither can the new government, 11/07/2011, Chadamas Chinmaneevong & Somporn Thapanachai, link) 


HR and Job SearchVocabulary

salary - a fixed amount of money that you earn each month or year from your job เงินเดือน

starting salary - the first salary that a person gets in their job (may get future "raises" if their performance is excellent) 
average starting salary - the middle starting salary (note: some are higher and some lower)

attractive - worth having or doing น่าสนใจ
attractive salary - a high salary that makes people want to have a job

push up salaries overnight - increase salaries immediately or very quickly

regulated starting salaries - when the government says what the starting salaries for a job must be (not the company) 

salary scales - the standard list of different levels of jobs or positions in a company (plus the salaries that each position pays)
adjust - to change something slightly, especially to make it more correct, effective, or suitable ปรับ
across the board - in every case (here: for every position)
adjust salary scales across the board - change salaries for every position and job (in the company)

compensation - the salary an employee receives plus benefits (health insurance, company car, etc)
performance-based pay - when pay given depends on performance of worker (example: sales people have performance-based pay in the form of commissions on sales that they close)
salary base - base salary, lowest salary

work experience - actual experience doing a certain job for several years (not just school courses)
resign - officially choose to stop working at a company ลาออก ลาออกจากตำแหน่ง

cost of living (COL) - the money that must be spent each month to "maintain a standard of living" (See Wikipedia)
maintain a standard of living - buy all the goods and services needed to live in a certain way in a certain place (for example, proper schooling for children can be expensive in certain places) (See Wikipedia and Google Definitions)

human resources - the workers and managers in an organization (staff) and all their skills, resources that can be used to produce goods and services and carry out projects in an organization (See Wikipedia)
human resources department (HR) - the department in a company that takes care of employee related issues (See Wikipedia)
human resources officer - a manager in the HR department of a company
resources - things such as money, workers and equipment that can be used to help achieve something ทรัพยากร
officer - a high level person in an organisation with special responsibilities (a government officer, a police officer, an army officer)

policy - a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย, a plan of action to guide decisions and achieve outcomes (See Wikipedia)
practical - useful for real people in real situations, suitable for the situation in which something is used ที่ขึ้นอยู่กับความเป็นจริง

staff - employees of a company, people who work for a company พนักงาน
personnel - people who work for a company or organisation

freelancers - people who do not work for a company (outsiders hired by the company to do work)

employer - a company with employees, a person, company, or organisation that pays someone to work for them as a member of their staff นายจ้าง
executives - a high level manager in a company (making plans and ensuring they executed successfully) ผู้บริหาร

candidates - job candidates, people a company is considering hiring for a certain job
hiring - when a company formally gives a person a job (a contract is signed) การว่าจ้าง

job-seekers - people who are looking for jobs
job search - the process of looking for the job you want (when you are unemployed)

entry-level jobs - a person's first full-time job

sector - a part of the economy ภาคเศรษฐกิจของประเทศ (public sector = government, private sector = all businesses, household sector = families and consumers, banking sector,...) (See Wikipedia)

accounting - the work of keeping and checking financial records for a company or organization (See Wikipedia)

hypermarket - a big store with cheap prices such as Lotus or Big C
chain - a group of businesses (restaurants, hotels, etc.) owned by the same company บริษัทต่างๆที่อยู่ในเครือเดียวกัน
hypermarket chain - a group of large stores (hypermarkets, hypermarts) all owned by one company (Lotus or Big C, for example) 

Liberal Arts - general knowledge not specialized knowledge courses, college and university courses on subjects such as literature, history, languages, philosophy, mathematics, and pure sciences rather than more practical subjects such as business, engineering, medicine or law (See Wikipedia)

local -in this country (here: Thailand)
recruitment - the process of finding people to work for a company or become a new member of an organisation การสรรหาใหม่
firm - a business or company บริษัท
local recruitment firm -

flat rate - one fixed amount (not changing with conditions or qualifications of candidate)
offer flat rate regardless of position or job description - everyone earns the same amount

skills - a type of work or task requiring special training and knowledge ทักษะ ความสามารถเฉพาะทาง
complex skills - a job with complex and difficult tasks

medical adviser - a person offering medical advice (doctor, nurse, skilled laboratory technician, physical therapist, etc)
general administration job - a general clerical job at a company, typing, answering emails, preparing documents, etc

morale - team spirit, the amount of cheerfulness and confidence that the people in an organization or company 
impact on morale -  effect on morale (if everyone is being paid the same, but some have more difficult job could have negative effect on morale)

premium -  higher than the usual or average
motivated - given the reason, every, enthusiasm to do something มีแรงจูงใจ  
X motivated to Y - X given a reason or energy to do Y

General Vocabulary

don't count on it - don't expect it to happen, you should not believe that it will really happen (same as "don't hold your breathe")
wave a magic wand - to do something by magic (which is not really possible) (magic wands are used by wizards, see Wikipedia)

prospect - the possibility that something might happen ความคาดหวัง ความหวังข้างหน้า อนาคต
appealing prospect - something nice thing might happen (something we want)

interviews - asking a person a series of questions to get information (for example: to decide whether to hire them (job interview) or to publish an article about them)

make good on a promise - do the thing that you promised

election - the process of choosing a person or a group of person for a position, especially by voting elect (v) electoral (adj) synonym: the polls การเลือกตั้ง
election promises - promises that election candidates make to help get them elected (promises are often not kept)
high-profile election promises - election promises that many people knew about and talked about

standpoint - opinion, viewpoint, perspective (what one person thinks about an issue)
from the standpoint of - the opinion or belief of (about this issue)

potentially - possibly เป็นไปได้
competitiveness - how well a business can do compared to other firms (does it have lower price or higher quality?) การแข่งขัน

rhetoric (noun) - 1. the art and skill of using language effectively and persuading people by language, 2. intended to convince and impress people but not really honest or sincere 
rhetorically (adverb) - done in a rhetorical way
he asked rhetorically - he asked a rhetorical question
rhetorical question - a question that is asked to make a statement (not really expecting an answer)

nonsense - not true, foolish and silly; ridiculous  
operators - businesses doing a business  
clear - easy to understand  
launched - started เริ่มต้นดำเนินการ began เริ่ม

strategy - plans to achieve long-term goals; plans to gain an advantage, achieve success and victory, as in war (See Wikipedia)
strategist - a person who makes strategy (for a company or in warfare)
economic strategists - a person who makes economic strategy (for a country)

insist - to keep saying very firmly that something is true, even when other people will not believe you ยืนกราน
impact - an effect or influence ผลกระทบ
offset - move in the opposite direction, reduce by moving in the opposite direction, counter-balance, compensate in the opposite direction ("x offsets y" means "x reduces the effect of y"), make up for (profits from the manufacturing business offset losses from the retail business) (See glossary)

income - money that people receive from work or some other source, used for household consumption and savings
income tax - a percentage of a person's or company's income paid to the government as tax  
corporation (noun) - a company that has been officially created (incorporated) and is owned by shareholders, who are protected from losses if the company loses money (usually a large company) (See Wikipedia)
corporate (adjective) - related to "corporations"
corporate income tax - the income tax that corporations have to pay on the money they earn

survey - to ask someone what their opinion is
benefit - to get help or an advantage from something ผลประโยชน์

forlorn - feeling that you are alone and unhappy or left alone and not cared for เหงาหงอยและสิ้นหวัง
proposed - suggested, presented as a possibility (but not yet chosen or decided upon)

majority - most of the people in a group ส่วนใหญ่  เสียงส่วนใหญ่ คนส่วนใหญ่
implemented - when a plan is put into action, actually doing the things in a plan
encouraged - having more confidence or hope about something มีกำลังใจ
sceptical - not believing easily, tending to not believe สงสัย
materialise - appear, come into being or existence

appropriate - right, proper and suitable for a certain situation
current - of the present time ปัจจุบัน

expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
implement - to make something such as an idea, plan, system or law start to work and be used นำมาใช้ นำ แผนหรือนโยบายมาปฏิบัติ

prompt - done quickly (without delay)
match - to be of the same as something else ซึ่งไม่คู่ควร
strategic - done with a special plan to achieve long term goals
strategic development plan - a plan to achieve long-term goals

portion - a part of something ส่วน
sharp rise - a very sudden and large increase
diminish - to gradually become less ลดลง, อ่อนแรง