Thai Hotels Association Fighting Minimum Wage Rise

In the lead up to the implementation of the controversial new minimum wage on April 1st, the Thai Hotels Association is advocating that members apply service charge against the wage calculation.
According to an article in the Bangkok Post the THA has cited a 1998 Thailand Supreme Court ruling that says if service charge is booked into hotel income than it can be considered as part of employee salaries.
Comments in the piece quote the Labour Ministry as not being onboard with THA's opinion.
It's important to note that international managed hotels who follow the industry standard Uniform System of Accounts create a balance sheet account for service charge rather than taking it into income and hence could not apply the argument.
In Phuket where a THB300 baht minimum wage hits hotels at the beginning of next month, local hotel owners are going to be the hardest hit, as they frequently carry the largest number of low income earners.