Lawmakers Debate Budget Redundancy, Propose Freeze on Civil Service Raises
Lawmakers proposed cutting up to 50 billion baht from Thailand's 693 billion baht budget, citing redundancy with an existing 400 billion baht emergency loan and arguing civil servants should share the economic burden through delayed salary
Parliament met on September 7 to debate the 693 billion baht central budget for fiscal year 2570. Sirikanya Tansakul, a Pheu Thai deputy leader and list-based member, proposed cutting 50 billion baht from the budget—38 billion from emergency reserves and 12 billion from economic and social recovery spending designed to handle energy price volatility. She argued the 12 billion baht allocation duplicates a 400 billion baht emergency loan decree already approved by parliament, pointing out that the Budget Bureau had not clarified how the funds would be used beyond a vague plan to split costs between central government and budget-holding agencies with existing reserves.
Veerachai Theerapattanont, a special committee member, supported Tansakul's concerns about redundancy with the 400 billion baht loan. He noted that many budget lines, such as 90,000 million baht for state employee medical costs and 389,000 million baht for pensions, cannot be cut. However, he proposed a combined 25 billion baht reduction—cutting the disputed 12 billion baht spending line and deferring 13 billion baht in salary increases and pay-grade adjustments for civil servants—arguing that government workers should share the burden during economic hardship, citing past crises in 1984 and 1997 when state employees were unaffected.
