Background: The national daily minimum wage in Thailand is determined on a province by province basis, and is reviewed annually, with the new wage rates usually coming into force on 1 January every year. At present, it varies between 221 Baht a day for employees in the highest paid province of Phuket, to 159 Baht a day for those in the lowest paid province. In April 2011, the Ministry of Labour announced proposals to increase the national minimum wage in certain occupations, based on the skills of the employee concerned. These proposals will be put before the Cabinet for discussion.