School Principal Opposes Civil Service Benefit Cuts
A school principal in Samut Songkhram opposes government cuts to civil service healthcare and pension benefits, arguing that lower-paid civil servants accepted modest salaries expecting secure retirement benefits and that lawmakers should r
A school principal in Samut Songkhram has voiced strong opposition to the government's proposed cuts to civil service benefits, including healthcare and pensions, which are intended to ease the national budget burden.
Phra Akhlaksana Khaonual, director of Wat Ku Sanam Chan School in Mueang District, spoke on behalf of lower-level civil servants, arguing they accepted significantly lower salaries than private sector counterparts in the expectation of secure healthcare and retirement benefits. He cited his own experience: when he started work in 1994, he earned only 5,560 baht per month with no housing allowance, while peers in the private sector earned 20,000 to 30,000 baht—many times higher.
Khaonual argued that civil servants have lived frugally for decades, relying on their pension as a lifeline in retirement. If the government must cut benefits, he said, it should instead reduce parliamentary perks first and raise starting salaries for new hires to private-sector levels, giving them a genuine choice between government and private employment. He noted that cutting benefits for current workers who made a different deal would be unfair, especially since they serve for 25 years before qualifying for a pension, unlike politicians who work only 2–4 years yet receive substantial perks.
