Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone.

Govt mulls supporting allowance up for enterprise workers amid rising costs 

The government is considering a proposal to increase supporting allowances for enterprise employees to help them tackle rising living costs.
The proposal is being tabled at the two-day monthly meeting for August of the cabinet that kicked off on Monday.
Workers in Laos, where labour costs remain relatively low, have struggled with living expenses as the country has been hit with high inflation.
Inflation for July stood at 26.10 percent, a slight decrease from 26.15 percent recorded a month before, according to the Bank of the Lao PDR, the country’s central bank.
Inflation in Laos has reached two digits since May 2022 and peaked at 41.26 percent in February 2023.
The Lao government has set an ambitious target to drag inflation down to a single-digit figure by the end of the year. However, the cabinet recently told the National Assembly (NA) that it is unlikely to fulfil that target.
In his opening remarks for the cabinet’s August meeting, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone highlighted hot topics they needed to stay focused on to urgently address, including economic and financial challenges, education, labour, impacts caused by natural disasters and other social issues.
Reports presented at the recent ordinary session of the NA suggest that economic hardships have impacted education. School dropout rates have reached alarming levels, sparking concerns over future human resources. Meanwhile, high inflation and depreciation of the national currency means workers have been paid less in real terms, undermining their spending capacity and widely believed to have forced many to seek employment abroad, leading to worsening domestic labour shortages.
The two-day cabinet meeting will also discuss electricity price structures for the 2024-2028 period.
Topics to be debated at the meeting include draft decrees on turning state assets into capital and the movement, the import-export and transit of animals, aquatic animals and their products; draft laws on residential building, the bank of the Lao PDR, independent auditing, and draft amendments to the Law on Education.
The meeting will also include a review of the cabinet’s work performance for August and discussions on a workplan for September.

By Souksakhone Vaenkeo
 (Latest Update August 27, 2024)