STREET WISE

Worn down in just 106 days

Having been in office for 106 days, Commerce Minister Krirk-krai Jirapaet realises that his life is quite different from the days he was spending in retirement.

His ministry is busy amending the Foreign Business Act under a hail of brickbats from opponents and bouquets from supporters. He has recently been on tour to clarify ambiguous issues to those who still have doubts. The tour is necessary given that Krirk-krai and the government believe the amendments will do more good than harm to the economy.

Now that the draft amendments are under review by the Council of State, Krirk-krai has to make sure the ministry will not stir up more commotion with the implementation of the Retail Business Act.

Though a large number of people are involved in Thailand's retail industry, they have been regulated under other laws. It is only to be expected that once the new law is in force, Krirk-krai will attract another round of brickbats and bouquets. Yesterday, he had to deal with a group of small retailers.

Right now, all these problems are a big headache to the older man. Previously, he was very concerned about his appearance. When he was the ministry's permanent secretary, at around 50 years of age, he maintained his looks as best as he could - any emerging grey hair was quickly hidden.

Now, as the years pass and the worries increase, it is beyond his capacity to hide the signs. His head is covered in grey and there are more wrinkles on his face. "Only 106 days in office have worn me down so quickly," he told reporters yesterday.

One wonders what he will look like once he completes his 365-day mission.

But who will grow our food?

The International Labour Office's latest report is shocking. The number of people unemployed worldwide remained at a historical high in 2006 despite strong global growth. Though more people are working than ever before, the number of unemployed remained at an all-time high of 195.2 million in 2006 - a global rate of 6.3 per cent.

The report showed that while world productivity increased by 26 per cent, the number of those in employment around the world rose by only 16.6 per cent. In 2006, while only 48.9 per cent of women over 15 were working, male employment-to-population ratios were 74 per cent.

However, the most interesting finding last year was that the share of the service sector in global employment progressed from 39.5 per cent to 40 per cent, and for the first time overtook the share of agriculture, which decreased from 39.7 per cent to 38.7 per cent. The industry sector represented 21.3 per cent of total employment.

More and more people seem to want to serve others without wanting to produce food or other products. Perhaps more of our food in the future will come from laboratories, albeit very well served.

achara_d@nationgroup.com

Thailand News
The Nation Thailand
Friday January 26, 2007