Draft plan to allow foreigners to work in 11 ‘reserved’ occupations

[Cabradelmar]

2 hours ago, bluesofa said:

As long as you're an American you can do that.

 

No foreigners can own land in Thailand 100% outright without layering on addition schemes and cavets.

[Cabradelmar]

Would also be nice if they opened the positions up to people here on retirement visas.

[cornishcarlos]

3 minutes ago, Cabradelmar said:

Would also be nice if they opened the positions up to people here on retirement visas.

 

I'm normally good at spotting sarcasm, but I'll be honest, you got me beat...

Are you serious ???

[realenglish1]

"The Council of Engineers has criticised the plan. The civil-engineer occupation should remain reserved for Thais because it involves people’s safety, they said. "

 

This statement is ridiculous. It would seem to me that countries like the USA EU as well as others have safety standards well in excess of what they are in Thailand

Have you ever seen a building site ?

[Kerryd]

1 minute ago, Bayrat said:

The Council of Engineers has criticised the plan. The civil-engineer occupation should remain reserved for Thais because it involves people’s safety, they said.

 

This is where I spit out my coffee.................

Well, considering the flood of Nigerian and Indian and Cambodian "Engineers" that would likely come flooding in, you can see he may have a point. Not all "civil engineers' come from countries with quality schools and high standards for qualification.

For example, we hired some Indian "mechanics" in Afghanistan back in 2003. They couldn't do a simple oil filter change or spark plugs or pretty much any other routine task. Turns out, they'd worked on an auto assembly line at a plant in India. One guy said his job was to place the front right tire on the axle. That's it. (Someone else put the lug nuts on and someone else actually tightened them. Another guy did a similar task like positioning the front bumper or the rear door, etc, etc.) Yet they billed themselves out as "mechanics".
(As well, various "recruiting agencies" have a tendency to fudge qualifications and paperwork in exchange for a cut of the employee's salary. We had a lot of trades people show up (electricians, carpenters, plumbers and so on) that didn't have a clue what they were doing. When questioned, they said they went to a recruiting agency to see what jobs were available. They were told that (some company) was hiring people for these jobs and were told they could take the jobs, even if they weren't qualified. (The agency would still get a cut, one way or another.) The idea was (apparently) that if they got to (wherever) and couldn't do the job, they'd find a different position as that would be cheaper than flying the guy home and trying to hire a new one in the hopes that the replacement might actually be qualified.

Another example. If you want to practise medicine in Canada (as a foreign qualified doctor for example), you have to pass a series of tests designed to make sure you are a) actually qualified and b) can meet the standards expected of Canadian doctors.

Many doctors from India have protested against that rule as they figure they shouldn't have to be tested. Some even claimed that "they would only take Indian patients" (and therefore should be allowed to treat them to "Indian" standards instead of Canadian). Yeah, like that wouldn't lead to hundreds of malpractice lawsuits and huge insurance payouts.
The doctors don't want to take the tests because they know they probably won't pass them.
Fortunately that is one area that Canada hasn't caved in to (yet).

If you think about it for a moment, you can see that there would be cause for concern. How many project managers would pick a (third world) engineer at 10,000 baht a month (or less) over a western trained and qualified engineer who would probably expect at least 10 times that amount ? In the case of the rail link project(s), this would allow those companies to hire their own engineers (thus keeping more of the profits "in house" and cutting down on language/cultural issues). Whether or not those people would meet the Thai standard is debatable of course (though you can probably assume that they will, one way or another).

 

I'd like to see the full list of 11 positions. If they start letting foreigners work as massage "therapists" you know what will happen almost immediately afterwards !
 

 

[akampa]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The Council of Engineers has criticised the plan. The civil-engineer occupation should remain reserved for Thais because it involves people’s safety, they said

what ! I see workers on large building sites with flips on safety my a***s

[NetJunkie]

38 minutes ago, LazySlipper said:

I never saw in the "amity act" a provision that allowed for that. Have read it and tried to see if there was a possibility. If there is, it is not as clear cut as that.

 

Guessing you actually meant the The US-Thai Amity Treaty - but you are right, here is a little bit of the treaty;

 

"

The Thailand Treaty of Amity prohibits American investors from engaging in the following reserved activities:

Communications

Transportation;

Fiduciary functions

Banking involving depository functions;

Land Ownership, Exploitation of land or

Other natural resources; and

Domestic trade in indigenous agricultural products."

 

https://www.siam-legal.com/Business-in-Thailand/US-Thai Amity.php

[The Deerhunter]

The one that comes up for a lot of heat is Architects.  There is one guy here who hammers that one on every new building in Bangkok.    At the moment they are illegal but everyone does it.  Is that one of the new 11 on the list?

[gandalf12]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

Are you nuts? if all foreigners will own enough land they can and will: take the land with them when they go back, stage a coup to overthrow the government, set up a farang country within Thailand and so on.. nevermind that Thai people can legally own land in almost any other country in the world....

Totally agree with you. Maybe we should start a movement to have our home countries impose the same restrictions on Thais living in them as they do on us

[AlQaholic]

2 hours ago, Damrongsak said:

Someone is looking out for the farangs.  If things go wrong, it's a whole lot harder to find a Thai engineer on the lam than a farang.

Let's put it this way, it's a wonderful opportunity to set in motion the long-standing plan, that if something goes wrong, like if a building collapses, you will always have a farang around to blame!

[Cabradelmar]

24 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

I'm normally good at spotting sarcasm, but I'll be honest, you got me beat...

Are you serious ???

Yes. I would not mind 

[jmccarty]

This is just talk. they have no intention of letting foreigners do any of these jobs.  Brick laying maybe but will need to find a way around the minimum wage.

[hobz]

3 hours ago, observer90210 said:

Why not be fair and just by allowing foreigners to own one plot of land on which they would like to live their retirement ?

They don't want foreign money raising the price of land. Is 30 year lease not long enough?

[Lupatria]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The Council of Engineers has criticised the plan. The civil-engineer occupation should remain reserved for Thais because it involves people’s safety, they said.

Are there any employees of ItalThai in the Council? If so, please Fwd this important update  to them as a gentle reminder.

[LennyW]

14 minutes ago, NetJunkie said:

 

Guessing you actually meant the The US-Thai Amity Treaty - but you are right, here is a little bit of the treaty;

 

"

The Thailand Treaty of Amity prohibits American investors from engaging in the following reserved activities:

Communications

Transportation;

Fiduciary functions

Banking involving depository functions;

Land Ownership, Exploitation of land or

Other natural resources; and

Domestic trade in indigenous agricultural products."

 

https://www.siam-legal.com/Business-in-Thailand/US-Thai Amity.php

Somewhat of a moot point as the treaty was not renewed after 2005.

[new2here]

2 hours ago, imjmn said:

Allowing foreigners to work in those positions 'reserved' for Thai citizens would bring more knowledge and different practices into the Thai industry and make them more competitive on the world stage. MHO.

 

MJ

I agree.. I do think that as should be the case with all nations - that labour rules should give first “opportunity” to any national/citizen of that country over a non-citizen — but if after such chance is given to all qualified nationals, IF there is still a shortage of required talent, then I think opening it up to non-citizens is beneficial and I agree that by doing so, you also tend to get the benefits of a wider range of work styles and product.

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, LennyW said:

Somewhat of a moot point as the treaty was not renewed after 2005.

OK, I stand corrected. It was almost twenty years ago regarding the instance I  mentioned earlier.

I wonder if the US might eventually take some retaliatory measures?

 

[mikebell]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The civil-engineer occupation should remain reserved for Thais because it involves people’s safety,

In the same way that RTP are involved in road safety? 

 

Farang accountants will never happen - they are too honest; they would find out about corruption schemes in days instead of the years it takes Thai accountants.

[bluebluewater]

21 minutes ago, LennyW said:

Somewhat of a moot point as the treaty was not renewed after 2005.

The treaty elapsed in 2005 and there is no formal extension because that would be in conflict with most favored nation rules by the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, in case of policy changes, old structures are grandfathered.   As of today, it is still possible to utilize the Thai U.S. Treaty of Amity to set-up new “treaty companies”.

[cornishcarlos]

28 minutes ago, Cabradelmar said:

Yes. I would not mind 

 

If you're on a retirement visa, you have finished working. You are retired.

Don't think they will be opening up jobs for retired expats ?

[Teacherduck]

So what are the 11 "reserved occupations"?

[manhood]

Withour well educated and trained and experianced foreigners in special fields in Thailand everything would colapse!!!!!!!! They close their eyes on the badly educated engineers and and and....

Houses can be only build by 3 to 3 meter poles.....otherwise no idea how a building can stand up in another way of constructing.....so even ever they needed foreigners to work for Thailand!!!!!!!!!!!

[edwinchester]

2 hours ago, mok199 said:

my dreams of becoming a tuk tuk driver are shattered.!!!

It's over rated so don't feel too bad. Motorcycle taxis are where it's at, girls like the danger and the uniform.

[NetJunkie]

30 minutes ago, LennyW said:

Somewhat of a moot point as the treaty was not renewed after 2005.

 

But the new bi-lateral free trade agreement protects the rights as were under the previous treaty, and therefore presumably the prohibited items too.

[M71]

4 hours ago, bluesofa said:

As long as you're an American you can do that.

 

I'm a Khazarian mafia member of the US senate - will that do ?

[gandalf12]

What exactly are the credentials of the Council of Engineers?

[Cabradelmar]

27 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

If you're on a retirement visa, you have finished working. You are retired.

Don't think they will be opening up jobs for retired expats ?

True. My personal interest to have a little more walking around money aside. 

[baansgr]

4 hours ago, observer90210 said:

Why not be fair and just by allowing foreigners to own one plot of land on which they would like to live their retirement ?

It's not half or one rai of land in samui  or Pattaya, it's the agricultural  land they are worried about.  

[Deli]

3 hours ago, bluesofa said:

It shows someone has a sense of humour.

 

 

No, that's the biggest joke ever.

[cyberfarang]

Allowing foreigners to practice massage in Thailand, big mistake.

 

In most of the western countries massage parlours are just fronts for brothels. It wouldn`t be long before criminal western organisations start opening brothels under the guise of massage parlours and massage services, which to a degree the Thais are doing now, but not on the scale as operated presently in western countries.