Let Us Hire Foreigners, Short-Staffed Shop Owners Demand

By Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

 

An anonymous vendor holds a sign saying ‘Looking for a responsible Thai worker who doesn’t quit whenever they want. The government should find me one.’ Photo: Group of Entrepreneurs with Foreign Workers / Facebook

 

BANGKOK — Business owners say they are unable to find Thai employees to staff service jobs and are urging the government to relax its restrictions on foreign employees.

 

The Group of Entrepreneurs with Foreign Workers said they would take an online petition to the labor ministry this month ask that Laotian, Burmese and Cambodian workers be allowed to work legally in two of the 39 occupations forbidden to foreigners.

 

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/business/2018/06/13/let-us-hire-foreigners-short-staffed-shop-owners-demand/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2018-06-13

Good idea !!....as no Thai's would accept to work underpaid and exploited by the local merchants

Hard to believe there is a labor shortage in a country of 65 million. It's more of an attitude shortage!

 

‘Looking for a responsible Thai worker who doesn’t quit whenever they want. The government should find me one.’

 

The above statement kind of sums it up!

41 minutes ago, webfact said:

Laotian, Burmese and Cambodian

Why should only foreign workers from those 3 countries be allowed to work legally in the 39 occupations forbidden to foreigners. ?

surely if they allow non Thai then all non Thai from any country should be allowed...anyway I don't see them relaxing the 39 occupations  restrictions...look what happened recently with the

"hair dresser revolt" ?

Edited June 13, 20188 yr by johng

40bt per hour let me think a second  no.

10 minutes ago, johng said:

Why should only foreign workers from those 3 countries be allowed to work legally in the 39 occupations forbidden to foreigners. ?

surely if they allow non Thai then all non Thai from any country should be allowed...anyway I don't see them relaxing the 39 occupations  restrictions...look what happened recently with the

"hair dresser revolt" ?

Seems odd that if they are needing workers, why not open this up to all ASEAN countries 

1 hour ago, observer90210 said:

Good idea !!....as no Thai's would accept to work underpaid and exploited by the local merchants

Same-same in the UK. One of the reasons they want mass-immigration is to get people from p***-poor countries to come & work for next to nothing!! The race-to-the-bottom.

47 minutes ago, johng said:

Why should only foreign workers from those 3 countries be allowed to work legally in the 39 occupations forbidden to foreigners. ?

surely if they allow non Thai then all non Thai from any country should be allowed...anyway I don't see them relaxing the 39 occupations  restrictions...look what happened recently with the

"hair dresser revolt" ?

Because only foreign workers from those countries will work for the  oppressive wages paid! Would you work for approx. 300 thb per day?

6 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

Because only foreign workers from those countries will work for the  oppressive wages paid! Would you work for approx. 300 thb per day?

lets say that is 8-9k a month

 

Room rental for Thai 3k a month

average Thai meal 40baht x2 x30 2.4k a month

etc etc

You need to factor in that we are talking about Thailand and not the west where someone starting work is going to be paid a lot more but still has to live with parents because they cannot afford their own place - it is all relative 

24 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

Would you work for approx. 300 thb per day?

I doubt very much I would physically be capable of doing much of the work they do  for 300 baht per day,

construction,labourer,road sweepers etc etc  the heat is oppressive..I'd last about half a day at the most.

I agree 300 baht for a hard days work is a pittance...yesterday my wife and I went to a "noodle restaurant"

we had 2 small bowls of tasty noodles and 2 bottles of coca cola  150 baht !! ( she paid) then on the way home she bought a durian for 140 (edit 220 baht) baht  I joked  that's your whole days pay gone phfft just like that !!!!!

Edited June 13, 20188 yr by johng

1 hour ago, johng said:

Why should only foreign workers from those 3 countries be allowed to work legally in the 39 occupations forbidden to foreigners. ?

surely if they allow non Thai then all non Thai from any country should be allowed...anyway I don't see them relaxing the 39 occupations  restrictions...look what happened recently with the

"hair dresser revolt" ?

Because there is a specific existing legal framework and bureacracy, and existing agreements between Thailand and those 3 neighbouring countries to facilitate labourers from those countries to work in Thailand.

15 minutes ago, smedly said:

lets say that is 8-9k a month

 

Room rental for Thai 3k a month

average Thai meal 40baht x2 x30 2.4k a month

etc etc

You need to factor in that we are talking about Thailand and not the west where someone starting work is going to be paid a lot more but still has to live with parents because they cannot afford their own place - it is all relative 

Until quite recently, garment workers in Cambodia were making $80 a month, around 3,500 Baht, half of Thai rates. They'll be perceived as much more exploitable by many Thai employers. What these Thai business owners are saying is basically "we can't get enough dirt cheap labour". Especially in BKK, over time, lots of young Thais are aspiring to more than minimum wage type jobs. This I believe is part of the problem.

Edited June 13, 20188 yr by Andrew65

easy to believe, I have been trying to get workers to help us but even when paying double the daily rate for half a days easy work they still dont want to do it. Too many are just too lazy, wife has the same problem with her companies workers, they would rather sit on their bums than actually work, , like most other things concerning many thais they have no work ethic

 

44 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

Until quite recently, garment workers in Cambodia were making $80 a month, around 3,500 Baht, half of Thai rates. They'll be perceived as much more exploitable by many Thai employers. What these Thai business owners are saying is basically "we can't get enough dirt cheap labour". Especially in BKK, over time, lots of young Thais are aspiring to more than minimum wage type jobs. This I believe is part of the problem.

That is your interpretation of what they are saying (your opinion) which you are entitled too, my understanding is that minimum wage applies to all workers

 

Is there exploitation in Thailand - well yes, there is also exploitation in the UK because free movement allows citizens of poorer countries  to come there and work for the bare minimum, we can argue all day about what to do about it

31 minutes ago, seajae said:

easy to believe, I have been trying to get workers to help us but even when paying double the daily rate for half a days easy work they still dont want to do it. Too many are just too lazy, wife has the same problem with her companies workers, they would rather sit on their bums than actually work, , like most other things concerning many thais they have no work ethic

 

Agree 100% with that but it is a complex issue, they see tourists coming here and spending loads of money - they see retired expats here spending loads of money and they look at themselves and wonder what went wrong for them, what they don't see is the hard work and long hours that allows tourists to come on a holiday and expats to retire, they think we go home and do nothing or did nothing.

 

I know a few Thai women that married Farangs and moved to the west thinking it would all be easy - they got a shock when they found themselves actually having to work to support themselves.

 

I speak to bargirls here who laze about drinking and partying and getting money for generally enjoying themselves - they call that work - it definitely isn't

Hiring foreign workers does not mean paying them less. AND I don't believe there is no labour shortage in Thailand. It's just full of people with zero work ethics, who don't want any responsibility and are generally LAZY. Even when you pay them more and give them more benefits. When you find a good one, hold on with both hands. There are some out there.

1 hour ago, johng said:

I doubt very much I would physically be capable of doing much of the work they do  for 300 baht per day,

construction,labourer,road sweepers etc etc  the heat is oppressive..I'd last about half a day at the most.

I agree 300 baht for a hard days work is a pittance...yesterday my wife and I went to a "noodle restaurant"

we had 2 small bowls of tasty noodles and 2 bottles of coca cola  150 baht !! ( she paid) then on the way home she bought a durian for 140 (edit 220 baht) baht  I joked  that's your whole days pay gone phfft just like that !!!!!

it's all relative, the value of currency in a country is based on what you can buy with it, not saying that some of your points aren't valid but the points you made are based on your experience, I know many small Thai eateries were a good meal will cost no more than 40baht

14 minutes ago, smedly said:

I know a few Thai women that married Farangs and moved to the west thinking it would all be easy - they got a shock when they found themselves actually having to work to support themselves.

That's very true. some don't make it.

still only looking to hire Orientals, no Caucasians or other races. Why is that?

2 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

40bt per hour let me think a second  no.

Get what you pay for, I'm surprised they offered such high incentives for the quality of local talent  

10 minutes ago, gr8fldanielle said:

still only looking to hire Orientals, no Caucasians or other races. Why is that?

The current laws don't allow for it. Will you work for 300 baht a day anyway? 

3 hours ago, johng said:

Why should only foreign workers from those 3 countries be allowed to work legally in the 39 occupations forbidden to foreigners. ?

surely if they allow non Thai then all non Thai from any country should be allowed...anyway I don't see them relaxing the 39 occupations  restrictions...look what happened recently with the

"hair dresser revolt" ?

As much as I understand what you are saying, I guess that these 3 nationalities are by far the best suited for these kind of "low paying jobs", as they might be able to speak the language.

 

Our latest worker lasted about a week. He may or may not show up again and I don’t really care. I have had it with trying to find decent help.  I’ll admit that sweeping leaves, trimming plants and stacking brush in a pile or pushing a lawnmower is boring and can be tiring. But, my wife can clean the driveway in about an hour and the average worker around here takes about a ½ day.

 

I have done all of the menial farm chores around our place and it ain’t hard work. But, throughout the years, we have had workers come and go. B300 a day is what we pay.

 

Another difficulty is that most of my Thai workers have not been able to tell time, even though they always seem to be holding a phone. Show up late, long lunch and leave early. They also get confused about the fringe benefits. Actually, there isn’t any. That means my circular saw or any of my tools cannot be borrowed, nor my motorcycle used to go get lunch. Plus the chicken and duck eggs are not for the taking.

 

One lady in the photo  below decided that our pavilion refrigerator was a perfect place to store her family’s food. That way, she could cut down on her electric bill. She even began to bring her family's phones over to charge.  Another worker discovered my chocolate milk and she must have enjoyed the taste. She drank a 1/2 gallon in one week.

 

One worker saw that we recycle plastic bottles and thought it was a great idea. So she tried to start a recycling center at the back of our property. It was shut down.

 

A young man stopped by one evening and asked if we had any work. He was married with two kids and needed some money. I said start tomorrow. He never showed up. Every time I go to the market, I see him. Laying in the hammock.

 

We may end up going Burmese yet...

Once you "go Burmese you never go back" [emoji1]

4 hours ago, PatOngo said:

Hard to believe there is a labor shortage in a country of 65 million. It's more of an attitude shortage!

 

‘Looking for a responsible Thai worker who doesn’t quit whenever they want. The government should find me one.’

 

The above statement kind of sums it up!

I guess the sh*ty* pay doesn't really help to install loyalty.

3 hours ago, seajae said:

easy to believe, I have been trying to get workers to help us but even when paying double the daily rate for half a days easy work they still dont want to do it. Too many are just too lazy, wife has the same problem with her companies workers, they would rather sit on their bums than actually work, , like most other things concerning many thais they have no work ethic

 

Most smart Thai girls have got off their "bums" and found better paying work
They've relocated to the beach resorts & now work on their backs for 10X the usual 300 baht per day wage!!

Yep.  Start hiring foreigners who are willing to do the jobs that Thais aren't.   And people with customer service skills and work ethic.  Like the one's picking up trash for free! Yeah.  Those foreigners.  Lol.
Even business owners understand how ludicrous the anti-foreigner work laws are here. 

"Laotian, Burmese and Cambodian"  Oh.  The people who will work for slave wages.    Nevermind. 

Edited June 13, 20188 yr by connda

3 hours ago, smedly said:

Agree 100% with that but it is a complex issue, they see tourists coming here and spending loads of money - they see retired expats here spending loads of money and they look at themselves and wonder what went wrong for them, what they don't see is the hard work and long hours that allows tourists to come on a holiday and expats to retire, they think we go home and do nothing or did nothing.

 

I know a few Thai women that married Farangs and moved to the west thinking it would all be easy - they got a shock when they found themselves actually having to work to support themselves.

 

I speak to bargirls here who laze about drinking and partying and getting money for generally enjoying themselves - they call that work - it definitely isn't

 

"I speak to bargirls here who laze about drinking and partying and getting money for generally enjoying themselves - they call that work - it definitely isn't"

 

And you think that bargirls are representative of the Thai labour force, good grief, you should try speaking with a different segment of society!

2 hours ago, missoura said:

I have done all of the menial farm chores around our place and it ain’t hard work. But, throughout the years, we have had workers come and go. B300 a day is what we pay.

 

Have you made the connection yet?

 

3 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

I know a few Thai women that married Farangs and moved to the west thinking it would all be easy - they got a shock when they found themselves actually having to work to support themselves.

Lol.  Yep.  Suddenly they make more money then they ever dreamed about, and they pay it right back out in order to afford to simply live paycheck to paycheck.  "Welcome to the West where everyone is rich!!!"  Right!