Covid-19: 10,000 guides out of​ work​ -​ ask government to​ feed them!

[webfact]

Covid-19: 10,000 guides out of work - ask government to feed them!

 

Thai caption: 10,000 guides out of work

Picture: Sanook

 

The association of tour guides in Thailand are in dire circumstances due to the coronavirus.

 

After a crisis meeting their chief Wirot Sitprasertnan said that 10, 000 were out of work.

 

Letters have been sent to tourism minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn asking him for money for food and transport.

 

He said that none of his members have contracted the virus and that they were taking full precautions.

 

Guides working with Chinese  tour groups have been severely hit since the outbreak.

 

Source: Sanook

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-03-02

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[AlienHermit66]

What is the point of this photo? Are these tour guides living in BKK? Are they just waiting in BKK to fly away somewhere? Are these people the tourists who are leaving and won't be needing guides anymore? Or is it just a good, scary photo because everyone in it is wearing a mask? 

[bluesofa]

3 minutes ago, AlienHermit66 said:

What is the point of this photo? Are these tour guides living in BKK? Are they just waiting in BKK to fly away somewhere? Are these people the tourists who are leaving and won't be needing guides anymore? Or is it just a good, scary photo because everyone in it is wearing a mask? 

Well it surely can't be tour guides. The caption below it says '10,000 guides out of work' and there's nowhere that number in the photo.

[PowerKat]

It's not the governments fault that there are no Chinese tourists, they have left all doors wide open for them to come in. They can be blamed for the lack of farang tourists though.

 

None of these tour guides bothered to put money away for a rainy day then? 

[Assurancetourix]

Thailand will have to learn from us, farang,;

 

but I already know what will happen, only Thai people know and it is not countries like Germany or UK or France that will know what to do ...
In our countries in Europe, we pay multiple charges on our gross wages in order to have the possibility of being paid if unemployment reaches us;
and also the possibility of being not only treated but operated for very serious illnesses and free of charge, obviously not for so-called "comfort" operations; (in any case, this is how it happens in France);
a friend of mine just had eye surgery; something done with a laser, well he did not take a euro out of his pocket ..

[OttoPollmann]

Every time I read some of these handout reports I'll get reminded of the tale from the grasshopper and the ants.

Som nam na.

Back to Isaan, and good luck that the extended family has not sold all the rice for the first payment of the new D-Max. 

[Pravda]

If your laptop or TV is breaking down and you need a new one maybe better get one now.

 

There might be a significant rise in prices on electronics, guess why.

[Assurancetourix]

5 minutes ago, PowerKat said:

It's not the governments fault that there are no Chinese tourists, they have left all doors wide open for them to come in. They can be blamed for the lack of farang tourists though.

 

None of these tour guides bothered to put money away for a rainy day then? 

With all the credits they have to repay, the end of the month when they work is already very difficult.
It'll teach them not to have eyes bigger than their stomachs.

[colinneil]

Ohh the poor dears, no tourists to screw over, so no money, what a shame.

People like them never think about the future, today only, then when things are a bit tight, go bleating to the government,  you have to feed us, tough.

[transam]

What, no unemployment or sickness benefits, no wonder so many folk are flocking to get into farangland...

[CGW]

14 minutes ago, PowerKat said:

None of these tour guides bothered to put money away for a rainy day then?

Guess not! silly people just blew their 350 baht on day on luxuries like like food, drink and accommodation! 

[bangkokfrog]

These 10,000 are just the tip of the iceberg and I don't think there is much the government can do without unleashing a flood of similar requests. Whenever I ask the wife about what happens if the Thai economy goes belly up, she answers that one of the good things about Thailand is that people can always go back to the farm. I'll be interested to see if she is right.

[saengd]

14 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Ohh the poor dears, no tourists to screw over, so no money, what a shame.

People like them never think about the future, today only, then when things are a bit tight, go bleating to the government,  you have to feed us, tough.

That's not really the case. Official tour guides have to undergo training in order to become certified and even then they are only ever certified for a specific territory or region. Testing is extensive and not that easy to pass, applicants are also tested on presentation skills, if they fail any of the tests they don't get certified. The cost of the training and certification, along with re-certification every couple of years, is not exactly cheap. And then the rates of pay are set by the government, they are not exactly exorbitant by any stretch.

Edited March 2, 2020 by saengd

[Assurancetourix]

3 minutes ago, bangkokfrog said:

she answers that one of the good things about Thailand is that people can always go back to the farm. I'll be interested to see if she is right.

Like you, I am very interested to know if they will go back up ..
and what will they do for work?

Most of the farmers in my province have taken it upon themselves to buy farm tractors which they pay for with great difficulty;
Will these new arrivals replace the tractors?

All of this is a vicious circle; if they replace the machines, they will be taken back by the dealers who will not know what to do with them because it is very rare for a Thai to buy a used vehicle ...
Snowball effect guaranteed; Thailand will soon find itself in recession with millions of unemployed to feed

[colinneil]

6 minutes ago, saengd said:

That's not really the case. Official tour guides have to undergo training in order to become certified and even then they are only ever certified for a specific territory or region. The cost of the training and certification, along with re-certification every couple of years, is not exactly cheap. And then the rates of pay are set by the government, they are not exactly exorbitant by any stretch.

Not really the case?

Please explain what on earth you are on about.

They should have made provision for when times get tough.

When have you ever seen a Thai do anything for the future, never, today is all most care about.

[saengd]

1 minute ago, Assurancetourix said:

because it is very rare for a Thai to buy a used vehicle ...
 

Which is why Thailand is littered with used vehicle dealership, there must be a zillion in Chiang Mai alone!

[saengd]

2 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Not really the case?

Please explain what on earth you are on about.

They should have made provision for when times get tough.

When have you ever seen a Thai do anything for the future, never, today is all most care about.

You wrote that people like them never think about the future, only today. Becoming a tour guide is an investment in the future both in terms of time, training, effort and expense, that's why what you wrote is not really the case. And when you write that there's no more tourists fro them to rip off that's also untrue since their wages are determined by the government and the hotels and tour companies know that. The hotels and tour companies also understand that they are the agent in that transaction with the tour guide and they usually want a cut which lowers the wage even further.

[CGW]

7 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

Most of the farmers in my province have taken it upon themselves to buy farm tractors which they pay for with great difficulty;

Until the rains arrive there will be no work regardless for these people if they do go home, even then its limited, that's why they left! ???? 

[CanuckThai]

I thought that workers could receive unemployment (or employment loss) benefits in Thailand?  I read a few weeks ago, that Thai people were quitting jobs, to receive the government benefit, which was a higher amount than the salary received for reduced hours at some factories/manufacturers....

[saengd]

2 minutes ago, CanuckThai said:

I thought that workers could receive unemployment (or employment loss) benefits in Thailand?  I read a few weeks ago, that Thai people were quitting jobs, to receive the government benefit, which was a higher amount than the salary received for reduced hours at some factories/manufacturers....

Anyone claiming for unemployment must accept any job that is given to them, that's why very few people every file a claim or collect unemployment for very long.

[Assurancetourix]

6 minutes ago, saengd said:

Becoming a tour guide is an investment in the future both in terms of time, training, effort and expense,

I agree with this answer, but Colin never talked about investing in a trade.
He says that when one works one must have the intelligence to put part of one's salary aside in anticipation of lean days.

[Vacuum]

3 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

He says that when one works one must have the intelligence to put part of one's salary aside in anticipation of lean days.

Unfortunately many of them don't. Winning the lottery (the illegal 2-3 number thing), then they'll have a party for friends and the next day thei're back to square one.

[saengd]

11 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

I agree with this answer, but Colin never talked about investing in a trade.
He says that when one works one must have the intelligence to put part of one's salary aside in anticipation of lean days.

I wonder what sort of average salary a person must earn in Thailand before they are able to save every month on a regular basis, in order to put part of one's salary aside in anticipation of lean days. Since over 10 million people earn minimum wage or less, there's almost 50% of the workforce who are highly unlikely to be saving anything. Most tour guides in the North earn between 800 and 1,000 baht per day but not many work anything like full time. My wife underwent training and passed the exams because she wanted the certification and thought it was interesting, she's never actually worked as a guide however - her holding the offical ID gets us some benefits from time to time, discounts on this and that. But she does get calls from hotels and tour companies offering daily work, there'also an extensive Line group that discusses the current goings on and issues so she is tuned into that. From what I can see there are many tour guides whose earnings are close to minimum wage albeit they don't have to work every day, which suits many.

Edited March 2, 2020 by saengd

[Gracas]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Letters have been sent to tourism minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn asking him for money for food and transport.

Why do they need money for transport, they have no where to go. Or do they need to stay in practice for when they do have tourists again.

[ravip]

43 minutes ago, transam said:

What, no unemployment or sickness benefits, no wonder so many folk are flocking to get into farangland...

Did they ever wonder why people from Farangland come to their undeveloped, 3rd world country?

No one would leave heaven to live in hell?

[shadowofacloud]

Oh, so it is all starting to unravel... The sand castle called Thai economy is beginning to turn into a messy heap. How surprising and unexpected.

[Misterwhisper]

1 hour ago, AlienHermit66 said:

What is the point of this photo? Are these tour guides living in BKK? Are they just waiting in BKK to fly away somewhere? Are these people the tourists who are leaving and won't be needing guides anymore? Or is it just a good, scary photo because everyone in it is wearing a mask? 

Guides waiting at the prime minister's office for handouts of food and transport money (i.e. a refund of the bus fares they just spent to get there in the first place).

[CGW]

34 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

He says that when one works one must have the intelligence to put part of one's salary aside in anticipation of lean days.

So they should use the same values that we have and were bought up with?

Maybe they look at all the miserable "Farangs" & think I'm not interested in going down that road? look where it got them, spending their time living in another country criticising the natives every chance they get? 

[Assurancetourix]

3 minutes ago, CGW said:

criticising the natives every chance they get? 

This is not a criticism which, moreover, can be positive, but quite simply an observation.

[CGW]

4 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

This is not a criticism which, moreover, can be positive, but quite simply an observation.

As was my comment, a mere observation ????