Thai Government Prepares to Recruit Thais to Address Labor Shortage

[webfact]

 

By Hugh Brammar

   

BANGKOK (NNT) - The Thai government aims to promote employment for Thais in industries facing labor shortages and is preparing to recruit Thais to fill more than 400,000 jobs left vacant by migrant workers due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

 

Labor Minister Suchart Chomklin said on Saturday that several industries are in need of laborers, as migrant workers have been prohibited from returning to Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Imports of migrant workers were suspended in March last year when the pandemic worsened, resulting in labor shortages, and employing Thai workers was one way of dealing with the problem.

 

He said that Thais aged up to 35 with high school level or lower education should be considered. Thai laborers will get salaries based on their educational level, as well as overtime and other welfare schemes.

 

Mr. Suchart said there is strong demand for both Thai and migrant workers in several industries, including apparel, canned food and electronics. The Department of Employment (DoE) will survey employment demands among business operators who want to hire Thais as substitutes for migrant workers. So far, 112,759 Thais have registered for jobs with the department.

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2021-09-20

 

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[RichardColeman]

 

37 minutes ago, webfact said:

He said that Thais aged up to 35 with high school level or lower education should be considered.

This guys in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks low educated Thais are going to work for 300 baht a day and do the same work as a migrant. Pride would prevent it.

[Paul Henry]

Don't see how level of education has any bearing on wages for labouring jobs. Incentives should be based on productivity and performance.

[Sir Dude]

Yeah, that's fantasy land thinking. Good luck with that. There's no way that'll happen for the basic wage, especially with that cunningly slipped in bit about wages relevant to education levels, so that probably means national minimums at best for those who have finished M6... lower for those that haven't probably. Shouldn't be any difference for labouring jobs. 

Edited September 20, 2021 by Sir Dude
Typos

[EVENKEEL]

It's humorous because when I ask the little lady the working status of certain family members in Isaan, it's no jobs.....Covid. So when I pursue this subject I say "Well I've read many companies don't have people to work" Response is a blank look. 

[djayz]

If they didn't want to do the work before, most of them probably won't want to do it now. 

I wonder if this is all for show? If the DoE can't fill the quota, that could be used as a compelling argument to reopen borders and allow migrant workers back in pronto.   

[jollyhangmon]

 

'The Thai government prepares to recruit Thais to adress labor shortage'

 

... really? What a novel concept!

 

Lovely, the fat pigs between rocks & hard places, lost productivity due to missing workers vs. maybe a bit less profit paying liveable wages ...?

 

[nausea]

Well, good luck with that. Didn't work in the UK, despite a high profile campaign to repace migrant workers with native residents post Brexit, doubt it will work here.

 

[crazykopite]

Migrant workers do jobs Thais don’t want to do so unless the wage is more attractive it’s a waste of time and energy 

[Scouse123]

17 minutes ago, crazykopite said:

Migrant workers do jobs Thais don’t want to do so unless the wage is more attractive it’s a waste of time and energy 

The local Thais where I live just do not want to work in any shape or form. They prefer riding around on motorbikes and making themselves busy doing nothing and I am specifically talking about 18-30 year olds.

 

Older ones will work but prefer casual work to set hours. Younger ones think they are too good to work and have a weird mindset that they should get money for it.

 

My other half is 43 and says she doesn't get them or understand them.

 

Even offering 400 baht a day for cleaning and washing and ironing, nothing strenuous, to those in the village doing absolutely sweet FA draws nobody and when they do work, my other half says she has to go back and do it again anyway so better not to ask them.

 

Asking Thais to work in the canning industry? Good luck with that one!

 

The only reason they allowed Burmese and Cambodians in was because Thais won't do it.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by Scouse123

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The Thai government aims to promote employment for Thais in industries facing labor shortages and is preparing to recruit Thais to fill more than 400,000 jobs left vacant by migrant workers due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

How novel... get the un-employed into work instead of recruiting migrant labour.

Trouble is the work involved may not be what they want to do, or for the wages.

[Eric Loh]

This is timely for the government to review the minimum wage and make changes to a competitive wage structure determined by market demand and supply for labour. It will help attract Thais and will also give a boost to the domestic economy. 

[mikebell]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

112,759 Thais have registered for jobs

There are 400,000 vacancies. So roughly 3 in every 4 Thais think themselves above work. I been to 20+ countries and Thais are the laziest nation I've visited.

[Scott Tracy]

But there is no unemployment in Thailand. I'm sure I read that somewhere. No unemp!oyment, therefore No one to fill vacancies. 

[EVENKEEL]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

How novel... get the un-employed into work instead of recruiting migrant labour.

Trouble is the work involved may not be what they want to do, or for the wages.

The only thing that should matter is the money, period.

[Saltire]

I live in a predominantly migrant farming community where non-Thai used to number about 70%.

 

Many have long gone home due to covid so yes, the landowners are struggling for labour.

 

My wifes brother has a one-man music/PA hire business and pre-covid was kept busy at gatherings of all kinds. Now that has all but dried up. No house blessings, very few weddings and not so many funerals as he had expected.

 

However there is ALWAYS work to be had here, and during slack times he joins the crew in the pickups and heads off to work on a farm somewhere. Recently he had a full month's work at 400 Baht per day planting new rubber trees, so made about 12k Baht, probably more than an average month at his music events.

 

The only problem now he has also joined in the 5 PM Hong Thong/Lao Khao brigade on a nightly basis but at least he is not lazy.

 

 

[rudi49jr]

7 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

 

This guys in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks low educated Thais are going to work for 300 baht a day and do the same work as a migrant. Pride would prevent it.

Not just pride, but common sense: how can anyone possibly live on 300 baht a day? Start paying liveable wages and see what happens.

[EVENKEEL]

3 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

Not just pride, but common sense: how can anyone possibly live on 300 baht a day? Start paying liveable wages and see what happens.

And how do you live on zero baht per day? Take what's available till you find something better.

[Enzian]

I had a beautiful live-in Thai gf for a few years, who when I suggested she get a job to occupy her mind and time instead of just sitting on the bed looking at her phone (that I bought), said "for 300 or 400 baht a day? that's all I'll get." The scorn in her voice could be cut with a knife. So as a certain culture shock book put it, her job was me. But she was hot.

[Mac Mickmanus]

1 minute ago, Enzian said:

I had a beautiful live-in Thai gf for a few years, who when I suggested she get a job to occupy her mind and time instead of just sitting on the bed looking at her phone (that I bought), said "for 300 or 400 baht a day? that's all I'll get." The scorn in her voice could be cut with a knife. So as a certain culture shock book put it, her job was me. But she was hot.

How much was you paying her ?

[rudi49jr]

48 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

And how do you live on zero baht per day? Take what's available till you find something better.

There is nothing better, 300 baht a day is as good as it gets for most unskilled workers, so they are forced to work for a wage that they can not live on. Do you think that’s fair?

[Cake Monster]

Maybe the Thai Companies have kicked back about the original plan to allow 470,000 Migrant workers into the Country.

The plan would have meant a 14 Day mandatory Quarantine for all of them, numerous PCR tests, and ongoing testing on a weekly basis. All at the Employers expense.

I think there was also some mention of a compulsory Covid Health Insurance that the Employers had to also pay, as well as setting up their own Quarantine facilities within the Factory compound.

In total, the cost for each Migrant workers would have been about 18,000 Baht per head, with ongoing testing costs.

Something that the cheapskate Employers would surely have baulked at.

However, to find enough Thai Staff with the required ability for the Work will be a no start

 

 

[Scouse123]

48 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

And how do you live on zero baht per day? Take what's available till you find something better.

That's an easy one.

 

Borrow a gun from your mate, they love playing at gangsters and always have money to buy or rent these items, and hit the 7-11, gas stations and gold shops.

 

Then when you kill somebody or get caught, put your head down in shame, put ten fingers together, blame it on no jobs and desperation to feed your family!

[khunPer]

Unfortunately many Thai seems to feel that they loose face, if they undertake a low level migrant job.

[rudi49jr]

1 hour ago, EVENKEEL said:

The only thing that should matter is the money, period.

Yeah, doesn’t matter what kind of <deleted> work they have to do, as long as they get paid 300 baht a day they can’t complain, right?

[EVENKEEL]

14 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

Yeah, doesn’t matter what kind of <deleted> work they have to do, as long as they get paid 300 baht a day they can’t complain, right?

Until they find a better job, then no. They made a definite choice when many failed to complete even M6. I worked manual labor jobs for many years, the one thing I always did was look for something higher paid, always. When I was out of work and looking, well that was a full time job for me. I went factory to factory to factory daily trying to find something. Here unless a job comes knocking I don't think they're looking too hard.

[c0nfu5edp5yc0]

4 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

The local Thais where I live just do not want to work in any shape or form. They prefer riding around on motorbikes and making themselves busy doing nothing and I am specifically talking about 18-30 year olds.

 

Older ones will work but prefer casual work to set hours. Younger ones think they are too good to work and have a weird mindset that they should get money for it.

 

My other half is 43 and says she doesn't get them or understand them.

 

Even offering 400 baht a day for cleaning and washing and ironing, nothing strenuous, to those in the village doing absolutely sweet FA draws nobody and when they do work, my other half says she has to go back and do it again anyway so better not to ask them.

 

Asking Thais to work in the canning industry? Good luck with that one!

 

The only reason they allowed Burmese and Cambodians in was because Thais won't do it.

 

 

 

 

This is spot on, my wifes father is a construction manager for a big company and anyone in the village can jump in his truck and go to work for 450-550 a day but its only the old men and women while they end up paying to support they're deadbeat kids drink or gambling habits. 

[Cake Monster]

40 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

Yeah, doesn’t matter what kind of <deleted> work they have to do, as long as they get paid 300 baht a day they can’t complain, right?

I think we can all agree that 300 Baht per Day is a poor wage.

However, when it is compared to other wages for other more skilled work, then it is fair.

People that for one reason or another have ended up at the bottom of the pile should not be rewarded excessively over those that have worked to attain skills and knowledge, throughout their working lives.

That really is not the way that any Society functions.

 

 

[Cake Monster]

4 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

This is timely for the government to review the minimum wage and make changes to a competitive wage structure determined by market demand and supply for labour. It will help attract Thais and will also give a boost to the domestic economy. 

And add a huge amount to your Shopping Basket costs at the Check out.

[trainman34014]

You couldn't move the lazy ass young men in our Village with Dynamite as their Wives are the ones working in the Market and providing them with enough cash for Smokes and Beer !