Local Labor Rates

[pomchop]

I know there are many variables but wonder approximately what most pay for local labor?

How much per yard guy who has his own tools/weedwhacker for one day work? (i supply gas)

How much for a maid to clean once a week?

I generally seem to pay about 300 baht per yard man or maid and if they do good work. Is that about right or am i Over or underpaying?

What do you usually pay?

[gotlost]

When the national wage is between 170 and 220 baht per day you are being very generous.

[villagefarang]

Sound okay to me. You might be able to get by with 200 but no need to be too cheap.

[sunholidaysun1]

In my village the Thais are all complaining about the cost of living with high prices for food and that they are worried about the future. As a foreigner I notice also that the prices for food as well as everything else have been going up steadily over the past year or so . Getting to the part about labour rates , in my village no one will work for less than 250 bht per day and I can understand that. Imagine having to do all that work yourself in the heat , so for me I feel a little extra without going over the top is worth it . If you pay bottom dollar then the chances are you will find it hard to get someone or for them to come back again . Pay them a little extra , supply them with cold water to drink and you will have made a friend also . 300 bht a day for unskilled labour is fine by me .

[pomchop]

In my village the Thais are all complaining about the cost of living with high prices for food and that they are worried about the future. As a foreigner I notice also that the prices for food as well as everything else have been going up steadily over the past year or so . Getting to the part about labour rates , in my village no one will work for less than 250 bht per day and I can understand that. Imagine having to do all that work yourself in the heat , so for me I feel a little extra without going over the top is worth it . If you pay bottom dollar then the chances are you will find it hard to get someone or for them to come back again . Pay them a little extra , supply them with cold water to drink and you will have made a friend also . 300 bht a day for unskilled labour is fine by me .

I usually have two yard guys as they don't seem to much want to do it alone....can't blame them for that. I have also found that a couple of nice cold beer Changs at the end of the work is generally much appreciated as an extra "tip". The main thing to me is to have people who seem to know what they are doing, have the tools to do it, and do what you ask them to do.

When i think what i have to pay someone to just mow a lawn back in USA it makes me realize how very cheap it can be sometimes to live in CR.

[lannaman]

In my village the Thais are all complaining about the cost of living with high prices for food and that they are worried about the future. As a foreigner I notice also that the prices for food as well as everything else have been going up steadily over the past year or so . Getting to the part about labour rates , in my village no one will work for less than 250 bht per day and I can understand that. Imagine having to do all that work yourself in the heat , so for me I feel a little extra without going over the top is worth it . If you pay bottom dollar then the chances are you will find it hard to get someone or for them to come back again . Pay them a little extra , supply them with cold water to drink and you will have made a friend also . 300 bht a day for unskilled labour is fine by me .

300 for skilled labour and 200 for unskilled is the going rate for us very near Crai city. Working in the heat is normal for Thai workers, these rate apply for say, building jobs. If you have a regular guy say gardening and he's a hard worker, then 300 is OK.

Problem is Sunny, if you pay 300 for unskilled general labour, then they will try and get the same from other stingier falangs such as Lman!

[klikster]

Sound okay to me. You might be able to get by with 200 but no need to be too cheap.

No need to add to inflation either.

If common laborers start to get Bt 300, think what skilled workers will start asking. And it doesn't just affect farangs, but Thais as well.

[pomchop]

Sound okay to me. You might be able to get by with 200 but no need to be too cheap.

No need to add to inflation either.

If common laborers start to get Bt 300, think what skilled workers will start asking. And it doesn't just affect farangs, but Thais as well.

Not exactly sure how to define "skilled" or "common" labor.....for me if they at least show up on time with some decent tools and seem to know what they are doing that is certainly worth more than the village bozo who shows up late, has no tools and not much clue about what he is suppose to be doing.....so all in all i think 300 baht for a "skilled" yard man is likely overpaying by a few baht but worth it to me as i don't have the hassles of the village bozo cutting down the wrong plant or rupurtuing a water line etc....

[klikster]

Sound okay to me. You might be able to get by with 200 but no need to be too cheap.

No need to add to inflation either.

If common laborers start to get Bt 300, think what skilled workers will start asking. And it doesn't just affect farangs, but Thais as well.

Not exactly sure how to define "skilled" or "common" labor.....for me if they at least show up on time with some decent tools and seem to know what they are doing that is certainly worth more than the village bozo who shows up late, has no tools and not much clue about what he is suppose to be doing.....so all in all i think 300 baht for a "skilled" yard man is likely overpaying by a few baht but worth it to me as i don't have the hassles of the village bozo cutting down the wrong plant or rupurtuing a water line etc....

My comment addressed a wider scope of labor than yard work. As an example, if a yard man is getting Bt 300/day, what will the pretty good concrete finisher or tile setter who lives down the road start to expect as a wage? Bt 400 .. Bt 500?

[Will27]

Sound okay to me. You might be able to get by with 200 but no need to be too cheap.

No need to add to inflation either.

If common laborers start to get Bt 300, think what skilled workers will start asking. And it doesn't just affect farangs, but Thais as well.

Not exactly sure how to define "skilled" or "common" labor.....for me if they at least show up on time with some decent tools and seem to know what they are doing that is certainly worth more than the village bozo who shows up late, has no tools and not much clue about what he is suppose to be doing.....so all in all i think 300 baht for a "skilled" yard man is likely overpaying by a few baht but worth it to me as i don't have the hassles of the village bozo cutting down the wrong plant or rupurtuing a water line etc....

I'm with you.

Our gardener uses my equipment and we give him 300 Baht plus a cold one at the end of the day.

He turns up at 0800hrs and leaves at 1700hrs. He does more in a day than I could in a week.

Money well spent I think.

Regards

Will

[pomchop]

Sound okay to me. You might be able to get by with 200 but no need to be too cheap.

No need to add to inflation either.

If common laborers start to get Bt 300, think what skilled workers will start asking. And it doesn't just affect farangs, but Thais as well.

Not exactly sure how to define "skilled" or "common" labor.....for me if they at least show up on time with some decent tools and seem to know what they are doing that is certainly worth more than the village bozo who shows up late, has no tools and not much clue about what he is suppose to be doing.....so all in all i think 300 baht for a "skilled" yard man is likely overpaying by a few baht but worth it to me as i don't have the hassles of the village bozo cutting down the wrong plant or rupurtuing a water line etc....

My comment addressed a wider scope of labor than yard work. As an example, if a yard man is getting Bt 300/day, what will the pretty good concrete finisher or tile setter who lives down the road start to expect as a wage? Bt 400 .. Bt 500?

I usually pay the concrete or tile type guys a fixed per job rate that includes labor and materials and not a daily labor rate

[cmjantje]

Central Plaza pays 200 for unskilled, 250 for some body with a skill like bricklaying and 300 for specialists.

I heard that iti is very well paid

[gotlost]

According to this site http://www.boi.go.th/english/how/demographic.asp In 2010 CR rate for unskilled Labor was 157 baht per day. So at 200 baht per day with increase and inflation your being very generous.

[LJW]

Don't ever figure you can get away with paying GOOD labour less than 300 baht a day. 500 per day is more reasonable for skilled labour. Bad or unskilled labour is cheaper in my house...

[sunholidaysun1]

Today I had 3 men working for me , loading brick /concrete rubble into a truck(not a pick up but truck that normally is seen delivering ballast ) , all by hand using shovels and hands. Three truck loads , full to capacity were used. The truck was 300bht per load to take away and the Labour rate for the 3 men who grafted their butts off loading it all and clearing all from my land was 350 bht each. Several others came to see what the work was but didnt want to do it due to the amount of graft needed. No one would work for less than the 350 bht. They did such a good job , worked hard from 8am -6pm , with an hour for lunch and completed the job . I paid an extra 350 bht as a tip as in my opinion they did the work of 4 men and deserved a few beers as a thankyou . They were delighted and so was I for a very good job. Pay up you bloody misers . Try paying yourself 200 bht for the day doing that sort of work and then be grateful for it ( I think NOT) The 9 hours they worked if hourly paid would be 39 bht per hour - THIRTY NINE BAHT PER HOUR.

Regardless of what country you come from helping out a little bit without going mad is far more likely to get you some respect amongst the Thais rather than all of us being herded into one pen as being slave drivers. The extra 350 bht bought them a meal and a bottle of whiskey, with ice and coke, they left my house at 8pm happy as a larry .

[klikster]

.. the Labour rate for the 3 men who grafted their butts off loading it all and clearing all from my land was 350 bht each. <snip> I paid an extra 350 bht as a tip as in my opinion they did the work of 4 men and deserved a few beers as a thankyou .

<snip>

Pay up you bloody misers .

Remember this?

I don't know about labour specifically, but if you base full construction (including materials and labour) on between 8,000 and 10,000 baht a square metre constructed you shouldn't be too far off.

You have got to be off your trolley, one plank short of a pier !! Either that or you've never built a thing here

[sunholidaysun1]

ok , Pay one man 8-10k bht per mtr. Choc Dee I say .

[chang35baht]

.. the Labour rate for the 3 men who grafted their butts off loading it all and clearing all from my land was 350 bht each. <snip> I paid an extra 350 bht as a tip as in my opinion they did the work of 4 men and deserved a few beers as a thankyou .

<snip>

Pay up you bloody misers .

Remember this?

I don't know about labour specifically, but if you base full construction (including materials and labour) on between 8,000 and 10,000 baht a square metre constructed you shouldn't be too far off.

You have got to be off your trolley, one plank short of a pier !! Either that or you've never built a thing here