Thailand Labour Shortage

[mijan24]

Does anyone have any firm knowledge on the wage paid to these labourers & the cost for their work permit?

What does the term immigrant worker entitle these workers to??

Labour shortage looms

Published on Nov 07 , 2005

The Labour Ministry plans to import a further 200,000 immigrant workers from Laos and Cambodia and allow for the registration of another 300,000 illegal workers already in the country to cover a looming labour shortage next year.

An initial survey of labour demands for this year had projected a need for 1.7 million immigrant workers, prompting the Labour Ministry to give the go-ahead for 1.2 million immigrant workers.

Due to the large number of mega-projects planned for next year, the Federation of Thai Industries has predicted a severe labour shortage, leading to the ministry's decision to bring in workers from Laos and Cambodia, Labour Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said yesterday.

"Employers need 500,000 more workers and therefore we need to import from Laos and Cambodia via government-to-government contracts," he said.

For the remaining 300,000 workers needed, the Employment Department and Immigration police will allow employers of illegal workers to register them under a Bt1,000 per head deposit scheme, he said adding that the workers would have to get work permits.

Edited November 8, 2005 by mijan24

[chownah]

Maybe France has some surplus immigrant workers they would be willing to relocate to Thailand.

[snoophound]

Staggering concept

Thailand having to import workers.

Seems a large part of the thai population do not need or want to work.

Does anyone have any firm knowledge on the wage paid to these labourers & the cost for their work permit?

What does the term immigrant worker entitle these workers to??

Labour shortage looms

Published on Nov 07 , 2005

The Labour Ministry plans to import a further 200,000 immigrant workers from Laos and Cambodia and allow for the registration of another 300,000 illegal workers already in the country to cover a looming labour shortage next year.

An initial survey of labour demands for this year had projected a need for 1.7 million immigrant workers, prompting the Labour Ministry to give the go-ahead for 1.2 million immigrant workers.

Due to the large number of mega-projects planned for next year, the Federation of Thai Industries has predicted a severe labour shortage, leading to the ministry's decision to bring in workers from Laos and Cambodia, Labour Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said yesterday.

"Employers need 500,000 more workers and therefore we need to import from Laos and Cambodia via government-to-government contracts," he said.

For the remaining 300,000 workers needed, the Employment Department and Immigration police will allow employers of illegal workers to register them under a Bt1,000 per head deposit scheme, he said adding that the workers would have to get work permits.

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[bina]

a large percentage of the thai population work as immigrant workers overseas.... pay/wages are usually much better even if they are 'used' by manpower companies... dollars per hour is better than 150 baht a day for long hard labour....

[skylar]

Thailand's standard of living has also increased sharply for so many Thais - there's a huge middle class now whereas 15 years ago most people were at one end of the wealth spectrum or the other. Of course they don't want bog-standard jobs if there is an opportunity to be employed in a profession that earns them more money with better conditions and more prestige.

[snoophound]

Yes but dont you think so few carry so many

and thats without the luxury of granny state.

Thailand's standard of living has also increased sharply for so many Thais - there's a huge middle class now whereas 15 years ago most people were at one end of the wealth spectrum or the other. Of course they don't want bog-standard jobs if there is an opportunity to be employed in a profession that earns them more money with better conditions and more prestige.

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[Buff-horns]

these are VERY lowly paid jobs that even thais wont do . they would rather sit on their butts than take on these lowly paid jobs. if they can get a daughter to get married to a farang then they can all (the family) take it easy on the monthly payments .and they dont need a lot to scrape by on per month .

[chownah]

I'm like the OP. I'd like to know just how much do these immigrant laborers make. Does anyone actually know?

[Ned]

Burmese farm labourers in my area in Chiang Mai are on about 70 baht a day, perhaps more depending on the urgency of getting the job done in a hurry.

Increasing their numbers will of course put downward pressure on unskilled and semi skilled wages for the Thais too. Seems that the govt has given up on improving productivity through better job training and education and the age old reliance on cheap labour to get profits is taking on a new complexion with the arrival of the neighbours in larger numbers. Nothing new though when you consider the Chinese coolies who arrived last century and now have one of their own as the Thai CEO. Maybe in a hundred years a Khmer descendant will be PM and his cabinet will sit around chatting in Khmer just as the present boss does in his ancestral language of Chinese.

[mijan24]

Burmese farm labourers in my area in Chiang Mai are on about 70 baht a day, perhaps more depending on the urgency of getting the job done in a hurry.

Increasing their numbers will of course put downward pressure on unskilled and semi skilled wages for the Thais too. Seems that the govt has given up on improving productivity through better job training and education and the age old reliance on cheap labour to get profits is taking on a new complexion with the arrival of the neighbours in larger numbers. Nothing new though when you consider the Chinese coolies who arrived last century and now have one of their own as the Thai CEO. Maybe in a hundred years a Khmer descendant will be PM and his cabinet will sit around chatting in Khmer just as the present boss does in his ancestral language of Chinese.

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This of course begs the question "70baht" a day is this the same rate paid to a Thai doing the same job?

Or is this "70baht" justified by also providing accomodation/food and deductions for Work Permit? - If so then when one considers they would also have to pay to get here the break even point is a long ways down the "70baht" track.

[bina]

mijan, thats the manpower placement agency's arguement in israel too with thai workers, but have u ever seen the accomodations?? i have a guy working for me now who lived in a tin box w/cold water shower etc in one of his former employers until he ran away,(and it is much colder here than in thailand in winter).... i saw immigrant workers, i think burmese , in thailand (ban chiang); they slept on the premisise of the building they were working on i.e. outdoors surounded by building material, where everyone could see them, this was at the building of the museaum of ban chiang..... does that justify the 70 baht?? i;ll work for pay, board and room but it better be humane and decent....when i questioned someone, they hurried me in the other direction and told me 'mai pben rai'.....

[mijan24]

mijan, thats the manpower placement agency's arguement in israel too with thai workers, but have u ever seen the accomodations?? i have a guy working for me now who lived in a tin box w/cold water shower etc in one of his former employers until he ran away,(and it is much colder here than in thailand in winter).... i saw immigrant workers, i think  burmese ,  in thailand (ban chiang); they slept on the premisise of the building they were working on i.e. outdoors surounded by building material, where everyone could see them, this was at the building of the museaum of ban chiang..... does that justify the 70 baht?? i;ll work for pay, board and room but it better be humane and decent....when i questioned someone, they hurried me in the other direction and told me 'mai pben rai'.....

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Hope they were on a bonus for providing security services - after normal working hours. Makes you think of that song - Dream Dream Dream etc

[otherstuff1957]

Yup, cheap migrant labor. It's worked really well for the French!

Remember the thread "Are Thai's racist?"? Well, the short answer is yes, they are. That racism my lead to problems 15 or 20 years from. As I understand it, only Thai citizens are given free education. If those workers stay here (and does anybody really think that they will go home voluntarily?), and their children are not educated or allowed to get better jobs, the Thai's will create a permenant underclass numbering in the millions. When the low level jobs dry up, and they will at some point dry up, what exactly are all of these uneducated, unskilled people supposed to do for a living?

If the Thai's don't handle this migrant labor thing properly, it could be a time bomb.

[astral]

I thought Thailand had a substantial unemployment problem?

So why are immigrants needed??