Australia Wants Thai Workers To Work In Its Construction Industry

[kaorop]

Settle down lads this will NEVER happen.

How many Thais do you know that can speak AUSTRALIAN......

Did the Lebanese & Syrians speak English/Australian when they entered the country? Seems like Australia will let anyone and everyone into the country and then give them money to live on; not unlike the U.S.

Yeah, we have many thousands living on the streets because they have no housing and /or cannot pay the impossibly high rents, and yet they constantly find billions of dollars to fund such important projects like super-stadiums etc.

Australia has become a cruel joke.

Actually they will live in company provided housing camps at the construction sites. But don't let facts get in the way of your rants.

TH

Maybe you should re-read the post, the poster says nothing about thai workers taking housing from aussies!

[Payboy]

Australia Wants Thai Workers To Work In Its Construction Industry

Would that be for the demolition of temporary erections?

[harrycallahan]

Speaking as an unemployed physically fit male Australian with my $140 nationally certified construction ticket (i.e. a potential labourer) I don't know where to apply for a construction job here. They certainly don't advertise on popular job sites for such people. In some ways we treat overseas people better than our own.

[samsiam]

Speaking as an unemployed physically fit male Australian with my $140 nationally certified construction ticket (i.e. a potential labourer) I don't know where to apply for a construction job here. They certainly don't advertise on popular job sites for such people. In some ways we treat overseas people better than our own.

best stay on the couch cobber...

[harrycallahan]

Speaking as an unemployed physically fit male Australian with my $140 nationally certified construction ticket (i.e. a potential labourer) I don't know where to apply for a construction job here. They certainly don't advertise on popular job sites for such people. In some ways we treat overseas people better than our own.

best stay on the couch cobber...

Or move to the Philippines or Thailand and get offered the whole overseas package deal?

[blackthorn2005]

Hope they have to do 90 day reporting in Aussie.

On a serioous note, the Aussies must be desperate, there are NO standards in this country. Thousands will die in Australia from collapsing buildings, bad electrical installation etc.

They will have a problem finding Thai construction workers, most of the building here is done be Burmese.

[Old Croc]

Settle down lads this will NEVER happen.

How many Thais do you know that can speak AUSTRALIAN......

When ever I thank my Thai wife for dinner or whatever she responds with "No worries, mate".

Edited May 4, 2012 by Old Croc

[finnomick1]

after watching my house being built i wouldnt employ any workers from this coutry even though they call themselves technichines , never saw anything technical in anything they did but as a farang coulndt say a word about it to them and only got thats how thai do from my wife when complaining to her to try and get things done properly.

So you'd say Thai construction workers are about as good at building as you are with spelling ?

[Rimmer]

Personal attack on another member removed also quoted rely

[scorecard]

I hope this is not passed out / contracted out to the numerous disgraceful rip-off Thai 'job placement agencies' (often ranking ministerial officials / beaurocrats).

And I hope the Aust. embassy folks have alerted the appropriate Aust. ministry involved to watch this factor very carefully.

Edited May 4, 2012 by scorecard

[louse1953]

Mr. Greg Wallace, Shame on you. Maybe we should import one Thai MP to replace your job.

Shame for what,please explain.

[louse1953]

Not sure why Australia want Thai construction workers. It must be part of a free trade deal or somthing. Honestly I am not convinced there are 20,000 skilled, experienced, construction workers in this country. Now add english skills, maybe 5, 20 at the very most.

Not sure what these OZ diplomats are thinking, but they might try the Philippino's or maybe India,

20,000 skilled construction workers, with English skills from Thailand, I pissed my pants twice laughing.

There are plenty of asians on construction sites already,with no english skills besides 1 interpreter.Bit of a struggle but they get by,bit like the thais putting up with farangs language skills in this country.If a couple of my mates get in they will be able to set up their extended family for life in higher education etc.,and this would flow on to future generations.They've already tapped in P.I.and India.

[swillowbee]

Almost all of the above posts are somewhat cynical ...........but unfortunately real.

As for finding 20,000 workers , yeah right good luck thats really funny.

Just let me know when the tenders come up for safety boots.........sum num nah

"She'll be right mate " the Thais will pick up pretty quickly , thats for certain .

Anyway when they are informed that you cant smoke weed and drink Lao Kow on the job , that Hammocks are not supplied , no one does sticky rice , and 8 hours a day straight , sorry not in my lifetime.

And you base this on your vast experience in the Industrial Construction business in Thailand? In fact most of the post here, as said by others, are racist stereotypes that shows more about the members and who they associate with than their actual knowledge of Thai construction.

A few facts, There are currently 100,000’s of skilled Thai tradesmen and Engineers working on major refineries, petro-chemical, offshore fabrication, and industrial building construction on the Eastern Seaboard. These workers over the past 30 years have built literally hundreds of world class plants, facilities, and buildings.

The reason that today, there are far more Pilipino workers overseas than Thai is not about their ability, but the fact that there has been so much work in Thailand there is little reason for skilled Thai person to work overseas. In 1990’s you were more likely to have Thai workers on an overseas project than Pilipino, but as Thailand went through a long construction boom, their numbers dwindled considerably.

I should also note that the state of the overseas labor recruiting business in Thailand is, in the most part, disgraceful (but then it is in the Philippines as well). In the Philippines, we have setup our own recruiting business and refuse to deal with the myriad of unethical agents that flourish there. I believe that is one reason many Thais construction workers do not try to work overseas, they can work here and do not have to deal with these low life scum that are only intent on stealing from the workers they recruit.

Australia, and particularly Queensland, has huge labor shortage right now, and it is going to get worse over the next 2 years. The Australians and even the unions (reluctantly) realize this and they continue to make it easier to import labor, both tradesmen and professionals.

I do agree that it will be difficult to recruit 20,000 Thai workers to go Australia, but that has nothing to do with their ability or skills, it is because for a skilled Thai worker, they do not have to work overseas to make very good money.

Our company is already setting up programs to try and recruit Thai tradesmen already working for us here in Thailand to work on our projects in Queensland. As the craft manpower estimates for just our 8 or so Queensland and Western Australia projects is close to 100,000 and Australians cannot fill even 50% of that, we will need to import some serious numbers and Philippines cannot supply them all. We do not deal with Bangladeshi or Pakistani labor brokers at all as it is impossible to find an ethical recruiter and they do not allow foreign companies to recruit on their own.

This thread is again, nothing more than an opportunity for the usual suspects to bash Thailand based on their experience of having a house built in Nakorn Nowhere or remodeling the bar next door to their usual hangout in lower Sukhumivt or Pattaya.

They are completely ignorant of the fact there is a hierarchy in the construction business everywhere in the world, and the workers they see are at the bottom of it. Any worker with any intelligence, initiative, and skill does not do small residential or commercial work. They move on to the big time, where a certified welder or electrician can make 30-40k THB a month and foremen and supervisors even more.

So, go ahead, have your fun, but what is said here does not in any way resemble reality.

TH

Top post.

.

... assuming a match can be made, Aussie construction + Thai labor, Thaihome's comments are well argued ... as he, I am not so comfortable with the Thai government's involvement in the middle of this.

... first, is the question of the Thai government's competence ... any major undertaking they attempt seems to fall upon ... umm ... let's call it ... say,

bad luck

... from building an airport to managing slowly rising floods to managing a rice support program ... even a simple straight-forward purchase of school notepads.

... second, is Thailand's well-know reputation for widespread official corruption.

... I am quite confident the Thai private sector would be equally incapable of delivering, for the same reasons as above ... incompetence and institutional corruption.

... seems the Aussies could avoid the potential threat of a lot of bad publicity by organizing and managing recruitments themselves ... the Aussies will certainly carry 50% of any blame (probably more) resulting from failures ... history does not favor them.

... we all know how this is likely to go.

Edited May 4, 2012 by swillowbee

[louse1953]

This could be great opportunity for Thai workers who are skilled to a high degree, some are though most aren't but all receive a comparative pittance to what they could earn in Farangland.

But you have to ask why?

I think the Australians are also hoping to pay them a comparative pittance.

Your obviously not from the lucky country,we are an egalitarian nation and believe in a fair go(not sure after next election).Ozzies don't like their wages undercut and there are laws in place to try and prevent this happening.

[louse1953]

There's already loads of Philippinos working here in the NT. I honestly don't see what Thais could offer nor why they are needed in such numbers. They won't get near big projects such as Inpex.

Additionally there are no direct flights to Darwin from Thailand, the only way here is via another Australian city or via Singapore on Jetstar or Silk Air.

I suspect the idea will never see the light of day and it is wishful thinking on the Thai minister's behalf.

20,000 is almost a tenth of the population of the NT.

So your saying,Thais don't know how to get from Sing., Jak.,and Bali.My missus has been doing it for years.

[louse1953]

Have the Australians even looked at the standard of roads and buildings in this country? They going to be in for a shock. Or maybe the article meant to say Unskilled labor?

Have a think about,everything will be Aust.standard not Thai standard.The Thais will adapt very well.Not to much money gets siphoned off on the way,so standards can be maintained.Might be able to get some hot thai tucker on site.

[louse1953]

Hope they have to do 90 day reporting in Aussie.

On a serioous note, the Aussies must be desperate, there are NO standards in this country. Thousands will die in Australia from collapsing buildings, bad electrical installation etc.

and bamboo scaffolding...

But in reality, there would be much better countries to import labour from that do have basic english skills already......like New Zealand.

I think that Thai workers will find it quite a shock to have to actually work a full day and I suspect that they'll struggle to meet the standard of work required but I guess it's better to invite Buddhists than the alternative. At least they're fun and enjoy life.

And the alternative is what.I have worked on sites with Hazaras,and their work ethic is second to none.They have a friendly demeaner and the ability to squat all day is a bonus in the tiling game.Talking about squating,even have squaty dunnies on some sites.

[louse1953]

after watching my house being built i wouldnt employ any workers from this coutry even though they call themselves technichines , never saw anything technical in anything they did but as a farang coulndt say a word about it to them and only got thats how thai do from my wife when complaining to her to try and get things done properly.

Don't make the mistake of tarring them all with the same brush. I've worked with skilled Thai engineers/sparkies/labourers offshore and also sparkies/labourers in Brunei and they just do not compare with the typical bricky/labourer working on your house here. Hard-pushed to find that work ethic without all the obligatory chops you get from us lot.

Many people working on farang's wife house are rice farmers and family or friend of family.Unsackable.I know a farang that made roofies pay for a few cracked tiles,surprised he's still alive.

[Crushdepth]

This could be great opportunity for Thai workers who are skilled to a high degree, some are though most aren't but all receive a comparative pittance to what they could earn in Farangland.

But you have to ask why?

I think the Australians are also hoping to pay them a comparative pittance.

Your obviously not from the lucky country,we are an egalitarian nation and believe in a fair go(not sure after next election).Ozzies don't like their wages undercut and there are laws in place to try and prevent this happening.

Wrong I assume you haven't heard of Qantas or rung a call centre lately. The fair go ideal is upheld by employees rather employers in my experience. Just ask anyone with a disability, health issue or back injury. As for undercutting wages, how many times have employers been busted paying foreign students below award?

Sorry if I seem cynical but I have seen all of this firsthand too frequently to believe otherwise.

Edited May 4, 2012 by Crushdepth

[louse1953]

Will they be paid Thai rates or Aussie rates ?

There's a world of difference and once the Thai workers find out how much money they

can earn, they may not want to come home.

They don't have to,can apply for permanent.

[BlackJack]

I sincerely hope that they are awarded the same rights in Australia as the foreign workers rights in Thailand

The same checks and balances

90 day reports

photos

paperwork signed in triplicate

carry passport at all times

etc etc

[Crushdepth]

I sincerely hope that they are awarded the same rights in Australia as the foreign workers rights in Thailand

The same checks and balances

90 day reports

photos

paperwork signed in triplicate

carry passport at all times

etc etc

And if your work permit is cancelled by your employer, leave on the same day.

[Nignoy]

Be interesting to see what the unions in Australia say about this.

What can the unions say!! plenty of building work here on the darling downs,60,000 men under the age of 45 on the dole, but most of them not interested in work of any type, the gasfields here are screaming out for workers , great pay, but the agencies are having to bring in workers from england ,ireland and germany,

[Payboy]

I sincerely hope that they are awarded the same rights in Australia as the foreign workers rights in Thailand

The same checks and balances

90 day reports

photos

paperwork signed in triplicate

carry passport at all times

etc etc

No Thai music concerts.

Curfew by 8pm.

etc etc

[simple1]

This could be great opportunity for Thai workers who are skilled to a high degree, some are though most aren't but all receive a comparative pittance to what they could earn in Farangland.

But you have to ask why?

I think the Australians are also hoping to pay them a comparative pittance.

Your obviously not from the lucky country,we are an egalitarian nation and believe in a fair go(not sure after next election).Ozzies don't like their wages undercut and there are laws in place to try and prevent this happening.

Wrong I assume you haven't heard of Qantas or rung a call centre lately. The fair go ideal is upheld by employees rather employers in my experience. Just ask anyone with a disability, health issue or back injury. As for undercutting wages, how many times have employers been busted paying foreign students below award?

Sorry if I seem cynical but I have seen all of this firsthand too frequently to believe otherwise.

Thai workers in Oz will require a 457 visa and employer salary & conditions are mnonitored by Federal Government. Sure some employers have endeavoured to scam 457 staff, but to their credit the unions have been very active in working with Government agencies to resolve any issues bought to their attention

[louse1953]

Settle down lads this will NEVER happen.

How many Thais do you know that can speak AUSTRALIAN......

Did the Lebanese & Syrians speak English/Australian when they entered the country? Seems like Australia will let anyone and everyone into the country and then give them money to live on; not unlike the U.S.

Yes we will let anybody in and we're a better country for it.

[metisdead]

An inflammatory post has been removed as well as a nonsense trolling post and a reply.

[louse1953]

This could be great opportunity for Thai workers who are skilled to a high degree, some are though most aren't but all receive a comparative pittance to what they could earn in Farangland.

But you have to ask why?

I think the Australians are also hoping to pay them a comparative pittance.

Your obviously not from the lucky country,we are an egalitarian nation and believe in a fair go(not sure after next election).Ozzies don't like their wages undercut and there are laws in place to try and prevent this happening.

Wrong I assume you haven't heard of Qantas or rung a call centre lately. The fair go ideal is upheld by employees rather employers in my experience. Just ask anyone with a disability, health issue or back injury. As for undercutting wages, how many times have employers been busted paying foreign students below award?

Sorry if I seem cynical but I have seen all of this firsthand too frequently to believe otherwise.

True but it is not norm,yet.

[metisdead]

Posts flaming other members have been removed:

4) Not to flame fellow members.Flaming will not be tolerated. 'Flaming' is defined as posting or responding to a message in a way clearly intended to incite useless arguments, to launch personal attacks, to insult, or to be hateful towards other members. This includes useless criticism, name-calling, swearing and any other comments meant to incite anger.

[HowardH]

Actually they will live in company provided housing camps at the construction sites. But don't let facts get in the way of your rants.

TH

Sigh, i NEVER said anything about the Thai taking houses from us, i did neither infer or imply it, so perhaps before you 'rant' (to use your expression) at others you should read a person's post before you judge it.