Farm Wages Isaan

[swissie]

Just wondering: What is a days wage for a farm worker in the Isaan? (I realise "the Isaan" is a large place and conditions may vary depending on region).

To compare: I live 50 km west of Ratchabury near the Myanmar border and if it comes to hire farm workers it will be around 300 Bht per day per person.

I would think it is less in the Isaan. And also: If by next April the "National Minimum Wage" of 300 Bht per day takes effect, will it "stick"? Enforcable or not ?

Cheers.

[MrRed]

200 at the very most normally about 150 a day.

[khwaibah]

Kap Choeng south of Surin, 200 baht per day.

[Gary A]

We live 50 kilometers south of Loei city. Decent help is very difficult to find in this area. You won't find anyone for less than 300 baht a day.

[manxninja]

I pay 500 a day . The extra gets more productivity.

[MYKTHEMIN]

We live 50 kilometers south of Loei city. Decent help is very difficult to find in this area. You won't find anyone for less than 300 baht a day.

Hi Gary, we only pay our workers 200 a day

[jocsum]

66 kms NW of Khon Kaen, 300 bhat/day. When I moved up here 18 years ago, it was everyone help each other for free, good eats and lots of fun. Now...people won't even talk for anything less than 300. Lots of things have changed, but this is one of the saddest.

[Bpraim1]

My village is 120-150 day, plus food, drinks & booze.

I pay 200 all in buy your own extra's.

Wife pay's 150 and makes for and drinks.

Near Sisaket

[soidog2]

Interesting topic, we pay 200 + drinks

Nang Rong - Nong Ki area.

Some time its difficult to find labor at any price.

[kwonitoy]

Northeast of Udon Thani about 120kms

I pay 250 per day + food this year and last year.

Before that it was 200 per day.

We have steady workers available through the wife's family, and I've got a core group of 6 that will show up for work anytime we want because they know we'll keep them busy most of the time.

Plus they know that every Sat afternoon its payday and cash in their hands

[Gary A]

We live 50 kilometers south of Loei city. Decent help is very difficult to find in this area. You won't find anyone for less than 300 baht a day.

Hi Gary, we only pay our workers 200 a day

Myk, probably the difference is that they don't have my wife supervising them.

[jamescollister]

Difference between a day worker and a full time worker. Cutting grass or such 200 to 300 hundred a day plus food, but they work when it suits them. No one works during rice planting or harvesting times. Full time rubber collector making sheet 300 to 500 Baht for 6 hours work if I can find anyone.

Hard to find anyone who is willing to do a 9 to 5, easy to find 20 for a few days work in the dry season. Jim

[swissie]

As the OP, I would like to add a few observations as far as this situation is concerned living in an other corner of Thailand. Over the last 2 years well over 100 Resorts were built around here. So, the Thais prefer to work in those Resorts for good money and easy work.

The farm workers I can hire here come from Myanmar. As the crow flies, the border is only 15 Km away. So far so good but the problem is, that a good number of those Myanmar workers have a good eye for valuables in a farangs home. Some farangs here have discovered, that some jewellery and other valuables were missing and needless to say, the workers did not show up for work the next day. Again: The Myanmar border is only 15 Km away.

So, I guess depending on the region we live in, us farangs have to cope with different sets of problems. But that's OK. We are not in paradise, we are in Thailand and that will do for me.!

Cheers.

[jamescollister]

As the OP, I would like to add a few observations as far as this situation is concerned living in an other corner of Thailand. Over the last 2 years well over 100 Resorts were built around here. So, the Thais prefer to work in those Resorts for good money and easy work.

The farm workers I can hire here come from Myanmar. As the crow flies, the border is only 15 Km away. So far so good but the problem is, that a good number of those Myanmar workers have a good eye for valuables in a farangs home. Some farangs here have discovered, that some jewellery and other valuables were missing and needless to say, the workers did not show up for work the next day. Again: The Myanmar border is only 15 Km away.

So, I guess depending on the region we live in, us farangs have to cope with different sets of problems. But that's OK. We are not in paradise, we are in Thailand and that will do for me.!

Cheers.

Have to be careful hiring un documented works. I am on the Lao land border and if we used Lao workers there is a good chance I or who ever was there would be arrested. The locals would be on the phone to their cousin the cop before the workers got out of the truck. Jim

[Surin steve]

Interesting experience couple of months ago I decided to put in 12 rai of cassava so I ploughed and put in my ridges and asked around for labour for planting 160 bt a day was agreed and half a dozen women showed first thing the next morning

So off to the fields oh no I was informed that the price had risen to 300 bt a day Why was this because the previous night they had found out that the farang down the road had hired for 300 bt a few weeks ago so now the rate was 300 I tried my best to explain that just because he or as it turned out his wife was willing to pay nearly double the average there was no way I would they wouldn't back down so I fired them all off and I went to the next village and got my labour there 150 bt per day !!

[swissie]

As the OP, I would like to add a few observations as far as this situation is concerned living in an other corner of Thailand. Over the last 2 years well over 100 Resorts were built around here. So, the Thais prefer to work in those Resorts for good money and easy work.

The farm workers I can hire here come from Myanmar. As the crow flies, the border is only 15 Km away. So far so good but the problem is, that a good number of those Myanmar workers have a good eye for valuables in a farangs home. Some farangs here have discovered, that some jewellery and other valuables were missing and needless to say, the workers did not show up for work the next day. Again: The Myanmar border is only 15 Km away.

So, I guess depending on the region we live in, us farangs have to cope with different sets of problems. But that's OK. We are not in paradise, we are in Thailand and that will do for me.!

Cheers.

Have to be careful hiring un documented works. I am on the Lao land border and if we used Lao workers there is a good chance I or who ever was there would be arrested. The locals would be on the phone to their cousin the cop before the workers got out of the truck. Jim

Jim you are blessed,you seem to have police nearby. I don't! The local police office in my village is always "unmanned". Nobody there !

The nearest police station is 12 Km away and they like not to be disturbed while they are playing cards in the backroom. Rumor has it, that they all are involved in this little "border-run-business". Of course this is probably just some vicious rumor, could not possibly happen in Thailand. HeHe !

Cheers.

[dairycarlin]

200 at the very most normally about 150 a day.

o

YOu enslave the thai people and give them a reason to STEAL MONEY from the white man, May I humbly thank you for your kindness?

[thaicbr]

200 at the very most normally about 150 a day.

o

YOu enslave the thai people and give them a reason to STEAL MONEY from the white man, May I humbly thank you for your kindness?

Between 150 and 200baht is the minimum wage in most provinces.

Or were you just taking the piss?

I dont employ staff but just to get them to work hard I would have thought 200+ would be the norm.

sent from my Wellcom A90+

[jamescollister]

As the OP, I would like to add a few observations as far as this situation is concerned living in an other corner of Thailand. Over the last 2 years well over 100 Resorts were built around here. So, the Thais prefer to work in those Resorts for good money and easy work.

The farm workers I can hire here come from Myanmar. As the crow flies, the border is only 15 Km away. So far so good but the problem is, that a good number of those Myanmar workers have a good eye for valuables in a farangs home. Some farangs here have discovered, that some jewellery and other valuables were missing and needless to say, the workers did not show up for work the next day. Again: The Myanmar border is only 15 Km away.

So, I guess depending on the region we live in, us farangs have to cope with different sets of problems. But that's OK. We are not in paradise, we are in Thailand and that will do for me.!

Cheers.

Have to be careful hiring un documented works. I am on the Lao land border and if we used Lao workers there is a good chance I or who ever was there would be arrested. The locals would be on the phone to their cousin the cop before the workers got out of the truck. Jim

Jim you are blessed,you seem to have police nearby. I don't! The local police office in my village is always "unmanned". Nobody there !

The nearest police station is 12 Km away and they like not to be disturbed while they are playing cards in the backroom. Rumor has it, that they all are involved in this little "border-run-business". Of course this is probably just some vicious rumor, could not possibly happen in Thailand. HeHe !

Cheers.

No police out here, it's border soldier country, but on the main road, the only way in or out road blocks with army , local and RTIP.

Round here if you are not local, you are not welcome. Jim

[MobileContent]

250.00 Baht minimum here is Sakon Nakhon.

[sirchai]

People specialized in harvesting rice get paid by "Rai", or square meters. They do sometimes make up to 500 baht/hour.

Ordinary folks picking Chilly, get paid by kilos. Hard to make more than 200 baht a day for most people in Sisaket area.

Edited July 28, 2012 by sirchai

[manxninja]

I believe in paying what i would want myself. If you feel hard of paying 500 baht for a hard days abour then i dispear.

So many cheap charlies no wonder the locals are so anamoured.

[thehelmsman]

This last rice harvest in sakon nakhon the daily wage went from 300 baht to 500 baht a day due to shortage of workers. Not the whole season but each day was different. We caught it at the 300 baht rate.

[diggledunc]

250.00 Baht minimum here is Sakon Nakhon.

Good morning MobileContent

I am not so far from you and here the villagers have been forcing it up to 400B per day and that is with a specific number of people often to many and they are finished early. Seems like they are holding people to ransom almost as they know the planting has to be done. Some of the surrounding villages a few kilos away seem to be around the 320B mark and the farm owners seem glad to be able to get this level.

[rotary]

Around Korat hard at anything less than B300 per day. Its possible cheaper but less work and harder to find. better to pay B300 in the long run. Sometimes I work the wife's family and I pay them 500 baht a day but that more like 12 hrs working that day plus I am right with them and they "work"

[fatfather]

I believe in paying what i would want myself. If you feel hard of paying 500 baht for a hard days abour then i dispear.

So many cheap charlies no wonder the locals are so anamoured.

Overpaying is stupid. Follow the regional standards, overpaying makes you look like the ATM-falang.

South Buri Rum is 200 baht/day for normal labor. Skilled civil workers are at 300/day, in the rubber farms it is 500/night for cutting only. Easy job in the house 150 to 200/day

fatfather

[MYKTHEMIN]

I believe in paying what i would want myself. If you feel hard of paying 500 baht for a hard days abour then i dispear.

So many cheap charlies no wonder the locals are so anamoured.

Overpaying is stupid. Follow the regional standards, overpaying makes you look like the ATM-falang.

South Buri Rum is 200 baht/day for normal labor. Skilled civil workers are at 300/day, in the rubber farms it is 500/night for cutting only. Easy job in the house 150 to 200/day

fatfather

Well said agree 100%

[manxninja]

Im well aware of the local rates but i deem them personally too low for an honest days work.

While you may wish to pay the issan rate of 250 baht a day i prefer to give fellow humans a little extra than the pittance people like you pay.

I can assure you im not the local ATM machine , never been asked even to buy a thai a beer although have freely bought the beer with

local thais that i have a laugh with.

Each to their own.

[Tanaka]

Im well aware of the local rates but i deem them personally too low for an honest days work.

While you may wish to pay the issan rate of 250 baht a day i prefer to give fellow humans a little extra than the pittance people like you pay.

I can assure you im not the local ATM machine , never been asked even to buy a thai a beer although have freely bought the beer with

local thais that i have a laugh with.

Each to their own.

I take it you do not speak Thai or Isaan? You have not heard what your workers say about you? You may be surprised. They do not thank you, they think you are just a stupid rich farang.

"You are not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy".

[manxninja]

I personally couldnt care less what they say. Im happy to pay the great amount of 500 baht a day.

But yes i do speak thai quite well and have never heard a bad word yet. .

Like i say each to their own.