Severe Labour Shortage Looms: Thailand

[chiangmaikelly]

Is there a shortage of laborers willing to work for prevailing wages? Probably

If the prevailing wages came up to a living wage, perhaps some of the millions would abandon their fruit carts, motosais and begging stands to take these jobs.

Or they can keep the wages low and import and exploit all the cheap SEA labor from other countries, guaranteeing the few will continue raking it in.

After WWII they had cheap labor in Japan. All the cheap stuff was made in Japan and everyone said Japanese stuff was inferior to the West. Now the same thing is happening in Thailand and China. It goes around. Japanese stuff got a lot better and the same thing will eventually happen to Thailand and China then the production will move to Africa.

Edited December 19, 2012 by chiangmaikelly

[007]

You think ? i have a number of Thai friends between 38 and and 55 that are working full time, men and women, would like to change there work place, some are highly skilled, it would appear that the magic age here is 35, if your over that forget it, just stay at the present work place, or do something on your own, eg: Market stall, shop. noodle seller...

It always surprises me, why Thais see cooking instant noodles or meatballs on a stick, while standing on the roadside all day, inhaling smoke and excaust fumes, a viable alternative to a regular, salaried job.

There may be money in selling ready-made food, but I would never ever think of selling spaghetti or hot dogs, or whatever for hours on the roadside.

[NCFC]

THAILAND has never sought to update and upgrade its unskilled labor to skilled labor pursuant to the skilled trades all the trades and craftmen/craftpeople.

And the wages have remained the same, which is the other important main attraction.

Historically that has been their history.

Because of that., Thailand has to keep starting over and over again...Their short cut polices have been disasters and have kept them and will forever keep them behind the Curve of the rest of the world.

They just keep pissing in the wind.

What are you talking about, wages have remained the same?

In the last 10 years alone per capita income has doubled in Thailand. As the article says, more younger people are continuing their studies for longer, so they are in fact increasing their skill levels.

Right now the Thai economy is booming. There is full employment, indeed a labor shortage in some industries. Thailand is doing very nicely, thank you very much.

Edited December 19, 2012 by NCFC

[Tywais]

55 seems odd as the mandatory retirement age for government workers is 60.

[NCFC]

You think ? i have a number of Thai friends between 38 and and 55 that are working full time, men and women, would like to change there work place, some are highly skilled, it would appear that the magic age here is 35, if your over that forget it, just stay at the present work place, or do something on your own, eg: Market stall, shop. noodle seller...

It always surprises me, why Thais see cooking instant noodles or meatballs on a stick, while standing on the roadside all day, inhaling smoke and excaust fumes, a viable alternative to a regular, salaried job.

There may be money in selling ready-made food, but I would never ever think of selling spaghetti or hot dogs, or whatever for hours on the roadside.

I know of a family that runs a roadside noodle stall. They work 16 hours a day and the competition is stiff but they make 50k baht per month. Very hard work in unpleasant conditions but the rewards are there if you are successful.

[OzMick]

What are you talking about, wages have remained the same?

In the last 10 years alone per capita income has doubled in Thailand. As the article says, more younger people are continuing their studies for longer, so they are in fact increasing their skill levels.

Right now the Thai economy is booming. There is full employment, indeed a labor shortage in some industries. Thailand is doing very nicely, thank you very much.

So why do they need to subsidise rice farmers?

[fstarbkk]

While the economy moves from agrarian to industrial, the current government wastes huge amounts of resources subsidising uneconomic labour-intensive industry.

They need to realise the way to boost the wealth of the Thai people is not raising the minimum wage, it is educating them and encouraging them to move into better paying jobs, raising the AVERAGE wage.

Well, as you can see in the OP, most of Thai youth are already studying. Of course, until a Thai uni degree is worth more than the paper it's printed on, that won't actually do much good. But I guess it beats standing in a factory line every day...

[fstarbkk]

55 seems odd as the mandatory retirement age for government workers is 60.

The wear and tear is much lower on Thai civil servants (if any at all), than on people with actual jobs. That would explain the 5 year difference, no?

Edited December 19, 2012 by fstarbkk

[CMTourist]

My suspicion is that its just like labor shortages in the West that supposedly require the importation of labor, the shortage is one of people willing to do the work at the wages the owners want to pay to maintain their profit margins.

Countries that have high levels of immigration also have corporate profits as a percentage of GDP at record high levels and salaries at a record low percentage

[Nickymaster]

Talking about productivity. Has anyone noticed that nowadays if you go (let's say) to the sports department in a mall most workers are playing on their smart phones? It often takes a serious effort to get their attention.

Same applies to offices. Most computers are set-up that you can't install Facebook, MSN etc. The fact that most people now can afford a smart phone doesn't make it easier for companies to increase their productivity.

Edited December 19, 2012 by Nickymaster

[chiangmaikelly]

What are you talking about, wages have remained the same?

In the last 10 years alone per capita income has doubled in Thailand. As the article says, more younger people are continuing their studies for longer, so they are in fact increasing their skill levels.

Right now the Thai economy is booming. There is full employment, indeed a labor shortage in some industries. Thailand is doing very nicely, thank you very much.

So why do they need to subsidise rice farmers?

They can't compete unless they receive a subsidy or get new equipment. If Thailand wants to keep its farmers as opposed to having them all work in a factory the government needs to help. I believe both the US and Japan do the same thing. Maybe a farmer can tell us.

[julesdick]

Historically that has been their history.

Genius

[manarak]

While the economy moves from agrarian to industrial, the current government wastes huge amounts of resources subsidising uneconomic labour-intensive industry.

They need to realise the way to boost the wealth of the Thai people is not raising the minimum wage, it is educating them and encouraging them to move into better paying jobs, raising the AVERAGE wage.

It's not that simple - if the government was to push what you suggest, the country will eventually end up in a similar position as western countries now, i.e. unemployment, high taxes and deficit.

A country needs a fair amount of unskilled workers and relatively poor people.

Pushing the transformation from agrarian to industrial is a mistake too, because it transforms low-overhead independent people into employees that have to rent their home and become dependent on their job.

The best the government can do is trying to give all a minimum education and promote poor persons who are gifted but don't have enough money to study.

"Boosting wealth" is bullshit, because 90% of that money will flow into purchases of stuff that will be worthless a few years later (TV, Car, DVD, phone, etc.) and will create exactly the same problems as the West is having now, and the money getting spent will only make the rich richer and the banks.

Edited December 19, 2012 by manarak

[lemoncake]

The average Fuji seats about 200. Multiply the check average times the total customers a day and you would know if it is over staffed. I doubt they make many mistakes. I have never seen a slow Fuji.

Table average sales 850 baht and Fuji operates 70 restaurants in Thailand.

Really the average sits about 200? how many have you been to? what does total customers in a day have to do with being over staffed? what does making mistakes have to do with the thread? or my post or with over staffing?what does being busy or slow have to do with over staffing? what does average sales have to do with the thread? my post? and over staffing? what does the amount of restaurants in Thailand have to do with anything at all?

You not tired of trolling yet? i am tired of reading your posts? and have a feeling a few other people as well, you do not think its time to find a new hobby?

You wrote, “Just for the record, Fuji has just about as much staff as the customer sits. There is staff to welcome you, staff to sit you down, staff to take your order, staff to bring out your order, staff to clean your table, staff to write a bill and staff to collect the bill. Not to mention, the cook, the cook helper, the helper for the cook helper, and the helper to help the helpers. Last time i ate there, they had 6 people working in the kitchen.”

The above in not accurate. Thailand has a labor shortage because of the economic boom Thailand is experiencing.

There is a boom in industry as demonstrated by all-time records broken in auto production and in tourism demonstrated by arrivals at the airport.

Well managed business manage to prosper during a labor shortage as demonstrated by the existence of 70 successful Fuji restaurants in Thailand.

In order to determine correct staffing levels of a restaurant one must know the total sales and the total spent on labor.

The question becomes, as a severe labor shortage looms for Thailand, will service in well run businesses suffer? It would be my contention the answer is no as that is a function of good management. Although I do hear more and more Burmese being spoken in local restaurants and hotels.

I have found you an argument I am not obliged to find you an understanding, good luck with that

[belg]

funny, in my home country, 10% unemployment, but 300.000 jobs that cannot be filled, even with all the undeducated illegales, uneducated no skilled workers, etc...

unemployement benefits, social housing, other benefits thrown at non "originals" , so they are so pampered they do not want to work for a few euros more than their benefits

[chiangmaikelly]

The average Fuji seats about 200. Multiply the check average times the total customers a day and you would know if it is over staffed. I doubt they make many mistakes. I have never seen a slow Fuji.

Table average sales 850 baht and Fuji operates 70 restaurants in Thailand.

Really the average sits about 200? how many have you been to? what does total customers in a day have to do with being over staffed? what does making mistakes have to do with the thread? or my post or with over staffing?what does being busy or slow have to do with over staffing? what does average sales have to do with the thread? my post? and over staffing? what does the amount of restaurants in Thailand have to do with anything at all?

You not tired of trolling yet? i am tired of reading your posts? and have a feeling a few other people as well, you do not think its time to find a new hobby?

You wrote, “Just for the record, Fuji has just about as much staff as the customer sits. There is staff to welcome you, staff to sit you down, staff to take your order, staff to bring out your order, staff to clean your table, staff to write a bill and staff to collect the bill. Not to mention, the cook, the cook helper, the helper for the cook helper, and the helper to help the helpers. Last time i ate there, they had 6 people working in the kitchen.”

The above in not accurate. Thailand has a labor shortage because of the economic boom Thailand is experiencing.

There is a boom in industry as demonstrated by all-time records broken in auto production and in tourism demonstrated by arrivals at the airport.

Well managed business manage to prosper during a labor shortage as demonstrated by the existence of 70 successful Fuji restaurants in Thailand.

In order to determine correct staffing levels of a restaurant one must know the total sales and the total spent on labor.

The question becomes, as a severe labor shortage looms for Thailand, will service in well run businesses suffer? It would be my contention the answer is no as that is a function of good management. Although I do hear more and more Burmese being spoken in local restaurants and hotels.

I have found you an argument I am not obliged to find you an understanding, good luck with that

What argument did you find me?

[NoshowJones]

It's not a workforce issue, it's a productivity issue. My wife & I were eating in a burger place near Siam Center; I counted no less than 11 employees in the dining room & kitchen. We were the only customers! There were enough employees there to run 3 restaurants. If Thai workers would learn to be productive, the labor shortage would vanish.

Oh, and by the way... service was still horrible in the restaurant. o_O

Go into most of the department stores in any Thai city at almost any time and you will find the staff outnumber the customers by about 5 to 1. How some of these places remain in business I do not know.

[NoshowJones]

while the younger generation tended to spend more time studying rather than entering the workforce.

That is a new interpretation on this one.

Yes, one studies, finds the answers and the rest copy.

[PhilipCook]

Summary: The younger generation would rather study than work and when they do work they still have lower skill levels than the older generation. The retirement regulation forces people out of industry so the government should allow older workers and the government should offer tax incentives to hire senior workers. Now let's be honest with the summary: The younger generation doesn't want to work as laborers, the retirement regulation does not force companies to kick retirement age employees out of jobs but somebody wants a tax incentive for hiring senior workers. The quality of workers depends on the hiring, training, retention practices of companies. The age and experience of the employee doesn't necessarily correspond to the quality. What you have is companies grappling with automation costs vs labor cost increases and opting for increases in labor which causes a shortage. Instead companies need to implement automation to reduce the manual labor content. And low cost manual labor requirements will continue to be managed as they are now, by hiring(legally and illegally) labor from neighboring countries. If the government should be giving any tax breaks it should be for buying and implementing the use of labor saving equipment/software. Bottom Line: The government should be setting the example by automating to the fullest extent and slicing their headcount by 30%.

[daiwill60]

A couple of months ago chatting with a couple of ladies in a bar on Soi4 Bangkok, they had both been working in a factory and decided to find a higher paying job with party benefits. I asked them wwhich job do you like better, they say are you crazy working in the bar is much better than the factory, better benefits, better pay and a lot more fun.

Agreed,I have also heard the same story from the girls in Bankok sois. None would return to the electronic factories etc that they left to go working at servicing fat, balding, ageing, beer slurping farangs, so there must be something true about this . ( and yes i guess i must be one of them said farangs to some extent).

[MikeOwen]

I ate lunch at Fuji yesterday. Thai manager. Thai cooks. Thai waitresses and hostesses and bus boys. Everybody in the place Thai. Great service. Very good food. Not a long wait. Nothing but good, good, good. That is reality, this is Thailand. I was the only Farang in the restaurant the rest were Thai people. I didn't have to insult or flame you to disagree with you. If there is a service problem in a hospitality business it is the fault of management. HRIM 101.

What does apples have to do with oranges? i mean really

The service received issue and triple the amount of people working issue are few light years away.Please stop trolling in every single thread

Just for the record, Fuji has just about as much staff as the customer sits. There is staff to welcome you, staff to sit you down, staff to take your order, staff to bring out your order, staff to clean your table, staff to write a bill and staff to collect the bill. Not to mention, the cook, the cook helper, the helper for the cook helper, and the helper to help the helpers. Last time i ate there, they had 6 people working in the kitchen

I've never seen a Fuji with less than 20 people in the kitchen. Fuji is a good example of an excellent company dealing with a labor shortage in Thailand. Fuji group does a good job and they make big bucks. Sure, there is a labor shortage in Thailand because the economy is booming. That's what happens when you have a good product. If you have a crappy product you have unemployment and recession.

what are you talking about now? what does that have to do with my post and thread itself?

Now there is no doubt in my mind that you have never had a business in your life nor have you ever managed one despite your dubious claims of owning a restaurant and running holiday inn and running hilton and running US army businesses and all the rest

20 people in the kitchen is NOT over staffed for a place that sits about 50?

I'm Bored Now !!!

[cloudhopper]

55 seems odd as the mandatory retirement age for government workers is 60.

Yeah I was just going to ask - what is the deal with forced retirement in Thailand? I can see it for airline pilots where health issues might be paramount but auto workers and government clerks? Does the government micromanage every aspect of enterprise here?

What a waste of talent and experience....

[chiangmaikelly]

It's not a workforce issue, it's a productivity issue. My wife & I were eating in a burger place near Siam Center; I counted no less than 11 employees in the dining room & kitchen. We were the only customers! There were enough employees there to run 3 restaurants. If Thai workers would learn to be productive, the labor shortage would vanish.

Oh, and by the way... service was still horrible in the restaurant. o_O

Go into most of the department stores in any Thai city at almost any time and you will find the staff outnumber the customers by about 5 to 1. How some of these places remain in business I do not know.

The clerks get paid by the vendors not the department store.

[metisdead]

A completely off topic post has been removed.

[NoshowJones]

It's not a workforce issue, it's a productivity issue. My wife & I were eating in a burger place near Siam Center; I counted no less than 11 employees in the dining room & kitchen. We were the only customers! There were enough employees there to run 3 restaurants. If Thai workers would learn to be productive, the labor shortage would vanish.

Oh, and by the way... service was still horrible in the restaurant. o_O

Go into most of the department stores in any Thai city at almost any time and you will find the staff outnumber the customers by about 5 to 1. How some of these places remain in business I do not know.

The clerks get paid by the vendors not the department store.

Ok, then how do the vendors manage to stay in business? There is always only a few customers to all these clerks, It's just like the old British comedy "Are you being served" and also a few Mr Humphries charactors (Ladyboys).

[Hobnob]

It's not a workforce issue, it's a productivity issue. My wife & I were eating in a burger place near Siam Center; I counted no less than 11 employees in the dining room & kitchen. We were the only customers! There were enough employees there to run 3 restaurants. If Thai workers would learn to be productive, the labor shortage would vanish.

Oh, and by the way... service was still horrible in the restaurant. o_O

Agreed. At my local DVD rental shop they have SEVEN employees working there. I mean, <deleted> do these people do all day?

[chiangmaikelly]

It's not a workforce issue, it's a productivity issue. My wife & I were eating in a burger place near Siam Center; I counted no less than 11 employees in the dining room & kitchen. We were the only customers! There were enough employees there to run 3 restaurants. If Thai workers would learn to be productive, the labor shortage would vanish.

Oh, and by the way... service was still horrible in the restaurant. o_O

Go into most of the department stores in any Thai city at almost any time and you will find the staff outnumber the customers by about 5 to 1. How some of these places remain in business I do not know.

The clerks get paid by the vendors not the department store.

Ok, then how do the vendors manage to stay in business? There is always only a few customers to all these clerks, It's just like the old British comedy "Are you being served" and also a few Mr Humphries charactors (Ladyboys).

My ex wife worked for Chanel and Estee Lauder. I don't remember but the profit was amazing. Like 1000%.

[bender92]

I wish I could work at 7-11. Air-conditioned, can comb my hair, talk to friends, hide in the back room...

[dksharron]

You are describing my gf's nephew who is at Family Mart, and that is why he is there.

A/C

Clean working environment

Graveyard shift

He does some priming while at work

but no back room hiding

[dksharron]

Labor shortage

Simple solution

Raise wages

Attract more employees

Their labor shortage is a lack of laborers at super low wage rates, and given time, industry will ask the government to allow them to bring in more Burmese, Laos and Cambodian laborers at below minimum wage rates,

The shrimp industry is filled with many tens of thousands of Cambodians working for peanuts.

Fishing boats are full of Burmese working at slave wages.

Thai industries will want to import labor and they want to claim there is a labor shortage in order to get the allowance to bring in foreign laborers.