Plan to inspect foreign businesses in Phuket

Tanyaluk Sakoot

Phuket Provincial Employment office chief Yaowapa Pibulpol.

PHUKET: -- Phuket and Bangkok officials will create a plan next week to check foreign-operated businesses on the island, the chief of the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) said yesterday (February 7).

PPEO chief Yaowapa Pibulpol told The Phuket News that a team of officials, including Phuket Governor Maitree Intusut, Phuket’s vice governors, police, employment and labour office officials , will start making plans next week to inspect the businesses.

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They would be checking for work permits for foreigners and inspecting the details of any Thai shareholders.

“We will start to plan and organise teams to inspect all three districts – Muang, Thalang and Kathu,” she said.

The PPEO held a conference for Thai businesspeople yesterday (February 7) at the Merlin Hotel in Phuket Town, to inform business owners about the laws about hiring foreigners, work permits, and the employment act and laws.

Immigration officer Pol Lt Col Suban Krutpan spoke about the immigration laws, and outlined the process foreigners needed to go through to work in Thailand.

Department of Employment lawyer Tipakon Wutthiprecha gave more details about foreigners working in Thailand.

Ms Yaowapa said the officials would visit businesses only in groups – and warned that anyone who arrived alone claiming to be from of the departments involved in the checks might be a fake.

“We encourage people to take photos of these people and inform the police immediately by calling 191, because they might be cheating people.”

Source: http://www.thephuket...huket-36922.php

-- The Phuket News 2013-02-08

But the Tuk Tuk mafia rob tourists on the roads,

Jet-ski operators rob tourists on the beaches.

And their main concern is foreign owned businesses?

Very Thai.

Didn't somebody get nabbed for working without a WP already?

Oh you pathetic individuals of provincial government. Why not take a look inside yourselves first as the criminal activities in Phuket propagated by Thai's far outweighs anything you will discover with Farang owned businesses.

Ms Yaowapa said the officials would visit businesses only in groups – and warned that anyone who arrived alone claiming to be from of the departments involved in the checks might be a fake.

“We encourage people to take photos of these people and inform the police immediately by calling 191, because they might be cheating people.”

What on Earth does she mean?

Surely she is not implying that people who are not genuine officials may be asking for bribes.

Because we wouldn't want the poor farang business owner to use up all his tea money on the wrong group, would we?

Edited February 8, 201313 yr by JetsetBkk

Ms Yaowapa said the officials would visit businesses only in groups – and warned that anyone who arrived alone claiming to be from of the departments involved in the checks might be a fake.

“We encourage people to take photos of these people and inform the police immediately by calling 191, because they might be cheating people.”

What on Earth does she mean?

Surely she is not implying that people who are not genuine officials may be asking for bribes.

Because we wouldn't want the poor farang business owner to use up all his tea money on the wrong group, would we?

I have heard there are a lot of gangsters in Phuket that shake down businesses, particularly foreign owned ones. They can come around pretending to collect for a charity or pretending to be government officials. Thai staff know they are gangsters extorting protection money and usually advice foreign bosses to pay them off. So why not genuine government officials coming for a piece of the pie too?

Edited February 8, 201313 yr by Arkady

This whole thing, based on the protest of a group of tuk tuk and van thugs that prey on tourists, is pathetic.

Arresting foreigners who have no work permits is a fair cop but there is no need to harass companies with foreign shareholders as well. Of course most of the illegal foreign workers in Phuket are Burmese working for exploitive Thai companies that avoid paying the minimum wage in construction, fishing and other dirty jobs the Thais refuse to do. However, this is not being mentioned and they clearly have no intention of going after them.

It's about time foreign embassies started to accuse Thailand as racialists, because this is what they are.

Looks like alot of money to be made from these inspections!!!!

There is a serious Russian issue in Phuket right now... (and in Pattaya too).

In Phuket all Thais are in competition with Russian mostly illegal businesses and are loosing business and money. Transportation, shops, massage and even prostitution.

We will see more and more of these operations until the Russians understands that some businesses are mean to be operated by Thais. If the authority does not act, the street will act in blood.

I would advise other governments worldwide to do the same with thai owned businesses. I am afraid that the Thai culture and commerce ministers will shout out loud that it is racist. Not so in Thailand where you may bully foreign owned tax paying businesses and have to leave local tax dodging business alone.

This whole thing, based on the protest of a group of tuk tuk and van thugs that prey on tourists, is pathetic.

Arresting foreigners who have no work permits is a fair cop but there is no need to harass companies with foreign shareholders as well. Of course most of the illegal foreign workers in Phuket are Burmese working for exploitive Thai companies that avoid paying the minimum wage in construction, fishing and other dirty jobs the Thais refuse to do. However, this is not being mentioned and they clearly have no intention of going after them.

Please explain to me what Thai tour company would be stupid enough to have foreign shareholders? Its not hard for the authorities to work out that any tour company with foreign shareholders is actually owned by the foreigners stated in the business licence. If it was a legitimate Thai business the Thai person would just rent a shop house and set up the company without any foreign shareholders

Why is the lady in the photo smiling like a cat that just licked all the cream? I see that same look on strange women most mornings when I wake up after a night in Patong

Only the illegal Farang need worry.

What's the problem.

Unless your one of them.

Will they also check Thai businesses to see if they, too, are legal or not?

There ye go, all the alien nominees who live in a house owned by a "Thai" company with Thai "shareholders"

It's about time foreign embassies started to accuse Thailand as racialists, because this is what they are.

It's their country.

Only the illegal Farang need worry.

What's the problem.

Unless your one of them.

That what the Christians said in Nazi Germany when they were shipping out the Jews, we all know what happened to them.

I don't think people are worried about being illegal, you are putting a spin on what was said or don't understand

I think people are concerned that the government are totally ignoring the real problems like protection rackets, extortion of tourists, corruption, the abuse of Burmese workers, etc, I could go on and on

And I think what worries people the most is that a Carlo Gambino type outfit started this all. If that does not make you think twice then you must be from somewhere that has really brainwashed you.

So no real action being taken on ending billion baht corruption but they have mobilized a small army to investigate foregin businesses.

This whole thing, based on the protest of a group of tuk tuk and van thugs that prey on tourists, is pathetic.

Arresting foreigners who have no work permits is a fair cop but there is no need to harass companies with foreign shareholders as well. Of course most of the illegal foreign workers in Phuket are Burmese working for exploitive Thai companies that avoid paying the minimum wage in construction, fishing and other dirty jobs the Thais refuse to do. However, this is not being mentioned and they clearly have no intention of going after them.

Please explain to me what Thai tour company would be stupid enough to have foreign shareholders? Its not hard for the authorities to work out that any tour company with foreign shareholders is actually owned by the foreigners stated in the business licence. If it was a legitimate Thai business the Thai person would just rent a shop house and set up the company without any foreign shareholders

Your comment gives the idea that all Thai travel/tour companies are tin pot small operations, that quite clearly is not the case, check the stock exchange of Thailand under the travel sector.

In Thailand if someone wants to open a business he may not have all the money required, so he raises money and in return the investor gets a shareholding in the company or a loan note.

Also let's say a Thai travel company wants to bring more tourists from say Russia, he may offer the Russian company a share of his business so they can spilt the profits more evenly, happens all the round the world.

I don’t understand what's so hard to understand about that, it's the same all round the world.

I would advise other governments worldwide to do the same with thai owned businesses. I am afraid that the Thai culture and commerce ministers will shout out loud that it is racist. Not so in Thailand where you may bully foreign owned tax paying businesses and have to leave local tax dodging business alone.

Well I suspect there aren't that many Thai's in other countries, other than young ladies married to foreigners, and they likely are not working.

The reason Thailand has so many laws against foreigners working in Thailand is to make sure Thai's have jobs. A good foreign worker would potentially put a few Thai's out of work. So the only jobs they really want foreigners to do is teaching English or doing manual labor on the cheap.

I am all for protectionism. Let the USA implement protectionism like Thailand does (and Japan, Korea, China) and the rest of the world would be crippled. Let's see what is made in Thailand and imported to the USA? All kinds of computer componets, look at your harddrive or CD rom, (how about rice) etc. let the US put a 200% import duty on those things and watch how fast manufacturing starts up in the USA. Same for an iPhone, iPad, Galaxy S3, etc.

Man, if they did this crap in the USA, they would arrest half the population!

I guess the only resident farang wanted is the true retiree with lots of baht.

Given that Russians are one of the largest tourist groups visiting Thailand, it makes sense that the resident Russians are catering to their fellow country men and women. Any profiling is a dangerous practice and usually has many backlashes. There is room for everyone, and competition brings value to the end consumer,but that kind of long term thinking isn't on anyone's mindset of immediacy!

Yes, we know it's their country. No s@#t Sherlock! That doesn't mean that what they are doing is right.

Saying "it's their country" is the tired, lame comment we hear far too much of on this site. It usually comes from the kind of person that has no problem with Eastern European immigrants milking the system in our own Western countries.

It's about time foreign embassies started to accuse Thailand as racialists, because this is what they are.

It's their country.

How dare many of these foreign businesses give value for money and not rip off people.

Wohoo! Yet another way to make it harder for foreigners to immigrate to this country which would in turn increase the quality of living here in thailand.

Actually im curious about something. If someone does online freelance work without any local clients... do you still need a work permit?

Edited February 9, 201313 yr by bangarang

It's about time foreign embassies started to accuse Thailand as racialists, because this is what they are.

And the news is?