The truth really does hurt

[kannot]

Employ burmese workers, they'll be more than content on a 18,000 baht salary. Thailand is getting richer and richer, Thais dont want to those manual labor jobs anymore, thats why more and more people are resorting to hire Burmese workers.

Hmmmm many of them have been Burmese BUT even the Burmese now are going for gas station jobs, security guards etc and found them mostly to be the same , want money for nothing.

[Beetlejuice]

Interesting!

What type of work and how skilled do they need to be?

Yes, the wages sound very reasonable if you're in the rural North.

To be honest this is a dream turning sour slowly, i thought buy some land get some staff sit back and enjoy growing trees,

Reality is have ended up doing it all myself which is no joke, Im not the only one, my Wife thought the same, shes is seeing how lazy people are "now" want everything but want to do nothing for it, her words..

Im in Sam Roi Yot area inland 16km form the sea RURAL, checked the locals for staff prices, the work is simple, see ANY weed pull it out, feed fish twice a day once in morning once at night ( they get free fish too 60cm long), water trees once a day. cut hedge once a week..................doesnt need a brain surgery degree does it.

Not only that to make it easy for them we have petrol hedge cutter, sprinklers grass strimmers.

What weve also told them is "look its hot working on the land" they can choose the hours they work, we suggested 6 am to 10 am then 3pm to 7pm but up to them but 8 hours a day 6 days a week.

It is because the Thais are wising up.

These days they prefer legitimate employments that covers them for insurance in the case of accidents and sickness, proper registered paid wages that includes them in the Thai social security and pension schemes, are paid during the official holidays and time off with pay for personal holidays per year.

It`s 9000 baht per month, no matter even if you try to make it sound more attractive by explaining this as 18000 baht for two persons, which in today`s terms 9000 baht and a free bowl of rice is no big deal for full time employment. In fact they can probably earn more per year by working officially on rice farms, picking fruits during the lum yai season and working other jobs in-between, that many of the locals do down my way.

Also if I were you, I would not advertise too much the area where you and your wife are operating your illegal business on land you are not entitled to own, which makes your whole argument totally academic in the first place.

.

[Walter Travolta]

I'll do it for 20k and I wont ask for the use of a vehicle . . . .

COS THEY WONT GIVE ME A DRIVING LICENSE AAAARRRGGHHHH!!

[Thongkorn]

I Stayed in Ranong for a few months, I lived with a poor Thai family, the Man who i called papa was 70 and still going to work in the Jungles, chopping down condemned trees, He was still working hard the last i heard of him , so there are some good workers, Finding them is the problem , but once you find them they will stay.

[Rocketsurgeon]

I think you are paying a fair wage for rural Thailand. Try b350 a day plus expenses.

It is brutal hot now, the inclination to work would not be in the heat of the day.

Maybe also if they have a little house, they hsve misc chores. When they live outside, family helps support that also.

They are never going to get wealthy by breaking their backs so if there is plenty of work and high demand for their labor...

[Mr Somtam]

My Wife wants to know this

The Thais used to work the land, then moved into gas stations and Tesco and security guards, now she says those jobs are more often being done by Burmese and wonders what all the Thais have moved on to?

Hammocks...

[PattayaPhom]

Id be a muulti billionair if could get staff...the cold fact is its impossible regardless of pay or condtions. Took the decision years ago to just turn customers away or recommend to someone else as havnt the staff to deal with them...such a shame.

[Sydebolle]

Why do you think all bigger cooperations are moving OUT of Thailand; Samsung, LG, Panasonic .........

I would never ever touch a business depending on local labour ever again - I got my fingers nicely (and very expensively) burnt.

If AEC2015 will bring the long overdue relief is yet to be seen. If Thailand allows ASEAN-citizen to work and reside in the Kingdom then you'll see millions of Thais out of work for good in six months which will create unrest and possibly civil war. If Thailand "defacilitates" the treaties then lots of business will be reconsidered and many will move. Either way they are shafted; the mistakes started long long ago by overprotecting Thais from the real world and keep them as a herd of uneducated underlings on the "fun and games" mode - how sad!

[SOTIRIOS]

....you have the answer before your eyes....

...your logic evades me.......

..nice = stupid.......

...if they work for 6 months....they have saved up enough to not have to work for 6 months....

...I would do the same if I was in their position.....

...but that having been said.....no incentive...no rapport......almost no way to get around it.....

...we come here with good intentions and end up in a bind any way we turn......

...then we are criticized .......blamed.......slandered......or worse.........

[klauskunkel]

they need a uniform...with ranking on shoulder piece...start low with 'Grounds Corporal 1st class', then move up year by year to 'Commander in Chief of Farang Land'...should get many years of steady and reliable work from a guy ( )

[BKKdreaming]

my Thai friend has only Burmese workers now , the Thai workers have all gone to do easy jobs...

He teaches his workers a trade and the young burmese are happy to learn...

will they be around in 2 years.....doubtful

But its the same in the USA , except for Mexicians it is hard to find anyone that wants to do outdoor work.....

That is why most places are buying machines,,,,,,

and maybe you need to make a machine fish feeder , and a couple other things so that the work does not have to be done everyday

[gandalf12]

Silly question but how many hours a day do you expect from them?

[Balance]

Interesting!

What type of work and how skilled do they need to be?

Yes, the wages sound very reasonable if you're in the rural North.

To be honest this is a dream turning sour slowly, i thought buy some land get some staff sit back and enjoy growing trees,

Reality is have ended up doing it all myself which is no joke, Im not the only one, my Wife thought the same, shes is seeing how lazy people are "now" want everything but want to do nothing for it, her words..

Im in Sam Roi Yot area inland 16km form the sea RURAL, checked the locals for staff prices, the work is simple, see ANY weed pull it out, feed fish twice a day once in morning once at night ( they get free fish too 60cm long), water trees once a day. cut hedge once a week..................doesnt need a brain surgery degree does it.

Not only that to make it easy for them we have petrol hedge cutter, sprinklers grass strimmers.

See what you mean. Had similar experiences for getting people to do skilled and unskilled building work.

I'm in the Bangkok area. People refused outright to do some rather heavy and dirty work, like digging trenches for draining land that is inaccessible to machinery. For more skilled work, rarely did tradesmen turn up with proper tools. I had several people running away after a few hours work --without even taken any pay-- when things turned not to go to plan (as it sometimes can happen in construction).

I spoke to some Thais who also to tried to get reliable workers. Same story! I'm under the impression their is a severe shortage of manual workers. This makes it possible that people can be choosy. I think a remote location can aggravate the problem as there are just not enough people to do the work.

Problems with lack of labor go back to the 16th Century when wars were started to kidnap people and relocate them. Much of Issan was populated by large military campaigns into Lao and massive resettlement schemes. Much of the power wielded by early Ayutthaya kings hinged on who controlled the labor in the outlying provinces and who could mobilize it for military or construction needs of the the Court. It was not until Rama I that universal rules were established, including the "marking of the people" whereby all freeman would be tattooed with their name, name of their master and where they lived. Under these these rules every male owned 3 months labor to the crown.

As Burma begins to open up to foreign investment it is likely that a large slice of the labor that Thailand has come to depend on will vanish. My wife wanted to start a small restaurant here in Chiang Mai, but after she could not get family or lifelong friends to come and work she abandoned the idea.

[Fallangpakwan]

Makes me think of all the useless a...holes back in my home country who live and breed on the dole for generations.

[yellowboat]

Your plight may be the reason why Thais hire Cambodians or Burmese .

[neeray]

This sounds a lot like the part time people I hire here in Canada (who I pay higher than my competitors do).

Bottom end jobs are tough to fill !

[smudger1951]

I`d like to apply for the job but a Englishman can't work in this country.

[tinhead]

Take quick trip to Vietnam or Cambodia. Bring back staff to work those jobs. Wage expectation is lower, skills and willingness to work are much better, and you'll be happier overall.

[NickJ]

Crazy....The biggest peoblem is with labor. I lived in Sam Roi Yad for 10 years. At first it was easy to hire a maid. Have the yard and pool done all by one person. Then after a few years it was next to impossible to find any help. I just did everything myself.

The next stage was when the local tradesmen , electricians or builders, painters started sub contracting jobs out and the work quadrupled in cost.

Forget about opening a restaurant or other business as you wont be able to find help. I had a friend that had a great place but had to close because of staff. He was paying 400 b a day plus plus. Work was easy as well.

[kennypowers]

Perhaps you should just do it yourself, or get family members to chip in. Would you do that job for 9k a month (18k for 2 people)? Would you be enthusiastic?

I mean, not exactly going to create a better like is it? Can't save for a pension, can't get private health care, can't send the kids to a private school, can't eat out at restaurants, go to the cinema, bowling, can't go on a family holiday, can't pay a monthly payment on a car.

The wage might be higher than what is normally paid for this job, but it still isn't a fair wage and represents everything that is wrong with this country and indeed so many others.

[Morakot]

Do you have air conditioning on your land? That might help.

Yes and that's what it looks like.

[nahkit]

Perhaps you should just do it yourself, or get family members to chip in. Would you do that job for 9k a month (18k for 2 people)? Would you be enthusiastic?

I mean, not exactly going to create a better like is it? Can't save for a pension, can't get private health care, can't send the kids to a private school, can't eat out at restaurants, go to the cinema, bowling, can't go on a family holiday, can't pay a monthly payment on a car.

The wage might be higher than what is normally paid for this job, but it still isn't a fair wage and represents everything that is wrong with this country and indeed so many others.

So you think an unqualified labourer working on the land should receive a salary that will allow them to send their children to private school?

Go to the cinema, bowling - have you ever been anywhere near rural Thailand?

[Bung]

You could try whipping them or buy them a mobile phone so they can sit around all day and chat on Facebook and line which is what most people here strive to do.

[whiteman]

I have been very lucky had a new house built a year ago by Thais ( THE BUILDER WAS THERE EVERY DAY) making sure his all Thai workers who have been with him for years followed his directions. House drives lawns you name it was built in 6 months. To date no leaks or cracks my partner is rapped and so am I. On another note her 35 year old brother has worked for us for 5 years. He is a great cook cleaner odd job man cleans the 2 cars does the lawns and the garden with my wifes help she runs her own school on the one rai (was a nurse b4 and is still qualified) She keeps a strict note of his hours he works and we pay him 320 per day div by 8 hours if he works less he gets paid less and more he gets more . He turns up every day 7 days a week but the weekends just cleans and cooks for 3 hours each day weekend so 6 hours over two days.

I also give him and extra 1000 bhat per month for his rent where he lives with his wife and 6 year old son he has the use of a motor bike 24/7 which he pays for his own petrol. I also have him covered for health cover and I pay max 10000 bhat for his sons education per year. He has been told that any thing over that when he gets older he himself has to cover. He has holidays off some I will pay for others I do not it depends on which holiday.

I treat him and his family with respect as they do me. His wife is a hairdresser and runs her one girl shop. I go there and get my hair cut and washed 80 bhat. Any old furniture we do not want we give to them and also he has bought off me and paid from his wagers monthly a older laptop and tv and a motor bike for his wife all paId off by him. So they are out there Thais that is that will work. I live in a high so resort on one ria that I have 30 year lease on reg at the gov dept with my name on it in Chon Buri Sri Racha. We know we are very lucky to have him but it may also help that I am a nice person not saying the op and his wife ar not. My partner and I have been together for over 11 years and have no children but many pets 3 dogs 7 cats which the brother also helps to look after. I am retired

Edited May 23, 2015 by whiteman

[Morakot]

Take quick trip to Vietnam or Cambodia. Bring back staff to work those jobs. Wage expectation is lower, skills and willingness to work are much better, and you'll be happier overall.

Yes, I'd agree generally, but not sure if this could work for such a small operation. If you run a larger reputable company and turn up with a coach for taking 50 people back it should be no problem.

It'd be nice to hear if someone managed to do this for less than 5 people.

[Just1Voice]

About 2 years ago my wife and I hired a Myanmar girl as a housekeeper, 3 days a week, 300 baht a day. Before her, we had 2 Thai, both mid 30's and dead bone lazy and totally worthless. Each lasted less than two weeks.

Ok, at first I was concerned as she was only 25, very pretty, and speaks better English than most Thai I know, and has a great sense of humor.

She's still with us, at 350 a day, and I wouldn't trade her for any 5 Thai housekeepers I could think of. For her, my wife is Pi Kae, and I'm Lune Dean, and she truly is like a part of our family.

[kannot]

Perhaps you should just do it yourself, or get family members to chip in. Would you do that job for 9k a month (18k for 2 people)? Would you be enthusiastic?

I mean, not exactly going to create a better like is it? Can't save for a pension, can't get private health care, can't send the kids to a private school, can't eat out at restaurants, go to the cinema, bowling, can't go on a family holiday, can't pay a monthly payment on a car.

The wage might be higher than what is normally paid for this job, but it still isn't a fair wage and represents everything that is wrong with this country and indeed so many others.

It appears you have never employed staff in Thailand from this answer and have no idea of salaries, the salary is better than what anyone else is paying they could easily save well over half of that and most likely all of it, would you like to see their house? this was there house BEFORE they all decided they simply could not ne bothered to take care of it, second picture is their house now which requires NO cleaning on their part as they seemed unable to keep it clean. Free motorbike with Free fuel also so the 18k incudes , rice, electric, water, tv, fish, any vegetables on the land inc mango papaya banana lemon grass and a few others, they don't have any travel expenses or accommodation expenses or services bills.

Oh yeah I built t his staff house alone no help at all, all the work on the land I have also done at sometime so I know how hard/easy the job is,,,,,,,,,its EASY

[Jimbob1]

I was paying a worker to water trees and take care of my place as I am in Oz and trip back to my land every 6 months ...

Paid up-front and when I got back all the trees I was trying to establish were dead and it looks to me like nothing was done and only on hearing I was going to be back he spent a couple of days straightening up to make it look like it was well kept.

After this I have had a re-think about things and decided that if I want things done I need to AUTOMATE ... set up and irrigation system on a timer and in your case you can get automatic feeders for the fish ...

The money spent on setting it up maybe more than paying someone wages right now but it will more than pay for itself down the track.

[LivinLOS]

I have been very lucky had a new house built a year ago by Thais ( THE BUILDER WAS THERE EVERY DAY) making sure his all Thai workers who have been with him for years followed his directions. House drives lawns you name it was built in 6 months. To date no leaks or cracks my partner is rapped and so am I.

Where in the country is this unicorn ??

[kannot]

You could try whipping them or buy them a mobile phone so they can sit around all day and chat on Facebook and line which is what most people here strive to do.

They have free internet access too, we give them these things in the hope they will stay and relieve any boredom of being away from others, it doesn't appear to work