Wage hike draws foreign workers

Published: 7 Jan 2013 at 18.22
Online news: News

Many provinces from the Northeast to the South are feeling the pinch of the government's new wage policy which has begun to attract workers from neighbouring countries seeking jobs in Thailand.

A construction-material store in Phitsanulok province is in need of workers with 300-baht-daily wage. (Photo by Chinnawat Singha)

Police in Buri Ram province have arrested 208 illegal immigrants, 80% of them Cambodians, over the past four days starting Jan 1 after the 300-baht daily wage took effect across the country, said Pol Maj Gen Rattapong Yimyai, the provincial police chief. The rest were from Laos and Myanmar, he added.

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bkk-farang
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Discussion 19 : 08 Jan 2013 at 12.4219
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@judge #18: is it possible that your view is restricted to Thailand? How will a factory in Thailand compete with a competitor in a country with cheaper workers? If Thais are working better and/or more for their money: fine. But if not then this factory will sooner or later close in Thailand because they can’t just sell their product for more on the global market.
I would be happy if all Thais earn at least 500B a day. But they have to earn it by being more efficient, otherwise they and Thailand will lose against foreign competition.
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judge
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Discussion 18 : 08 Jan 2013 at 10.2918
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I wonder that nobody sees the real problem. Even if factories will pay B300/day to a thai or immigrant the bosses wont lose, they will just rise the price of their products and things will be more expensive, so that the 300 will be insufficient for living
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Eric
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Discussion 17 : 08 Jan 2013 at 10.2417
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Dis#6, ain't you bit over dramatic. Even with mobility of labour after AEC, workers still have to be registered as legal. In this way, the authority can still control and manage the inflow.
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boons
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Discussion 16 : 08 Jan 2013 at 09.5316
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Sad irony: Workers come from abroad looking for higher paying jobs. But when they get here, they find businesses leaving Thailand looking for cheaper labor.

The only ultimate results of the minimum wage hike will be:

* Fewer labor oriented businesses in Thailand.

* Rising structural unemployment in Thailand as jobs leave.

*A short term spike in consumption and markets.

* Long term structural inflation as stimulus and credit creation are used successively in an effort to fight unemployment.

We've seen this movie before. It ends badly.
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bkk-farang
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Discussion 15 : 08 Jan 2013 at 08.2715
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I guess we have to congratulate this government for fulfilling their promise of the 300B minimum wage. Now if next time our politicians make a promise they ask some experts first if this would make any sense (economical, not for getting votes) that would be even better. But I won’t hold my breath to see that happening in Thailand.
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debate101
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Discussion 14 : 08 Jan 2013 at 08.2014
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How about interviewing some workers once in a while for their perspectives on the minimum wage increase? All I ever see here are the opinions of business owners and economists.
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jacksprat
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Discussion 13 : 08 Jan 2013 at 08.1513
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Why aren't military conscripts paid 300 baht a day too? They can't quit. Let them pay for their own meals too, if that bothers you. Might actually encourage enlisting.
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arch
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Discussion 12 : 08 Jan 2013 at 07.4412
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And our geniuses in charge never saw that coming?
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djay
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Discussion 11 : 08 Jan 2013 at 07.4311
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So let's see if I have this right. Factory owners in Thailand are going to hire illegal alliens to work in their factories. And to make certain they are keeping with the law those same factory owners are going to pay those people, who are here illegally, the legal minimum wage. Okay, got it now.
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upena
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Discussion 10 : 08 Jan 2013 at 07.2610
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The Tourism Authority of Thailand should love this since each legal migrant that crosses the border into Thailand is counted as a tourist by UNWTO standard (anyone entering a country for whatever reason for less than one year is a tourist. Should skyrocket the number of foreign "tourist" arrivals.
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Wage hike draws foreign workers | Bangkok Post: business