Last week activist Srisuwan Janya filed a petition with the Office of the Ombudsman claiming that Thailand's new tallest building, MahaNakhon Tower, breached Thai laws by hiring a foreign architect to design it. He also complained that several foreign workers also run or own shops in markets around the country, a practice that is against the law.
The Thai foreign labour bills of 1978 and 1999 prohibit foreigners from holding a number of professions, including architecture, civil engineering, as well as less glamorous jobs such as tour guides, shop vendors, dress making, hair dressing, labourers, and traditional craftsmanship such as carpentry, wood carving, doll making, shoe making, silk weaving, knife making and so on (the law later made an exception for Lao, Myanmar and Cambodian nationals to be able to work as labourers and housekeepers).
On the one hand, the flow of transnational labour and idea is a reality of the modern economy -- either in architecture or manual work. On the other, the regulations that protect certain jobs for Thai nationals only, for cultural or economic reasons, are still written in the law.
Life talks to Thai and foreign workers in the fields listed as forbidden to non-Thais.
Foreign workers in Lat Phrao. Photo: Pichaya Svasti
Shop vendors
E-Phew, 26, from Yangon, Myanmar, is a sales assistant at a fish stall in a flea market in Lat Phrao. Her working hours are between 3-8 pm. She receives 7,000 baht a month, but has to pay her own expenses and medical bills. She sends a certain sum of money to her family regularly. Every year, her employer brings her to renew her registration as alien labourer and pays for the costs. In Yangon, she was paid 3,000-4,000 baht a month as a shop assistant.
"I came to Thailand four years ago to work because wages here are higher than in Myanmar," she said in a broken Thai accent.
She understands a little Thai, enough to know the prices of products and give back the correct change. She stays in her Thai employer's house not far from the market.
According to her, about 20 people from Myanmar, mostly Karens, work as shop assistants in this flea market. They speak and understand Thai better than she does because they have been working in Thailand for more than a decade.
In the same alley, a chicken rice stall opens all day and all night. Four Myanmar employees take turns to prepare and serve food for customers under the shift system. The head of the workers is B, 25, who is a Moulmein native and has been working in Thailand for a decade. She is married to a Myanmar man and has a child, who is studying in a Thai school.
"Four of us are lawfully registered Myanmar workers. My Thai employer pays for registration. We are paid 300 baht a day. We enjoy no other welfare but we have government medical care cards," B noted.
Last week, the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (ONESDB) reported the findings from a May-June survey. It has found alien workers at all levels of the commercial business in Bangkok and seven surveyed provinces (Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nong Khai, Chon Buri and Songkhla).
According to the survey, many alien workers registered as labourers become vendors instead. Most of them sell fruit, vegetables, clothes, eggs and meat. Of those, 42.9% are shop or stall owners, 45.8% are employees and 11.3% work for their families or relatives. One-third of alien vendors become shop owners after a few years of work in Thailand. Although some of them were arrested, they return to Thailand to become vendors again.
In shopping malls, non-Thais account for 6.9% of shop owners, the survey finds. In flea markets, the figure is 1.8%, while in fresh markets it is 20.9%. Nationalities are Myanmar (44.5%), Cambodian (21.4%), Laotian (19.8%), Vietnamese (4.4%), Chinese (1.6%), minority groups (5.5%) and others (2.7%).
Malee Ruangsri, 60, is a Thai dressmaker working in her own commercial building in Lat Phrao. She has been doing this job for eight years after having been a housewife and running a grocery store. She has a dressmaking certificate, but had no chance to exercise her skills until recently.
She said she hasn't seen foreign people doing the same job in the neighbourhood -- dressmaking also is on the protection list. Most of the alien workers there are sale assistants.
"The way many foreigners work here in Thailand may affect Thais. They steal a lot of job opportunities. I saw so many alien workers, especially Myanmar people, in this area."
In her opinion, there are worries about safety when hiring male alien workers. If they commit crimes, they may escape to their countries. However, she understands the fact that these migrant labourers are under a lot of pressure and paid less than Thais.
From her observation, non-Thai workers are good at sales jobs.
"Some foreigners own stalls at fresh markets. Sometimes, there are language barriers and I have to point at goods I want to buy instead. It is OK for them to work here. But if they become business owners, I'm afraid there will be negative impact on Thai workers."
-- Pichaya Svasti
Tour guides
The labour law lists professional tour guide as a reserved job only for Thai nationals, the rationale being that Thais are the most suitable to explain the country and its culture to foreigners. However, for decades, it is a known fact that there are a number of foreigners discreetly working as tourist guides here.
Wirote Sitaprasertnand, president of the Professional Tourist Guide Association of Thailand, says that foreign guides can be found coming from South Korea, China, as well as Russia. They mainly serve their clients, who cannot speak other languages. At present, while Chinese tourist arrivals are rising, a number of Chinese guides in Thailand are outnumbering illegal guides from other countries.
Here's how it works: A number of Chinese tourists visit Thailand on "zero-dollar tours", very cheap package deals in which tourists arrive here almost free but are pressured to buy overpriced goods and services. Since foreign guides cannot work in Thailand, the operators of "zero dollar tours" pay 2,000 baht a day for a certified Thai guide to work as "sitting guide", accompanying the groups just in case they are examined by tourist police. Then Chinese guides can bring their clients around to spend money in overpriced outlets, then earn extra money from the tourists' spending.
He says most cheap package tours are accompanied with foreign guides. Normally, each group spends three to five days in Thailand. So working for just two trips, the sitting guide can earn to cover the guide training cost.
"Among Chinese tourist groups, only 10% of them have Thai guides to really work as tourist guides. The remaining 90% of tourist groups have "sitting guides" accompanying the group."
Wirote admits that inadequate quality tourist guides are among the reasons that force inbound tour operators to let foreign guides work in Thailand.
Today, there are around 60,000 certified Thai guides across the Kingdom. Each year, universities and tourism-related bodies can supply around 2,000 certified guides into the industry. But their quality remains in doubt.
"Nobody cares to improve skills of Thai professional guides," he says "I hope when the government is successful to control the zero-dollar tours, it is time to improve the quality of Thai guides, from language skills, discipline, to moral."
-- Peerawat Jariyasombat
Thai hairdressers can run their own independent salon to make a good living. Photo: Kanokporn Chanasongkram
Hairdressers
For kawaii curls or a K-Pop cut, one might want to get the cool hairdo fashioned by Japanese and Korean stylists practising somewhere in the middle of Bangkok, said to be in the Sukhumvit area.
"It is against the law for foreigners to work as hairdressers," stressed Panipa Pavanarit, founder president of Intercoiffure Thailand. "However, they can work here as educators or owners of salon businesses. In addition, if married to a Thai, foreigners can apply for a special permit to work as hairdressers."
It's actually a popular profession among Thais, whose creativity and skills are coupled with service mindedness for a rewarding career.
"Hairdressers can easily find jobs in salons or set up an independent business after taking a course and gaining experience," said the veteran hairdresser.
The law remains current to secure jobs for Thai hairdressers, she added, since they have less opportunities in providing services overseas. "Some countries require a working licence. English is also an important issue in working abroad as communication with clients is very important," she said.
Thai hairdressers at the two branches of Paris Spa in Bangkok undertake continuous training conducted by Eric Hupel, who's been working with the upscale spa for 15 years.
As JF Lazartigue hair expert, the Frenchman is now more of a haircare adviser to clients but in his younger years, he practised hairstyling in his native land.
"Every country has its own professional regulations, and Thai hairstylists can work in France as long as they can pass exams and obtain a license," said Hupel.
"Thais have a fashion sense that can be creatively applied to hairstyling. A better hairdressing education system can push them further as professionals of an international standard that will open more opportunities for them to practise overseas."
While the law restricts an influx of foreign hairdressers, Jinjuta Prasopsuk welcomes those from neighbouring countries since we're now in the Asean Economic Community era.
"I had Vietnamese and Burmese hairdressers working at my salon. I don't mind that as long as they work hard and have the skills," said Jinjuta, who has been running the Silpsupha Salon in Klong Chan for 15 years.
At the age of 40, the former state enterprise employee switched to a profession that allows her to do what she always wanted to do -- primping people's tresses -- while earning a reasonable livelihood plus total job satisfaction.
-- Kanokporn Chanasongkram
