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Cheap LaborThailandGuru.com > History, Culture, Situation > Commentaries > Cheap LaborThe main business of Thailand Guru is "offshore labor", and we get a lot of complaints about what we are doing, judging that it is "wrong", etc. I would like to make a few points here, and also note a few things. Having run my own business in the U.S. from 1987 to 1994, and run my own businesses from 1994 to date, I can tell you from experience. Most people are just talk. They have not run their own business. We pay good Thai people more than most anyone else would pay them, as well as rewards and commissions when they go beyond their normal duties. Those who genuinely care about our customers, our business and other people in general, and who are willing to take responsibility and do their best, are a permanent member of our company family. We usually get better quality from our Thai staff than I usually got from my American staff, or that I received from companies in the U.S. when I lived there. I know the kind of careless and negligent service I have received from many (but not all, of course) Americans domestically. I do not feel sorry for those people losing their jobs because of cheaper labor overseas. They didn't care much about me or their customers, so why should I care too much? I also do not think that most good people will lose work. If they do, then I invite them to work with us, even in their Western country, finding customers there. There are two kinds of "cheap labor" -- skilled and unskilled. I will first address the less skilled "sweatshop" labor. In the cases below, I'm not talking about all people, just the majority. There are exceptions, but the following is the general rule. When I first came here, I thought that maybe they just never had an opportunity, and I gave them a chance. I encouraged some of my expat friends and colleagues to do the same. Some of the following are my own experiences, and some are of my expat associates. First, we will start with the class of young ladies working long hours at department stores like Central Department Store (20 baht per hour, or 50 cents), factories ($100/MONTH, less than Central), etc. I tried some of these because I thought they had proven their willingness to work long hours for years, and many of these had 12 years of education (high school). Most cases went something like this: I paid for English school, but they did not do homework and were often late for school or skipped out. Same for basic computer school. They were not diligent in working for me, either. Tasks would be done carelessly or negligently, and they would be late unless I reduced their salary for every minute they were late. They had to be told everything to do, even obvious things. When offered an opportunity to improve their condition, they are good talk but actually do little. Just about the most you will get out of them is rote tasks under simple and clear supervision. If they do a careless job on rote tasks, which is careless about the company and the customers, then why should the company or the general public care? Some guys tried to "save" bargirls and disco ladies. Let me say again: Those ladies know little more than having fun and "making money on their backs". They aren't worth more than that, usually. I know that sounds bad, but it's true, and if you disagree then you are welcome to put your money where your mouth is and try yourself. I know countless guys who have tried. After that, I convince the guys to not pay the prostitutes so much, because a lot of other Thais work a lot harder for a lot less money. Complaining about "sweatshops", human trafficking of prostitutes, and a lot of that "bad, mean stuff"? Well, for the vast majority of those ladies, if they weren't cheap labor for the benefit of the industrial entrepreneurs who make progress in the world, then they would be sitting around watching trash TV all day and night, and otherwise wasting their time and their lives, most of them. It's better that they contribute to the profits of the entrepreneurial class, as well as guys' recreation (sometimes to stay out of other female relationships which drain money and time). Studies into human trafficking have revealed that about 80% of Thai women who wind up as "victims" in brothels knew that they would be doing that kind of work, though they often didn't realize that they weren't getting the great deal they were promised (wages in reality are much less, debt bondage, etc.). Those who are "set free" from the overseas brothel usually go right back on their own volition, even when given opportunities otherwise (like the above). Most people have no idea what is really going on, but live in a fantasy world in which most of these women are "victims" who just didn't have better opportunities in life. This doesn't mean that I don't have sympathy for these people. However, I also look to see what the profiteers are doing with the money they make, and whether they are doing anything meaningful with it, or investing it into factories to put slightly higher class Thais to work creating useful things for customers. There is no question that there are bad people out there who do not pay what they promise. Many of them are just tricky, but not all of them. There are also two sides to every story, and in many cases they didn't get good work anyway, often losing money. Look at all the defective, careless reject products. Yes, the wages are low, but if you raise the wages, then your profits go down, you cannot afford to hire as many Thai people, and more Thais are sitting around watching TV with financial problems. For the price of one Western "couch potato", you can hire many Thai "couch noodles", putting them to work making things.
In hiring for a company, you should place an ad in the newspapers and consider only university graduates, full stop. There are far more university graduates in Thailand than there are jobs, unfortunately. Many university graduates chose an easy major field of study because they failed in a previous one, often out of self-discipline. If you need initiative or entrepreneurial abilities in your job, then you had better choose very carefully and look at track records, not listen to what they say. We have been contacted by many Thais who are experienced and proficient in office operations, working fulltime for a multinational, but who say they want to make more money and express a willingness to do whatever it takes. However, rarely will they do what they say, to make that extra money. They usually just want the extra money and start making excuses about why they don't do what they said they would do, despite incentives. It has been a frustration over and again. Thais are generally not an entrepreneurial people with initiative. Much moreso, they copy others. There are exceptions, like the current Prime Minister Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra, and many other Thais (especially Chinese Thais). However, for quality, you need to be very careful in choosing your employees and Thai partners.
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