Shopkeepers are taking complaints about employee shortages to the government, calling on the junta to allow foreigners from Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar to work in some jobs currently restricted to Thai nationals only.
According to Khaosod, the Group of Entrepreneurs with Foreign Workers are planning on taking an online petition to the labor ministry to allow foreigners to work in retail shop positions and nail salons.
All complained that they were struggling to find Thai staff as locals did not want to work in lower paid, basic jobs and that even when they did hire Thai staff they would often leave shortly after.
One man noted that he’d settle for retail and salon work becoming legal – with conditions including migrant workers could work in shop fronts but not own them, and foreign nail salon employees could only do cleaning and painting.
Thailand has an unemployment rate of approximately one percent and with an aging workforce there are fears that the economy may suffer in coming years due to further employee shortages.
