Management of agricultural labor force: The case of foreign workers

Abstract

On the conditions of foreign workers in the agricultural sector in Chiang Mai province, the study showed that the current tendency on the number of foreign workers from Myanmar was increasing. This were attributed to the following causes: the agricultural labor comprising of senior people is increasing; educated young agricultural workers are moving to the industrial sector; agricultural production costs, local labor wages are increasing. Therefore, the farmers chose the option of importing foreign workers so as to decrease the investment costs for agricultural production.On the factors affecting management of foreign labor in the agricultural sector the study showed that foreign workers in the agricultural sector which are Shan Tai of Myanmar were classified into three types according to the labor payment rates as follows: 1) monthly salaries, 2) daily wages, and 3) contractual payment. Assigned work were mostly planting, spraying with chemical pesticides, and harvesting. Foreign workers in majority moving toward agricultural sector came to work legally and another number came illegally. The employer in majority registered them at the Labor Department, however since registration was costly and entailed rigorous processing some employers protected themselves from laborers already registered and moving to another workplace by avoiding the registration process. The guidelines that were formed in solving problems regarding management of foreign workers in the agricultural sector were as follows: 1) farmers employing foreign workers should have knowledge on general principles of law on foreign labor employment;  2) as to the extension workers, they should take part in training these workers or extending agricultural technology and innovation that can be used practically in the area /farm and, 3) as to the government sector, they should support registration of the workers, passports possession and proven citizenship to attract more foreign workers to work legally in the agricultural sector.