Asean chief warns firms of labour shortage

• Published: 10/03/2012 at 03:02 AM  ...

The Asean secretary-general is worried about a shortage of Myanmar labourers in Thailand after the launch of the Asean Economic Community in 2015.

Surin Pitsuwan said Myanmar would probably take back its labourers working in neighbouring countries, particularly Thailand, to work in its three new economic zones.
"A lot of Thai businesses that have relied heavily on Myanmar labourers could be in trouble," he said.

Mr Surin was speaking yesterday to staff of the Administrative Court about the AEC situation and the changes in Thailand.

He called on Thai factories to focus on upgrading to modern technologies to help develop their businesses so they will not face difficulties if they do not have Myanmar labourers working for them.

Mr Surin also urged Thai business operators, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, to expand their businesses into other Asean countries before the start of the economic community.

He said the government must play a greater role in backing these business operators to invest in other Asean countries. Under the AEC they could take advantage of tax-free offers, cheap labour and natural resources.

"We must develop our Thai people and change their mindset as it is not enough to compete only against one another in Thailand," Mr Surin said.

He said an emerging phenomenon happening in several Asean countries is the merger of businesses. Operators in the region cannot expect to run their businesses only in their home towns but should expand to other countries.

The AEC, which will be effective within three years, will make intra-Asean business mergers inevitable as operators need to survive, he said.

Mr Surin said he wanted to see a new generation of Thai people know how to seek business opportunities in other Asean markets.

He said he had discussed this matter with the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Thai Industries Association.

He said Asean people now have more purchasing power but need a better quality of life, safety and consumption.

Last year, investment capital in Asean totalled about US$80 billion, of which 70% poured into the service sector in areas such as logistics, intercommunication, education, health, tourism and entertainment.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/283696/asean-chief-warns-firms-of-labour-shortage