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.
Keywords
management, labor force, foreign laborers
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY
Published by : Association of Agricultural Technology in Southeast Asia (AATSEA) Contributions welcome at : http://www.ijat-aatsea.com
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