Building trouble: Chinese workers nailed for illegal jobs in Bangkok
Bangkok police officers arrested five Chinese nationals for working illegally as construction workers. They were earning 2,200 baht per day, significantly higher than Thailand’s minimum wage and the standard pay rate for legal construction workers.
Officers from Huay Kwang Police Station received a complaint about illegal Chinese workers at a construction site in the Huay Kwang neighbourhood of Bangkok on Saturday, December 14. The site was an old building undergoing renovation.
Police immediately raided the construction site and found the reported illegal workers. They were identified as 36 year old Li Guohao, 61 year old Li Kaowen, 58 year old Li Dergao, 41 year old Feng Guayan, and 34 year old Tang Xianiao.
All five Chinese men entered Thailand legally on tourist visas, which allowed them to stay and travel but not to work. Upon questioning, it was revealed that each of them earned 450 yuan per day, or about 2,200 baht.
This wage was considered very high compared to Thailand’s minimum wage, which ranges from 330 to 370 baht per day, depending on the province.
Legal construction workers, especially migrant workers from neighbouring countries, typically earn wages starting at the minimum rate. For junior-level employees in private organisations, monthly salaries range from 15,000 to 20,000 baht, or approximately 500 to 666 baht per day.
The high wages offered to illegal Chinese workers raised questions among Thai netizens as to why the construction contractor chose to employ illegal workers at such a high rate instead of hiring legal Thai workers.
The five Chinese nationals were charged under Sections 8 and 101 of the Emergency Decree on Foreigners’ Working Management for working without a work permit. The penalties include a fine of 5,000 to 50,000 baht, deportation, and a two-year ban on applying for a work permit.
In a related case reported in August, 15 Chinese nationals were arrested in the central province of Chantaburi for working illegally on a construction site. One of the suspects admitted to working illegally as a construction contractor and hiring other illegal Chinese and Burmese workers for the project.
