SEZs may lead to 'labour shortage, local conflicts'

The shortage of labour could stem from decreasing birth rates in Southeast Asia, as the average number of children per family has fallen from six to 1.4, Viroj Narong, a director at the Thailand Development Research Institute Foundation, said at a Bangkok seminar.
He said improving economies in neighbouring countries were affecting the Thai labour market – as more workers were staying home.
In regard to the use of Article 44 of the interim charter to reportedly drive people from forestland so the SEZs can be set up, Viroj believed the government seems to have a big picture view of the matter without considering the details.
He said industries at the SEZs could affect local water supplies.
Another speaker at the seminar, Siam Intelligence Unit think-tank analyst Kan Yuenyong, said the SEZs’ focus on labour-intensive industries was outdated for Thailand.
He said such industries would be moved to neighbouring countries very soon, as nations like Myanmar and Vietnam were developing their infrastructure and were reportedly more friendly to international businesses.
The Thai government should focus on developing value-added products, start-up businesses and innovative and technology-savvy industries, he said.
Northern Agriculture Associa-tion adviser Prayong Doklamjan said the government had chosen Tak’s Mae Sot district as the site for one SEZ as it believed only three households with land-right documents in the 2,193 rai (351 hectare) area would be affected.
But in fact, he said many people had lived in the conserved forestland for years and were being accused of encroaching on the land.
Prayong urged the authorities to hear the concerns of locals over the SEZ and an environmental impact assessment-like report should be conducted.
“If the SEZ results in local people losing their careers, changing their way of life, it would be iniquitous. After the SEZ’s implementation in the area, the government should ensure their livelihoods will not worsen,” he added.
Prayong also expressed concern over the use of Article 44, which was helping accelerate the establishment of the SEZ in Mae Sot including enabling forestland to become state-own land.
That could result in allowing investors’ commercial use of the |land and conflict with locals, he warned.
“This conflict could create a hard situation for these people very soon, and no business investor would dare put their money into the area in the wake of such an unstable situation,” he added.