Population Policy

The Third National Economic and Social Development Plan 
(1972-1976). Chapter 7, p.101-102.

Date:     1972-1976

Source:     Office of the Prime Minister, National Economic and Social Development Board, Bangkok, Thailand

Subject:     population policy, labour policy, manpower, education, social policy, employment, migration, manpower planning

Developing an equitable labour policy.  It is clear industry, commerce and the service sectors have continued to expand, and will become increasingly significant in the Thai economic structure in the future. It is also evident that despite the critical importance attached to the development of scarce technical and professional skills, a major part of the Thai labour force will be unskilled workers. The Third Plan therefor, provides for a specific Labour Policy designed to afford proper protection and justice for these workers. The Labour Policy will be supported by adequate legislation and programmes in the areas of employment services, labour relations, labour protection, wages, workmen's compensation, and the like. These kinds of measures are required to meet the minimum present day needs. They will, however, provide a much needed foundation on which to build a comprehensive system of labour legislation for the future.

The following are the major manpower problems, which will be urgently considered and dealt with by appropriate action.

High population growth rate.  Large families require a substantial and rapidly increasing proportion of the nation's resources for education, health and other forms of public services. Previous research has also shown that for every 100 Thais of working age the number of dependents 15 years or under is as much as 89. This represents a heavy burden and limits the improvement of living standards for many large families.

Children leaving school prematurely.  There are three basic causes. The first and most important is that there are not yet enough schools. Secondly, because the incomes of most Thai families are still relatively low, keeping children at school imposes a considerable financial strain. Children, therefore, leave school to help in basic household chores. Thirdly, many Thais living in rural areas have as yet an inadequate appreciation of the ultimate value of education beyond the level of basic literacy. The number of rural children progressing beyond the fourth grade is consequently very small.

Unemployment.  Unemployment is largely an urban problem. It arises from 1) migration from rural areas, 2) producing graduates whose training dose not meet present day needs and 3) inadequate information on trends in occupational requirements. These, and a number of similar reasons, contribute to a waste of educational resources, a loss of income, and other potential economic, social or political problems.

Underemployment.  Underemployment is a pernicious problem everywhere, but in rural areas represents the greatest overall loss of potential income. The most obvious causes are the highly seasonal nature of activities in traditional agriculture, and in some cases land holdings too small to fully occupy the working members of a family. Underemployment also occurs, of course, when persons are employed in jobs requiring less skill than the occupations for which they were trained.

Rural to urban area migration.  Generally arises when rural dwellers have too much idle time, particularly during the dry reason. In such circumstances the level of income is frequently too low to prevent heavy indebtedness, and many feel that they may do better in the city. But if not enough urban jobs are available, the influx of rural people accentuates urban unemployment, housing shortage, social unrest and crime.

Manpower shortage.  During the Third Plan it is anticipated that shortages in certain critical occupations will continue. These include doctors, nurses, teachers of certificate levels and other technical and scientific manpower. There are of course unavoidable constraints which must be faced in efforts to produce more people with these skills, namely of a shortage of qualified teachers and funds for classrooms, equipment and textbooks. But shortages will persist and unemployment will develop even when the output of educational and training institutions is large, if the qualifications of graduates do not match the requirements of the labour market. The output of engineering faculties is an interesting example. During the past ten years intensive efforts have been made to increase the number of engineering graduates. It is expected that although the shortage of engineers will continue during the first part of the Third Plan period, a surplus may develop in the course of later years. This type of situation calls for continuous and careful assessment.

Quality of manpower does not meet labour market standards.  It is an apparent paradox that unemployment persists alongside substantial unsatisfied labour requirements. A case in point is the professional, technical and administrative personnel which educational institutions train in substantial numbers each year. New graduates are now experiencing difficulty in finding jobs, not because these categories are not needed, but because employers want the experience, the business "know how" which graduates do not have.

Manpower allocation.  Another apparent paradox is a surplus of certain skills in urban areas and a chronic shortage of the same skills in rural areas. This is a serious manpower problem for which a workable solution must be found. The basic cause is the fact that rural areas, particularly remote rural areas, lack the amenities of city life, and a proper set of alternative incentives has yet to be developed to attract such needed personnel as doctors, nurses, midwives, qualified teachers and agriculturists, veterinarians and skilled craftsmen to serve in rural areas.

Low income per worker.  The basic factors are the predominance of industries with relatively low labour productivity, and the rapid growth of population and labour force. A related problem is the inefficient use of manpower as, for example, an agricultural extension officer who is overloaded with administrative duties, or a teacher who is assigned to a provincial centre instead of teaching in the rural school to which he is formally attached.

The Government’s manpower problems stem from many of the factors already mentioned.  Improvements are needed to modernize administrative methods and procedures, including those used in hiring and incremental remuneration. Other problems requiring corrective action are duplication of work, lack of coordination and inadequate supervision and direction by superior officers, all of which result in poor work performance and low efficiency.

The following measures are being taken to deal with the above mentioned manpower problems:

Population and Family Planning.  The present population growth rate in Thailand is very high and, inconsequence, the proportion of children in the overall population structure is substantial. This situation naturally imposes a heavy burden on individual families and on the Government in attempting to provide adequate public services. The Government has, therefore, proclaimed a National Population Policy to support voluntary family planning. Such action will be useful not only from the standpoint of reducing the dependency burden of individual families but will also enhance the prospect of accelerating economic and social development of the country. As the population growth rate declines, the Government can afford to reduce certain expenditures and will be able to use the funds so saved more productively by, for example, improving the educational system for an eventual rise in the quality of future human resources.