Cambodian Labor Recruitment Process: A Case Study of Two Thai Companies

Abstract

This qualitative study was conducted to determine the recruitment process of Cambodian laborin two Thai companies. The participants were the employees in those two companies and the managersof the recruiting agencies. Tape recorded interviews were conducted with open-ended questions, as wellas observations of the recruiting process. Data were coded using codes that were categorized using acluster technique. The study showed that the processes of recruiting Cambodian labor were: (1) theemployers in Thailand contacted an agency to recruit the labor; (2) a letter of petition was submitted toa Thai immigration offi ce for importing immigrants into Thailand; (3) a Cambodian agency recruitedthe labor; then the labor had physical check-ups and the agency applied for a labor passport to achievea name list; (4) the Cambodian agency sent the name list to Thailand for an employer request to employthe labor; (5) the employer submitted the name list to a provincial recruitment offi ce for approval; (6)the name list was sent back to the Cambodian agency to do the labor VISA (LA) for importing labor toThailand; (7) the employer took the labor for another physical check-up at a government hospital fora work permit; and (8) the employer requested a work permit for the labor. The study also found thatthe problems of recruiting Cambodian labor were as follows: (1) unclear, incorrect or false informationprovided for Cambodian labor by the recruitment agencies in Cambodia; (2) poor working conditionsand welfare for Cambodian labor in Thailand, compared to Thai labor; and (3) slow and ineffi cientsteps of the recruitment process. It is recommended that the recruitment processes be shortened, thatrelevant and suffi cient professional training and orientation be undertaken by the agency for labor, andthat reasonable recruitment fees be charged by the agency.

Keywords : Recruitment Process, Cambodian Labor, and Labor Law