I appreciate the reactions to my previous post, in the Ajarn website and Facebook page, be it good or bad criticism. I understand some would not agree with Filipinos earning a higher or same wage equivalent to that of a native speaker for reasons of being from a country of lower education ranking (Education in the Philippines 12 Sept 2014) but that argument does not prove anything and is irrelevant.

Here's a fact, almost anywhere in the world you will find a Filipino worker. There are 2.2 million Filipinos around the world working in various occupations, and why? That's because we can read, write, speak or even sing better in the English language. Thanks to the Americans, we can communicate anywhere around the globe.

Today we have a booming BPO industry with call centers servicing countries like the US, UK and Australia. We can communicate very well for Fortune 500 companies to trust us with their clients and customers. There are numerous Filipino teachers in the US and Australia, teaching English and other subjects in English, earning much more than the 'pittance' that native speakers are earning in Thailand.

My point is, Filipino teachers and other non-native English speaking foreigners in Thailand are also foreigners, we also have to do visas and work permits, we also have to spend more because of the odd inconveniences a foreigner gets of living in this country. So why can't all foreigners (all nationalities) get around the same minimum salary rate? Is being a "native speaker" really the reason why schools employ with higher wage?

We all know that when they mean NES, that means caucasian. It's a fact that they base their salaries on the color of your skin (suffering because of my Thainess 11 Sept 2014) So, in this day and age why discriminate? This was meant for Thai school employers and Filipinos but why are some foreigners reacting negatively to my previous post? We all know you have no control with teacher's salaries but would it really bother you if Filipinos and other Non-NES have the same wage as yours? If it does, then you must be from a very primitive and bigoted society. Keep up with the times, it's 2014 already.

What I meant to achieve with my previous post is to cultivate a sense of value to fellow Filipinos, so they may try to find work that pays more than 15k baht, and steer away from schools that offer that amount, after all, Filipinos are worth more than that.

pinoyguy