Nguyen Thi Thu, a 15-year-old girl from the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta Province of An Giang, has worked as a domestic worker for a family in HCM City\'s Binh Thanh District for nearly two years.
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| Child labour on the rise in Vietnam (Illustration photo) |
"A relative of mine introduced me to work in the city so that I could earn money to support my mother, who has to take care of two children at home," said Thu, who cannot read or write.
"I had to drop out of school when I was nine years old to take care of my brothers while my parents were hired to do different jobs," she said.
"I gave my mother all the money I earn to raise my brothers and buy medicine for my sick father at home," she said, adding that she was paid VND2 million (USD97) a month and lived at her employer\'s home.
Thu is one of the more fortunate among nearly 600 child labourers hired by family businesses in the city.
Many of them endure work in hazardous conditions with long hours and low pay.
Moreover, they are vulnerable to labour and sexual abuse.
"Problems related to child labour would not be resolved unless more serious action was taken," said Phan Thanh Minh, head of the city Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs\' Child Care and Protection Division.
A desire to escape poverty was the reason why children work, Minh said, adding that they could ensure their own survival as well as their family\'s.
Speaking at a roundtable meeting held yesterday, she said the city had 1,450 street and working children.
Most of them were migrant children, who accounted for 10 percent of the city\'s total of 1.8 million children, she said.
Although they were not well paid, they could contribute significantly to their family\'s income, she added.
She also attributed schooling problems to child labour because children became potential workers after they droped out of school.
Children droped out of school due to the family financial situation or limited access to schools in rural and remote areas, she explained.
Parents with low awareness did not see it as useful to send their children to school, and instead made commitments for their children to work in family businesses as trainees, according to Phan Anh Nhan, head of the Division of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in the city\'s Tan Phu District.
"Law enforcement officials had failed to fine employers who hired working children because they had received official permission from their parents," Nhan said.
Child labour was most prevalent in the informal sector, which was not highly monitored, such as family businesses in outlying districts, according to the official.
In Ho Chi Minh City, for example, no child labour cases were reported in the formal sector, including State-owned and foreign enterprises.
A shortage of law enforcement officials at the local level perpetuated child labour, he said, adding that there were only two officials in charge of child care and protection in Tan Phu District.
Joint efforts from local authorities and various organisations and unions were essential to ensure regular inspection and adequate assistance to help children return to school, said Huynh Cong Hung, head of the city People\'s Council\'s Cultural and Social Office.
Zero-interest loans should be provided to their families to help them escape poverty so that their children did not return to the city for work, Hung said.