If Vietnam has no effective way to deal with guest workers refusing to return home after their work contracts expire, its labour export market will shrink.
The Republic of Korea (RoK) has stopped recruiting new workers from Vietnam this year because more than 22,700 Vietnamese are residing illegally in its territory after their work permits expired. This means some 12,000 new workers who have passed Korean language tests will have no chance to work in the RoK.
A VOV reporter interviewed Luong Duc Long, Vice Director of the Overseas Labour Centre (OLC) under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) about the issue.
VOV: What are measures the centre has taken to prevent Vietnamese workers from staying illegally in the Republic of Korea?
Mr Long: Since early 2011, the MoLISA has directed relevant agencies to devise measures to prevent Vietnamese workers from staying illegally in the RoK after their work permits expire. The centre has drawn up a list of workers who are scheduled to return home in 2012. The ten provinces with the highest numbers of workers in the RoK are Hai Duong, Nghe An, Hanoi, Ha Tinh, Thanh Hoa, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Hung Yen, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang and Phu Tho.
 |
The ministry has established a working mission to coordinate with the Department for Overseas Labour Management (DOLM) to encourage them to voluntarily return home on schedule. The list of workers will be regularly updated on the OLC website.
As of the fourth quarter of 2011, only workers with suitable jobs have been chosen to return to work in the RoK. Most of them are 25-39 years old, coming from 62 poor districts of Vietnam after passing Korean language tests.
The ministry says these workers are all committed to returning to Vietnam on schedule after their contracts expire. As for those seeking to stay illegally in the RoK they will be dealt with more severely.
VOV: Can the centre create employment opportunities for workers when they return home?
Mr Long: We have been working with the Korean HRD office in Vietnam and Huyndai Vocational Training School to offer free vocational training for those workers coming back from the RoK and have set up an employment office to introduce them to Korean businesses operating in Vietnam.
We plan to open four computer-based Korean language tests for those workers who wish to be reemployed in the RoK.
In addition, there will be a job fair for guest workers to meet representatives from Korean businesses to inquire about their employment policies.
VOV: What has the centre done after the RoK stopped recruiting new workers from Vietnam?
Mr Long: We have come up with several measures to deal with this issue, for example, closely coordinating with Korean agencies in the management of guest workers to encourage them to return to Vietnam on schedule after their work contracts expire and strictly deal with those seeking to stay illegally in the RoK.
As for those wishing to be reemployed we will introduce them to Korean businesses in need of guest workers.
VOV: Thank you very much