The Hanoi People’s Committee has demanded that the local Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and concerned agencies tighten control over foreign workers.
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| Chinese workers in Vietnam |
The agencies will have to submit the results of their checks to the committee before October 17.
The move followed an instruction by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (Molisa) issued on September 23 that requested closer management of foreigners working in centrally-governed cities and provinces.
Under the instruction, foreign contractors will be obliged to use both Vietnamese and foreign workers in any tendered contracts.
Vietnamese investors must be responsible for checking foreign contractors implementing regulations on foreign worker use.
Police of centrally-governed cities and provinces have to grant visas for foreigners whose work permits have been licensed, re-licensed or extended. Those who have not yet been provided with work permits or these papers are invalid will not receive visa.
Police are not allowed to extend temporary residence papers for foreigners working in their localities without work permits.
Vietnam currently employs 74,000 workers from 60 countries, 58% of which originate from the Asia, comapared to 52,663 in 2008; 55,428 in 2009 and 56,929 in 2010, said Le Quang Trung, Deputy Director of the Employment Department under Molisa.
Trung admitted that “a significant number” of illegal foreign workers were employed by foreign contractors in Vietnam.
“Many foreign contractors have failed to obtain work permits for their workers. They didn’t follow relevant regulations and often provide many reasons for failing to register their employees,” the official was cited by Thanh Nien Newspaper as saying.
