Some recently “hot topics” regarding Vietnamese guest workers were addressed by the Minister of Labour, Invalids & Social Affairs.
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| Minister of Labour, Invalids & Social Affairs, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, answered questions from members of the National Assembly Standing Committee |
On September 14, Minister of Labour, Invalids & Social Affairs, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, answered many questions from members of the National Assembly Standing Committee regarding a recent report about Vietnamese labourers working abroad.
Ngan disagreed with the opinion that Vietnamese female workers tended to divorce their husbands when they returned home after working in Taiwan. She revealed that according to a recent research, the divorce rate of Vietnamese female workers who worked abroad is lower than that of women who work in the country.
Ngan went on to say that the quality of Vietnamese guest workers was highly evaluated in South Korea, Japan and other countries. Vietnam is one of 15 countries from which South Korea prioritises accepting guest workers. If this trend is maintained, Vietnam could send 20,000 labourers to the country this year.
The Minister said that a Vietnamese guest worker in South Korea could earn USD1,000 per month with accompanied conditions. If a guest worker does not commit any violations, he or she can send home about VND500-600 million ($25,429-30,515) after finishing an employment contract. “It’s really a good chance for Vietnamese workers if they work hard,” added Ngan.
Regarding sending Vietnamese experts to work abroad, Ngan shared the fact that Vietnam has already sent experts to work in Dubai (the United Arab Emirates). Some of them can make USD10,000 per month. The Ministry is planning to find appropriate markets to send more experts.
There is a concern that some Vietnamese guest workers have acted in breach of their labour contracts by independently moving to other companies. Ngan believed that managing agencies of host countries should take responsibility of dealing with this issue.
According to the Minister, these workers often explained that they had moved to other companies offering them higher paying jobs in a bid to earn enough money for their debt payment. However, “If they breach employment contracts, they will be expelled from the country where they work and they will not have a second chance to get labour export contracts again,” emphasised Ngan.
She also pointed out that each Vietnamese guest worker was an ambassador who brought the country’s image to the world. If they are not trained and educated in a proper manner, each of their violations will be a reflection of the country’s image.
Ngan admitted that there were violations by some Vietnamese guest workers. For example, some deliberately broke regulations by making wine or playing cards in the United Arab Emirates. Some workers even made wine to sell not only to Vietnamese workers but also to workers from other countries.
Truong Thi Mai, Chairperson of the Committee for Social Affairs of the National Assembly said, “Among guest workers of 40 countries and territories, Vietnamese guest workers need to continue making efforts to build up the country’s image.”
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dao Xuan Hung, believes that it’s necessary to make the selection process for guest workers more thorough.
| According to a government report, about 500,000 Vietnamese guest workers are employed in about 40 countries and territories all over the world. They have been working in about 30 fields. They includes manual labour, skilled labour and experts. From 2007 to June 2010; 282,106 Vietnamese labourers have been sent legally to work abroad. Over 30% of these workers are females. According to a report provided by the National Assembly Standing Committee, Vietnamese workers have been accepted in international markets. However, their quality in terms of working skills, expertise as well as communication skills remains low. Some workers lack of awareness of the laws, labour disciplines and some lack an ability to adapt into their new working environment. As of June 30, 2010, Vietnam has 167 legal labour export companies in total. |
