Support available for firms employing ethnic minorities

Enterprises in Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) region employing workers from ethnic minorities will be entitled to receive State support from January 1.

As part of Government Decision 75, the State will give targeted financial aid to agroforestry companies, management boards of protected and specific-use forests and to non-state enterprises which use land for the manufacture of agro-forestry products.

"The aim is to create jobs for ethnic minorities and help reduce poverty," said Director of the Tay Nguyen\'s Gia Lai Province Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Ngoc Thach.

He said that although vocational centres in Tay Nguyen region had trained more than 50,000 people from ethnic minorities in the past three years, most could not find proper jobs.

To improve the situation, the State will now pay all workers up to VND3 million (US$150) for three-month vocational training courses.

In a further incentive for business, companies where 30-50 per cent of workers belong to ethnic minorities will receive a 50 per cent reduction in land rent for one year. If this rate is more than 50 per cent, companies will then be exempt from land rent for twelve months.

The State also plans to pay the social, medical and unemployed insurance for ethnic minority workers within five years.

Tran Tam, director of the Krong Ana Coffee Company in Dac Lac Province, said that 350 of 475 workers in his company belonged to ethnic minorities.

"In previous years, few enterprises employed ethnic minority workers because they did not adapt to the company working environment and only worked for a short time," he said.

Tam added that he believed the new decree and proper training would result in more people from these groups finding jobs in the future.

Foreign-owned enterprises will not receive State support under the new scheme.