After returning from Libya due to the country’s political turmoil nearly a year ago, many Vietnamese workers have yet to receive salaries of around VND15-40 million (USD714.3-1,900) from their contractors.
Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, Head of the Overseas Labour Management Department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (Molisa), said that Turkish contractors had pledged to pay the remaining salary to Vietnamese workers.
“According to the contractors, if negotiations to win construction projects in Libya are completed in the next six months, they will employ foreign workers again, including those from Vietnam,” Quynh added.
Nguyen Thanh Hoa, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said Molisa had recently worked with Turkish recruitment agencies, firms and a number contractors on the possibility of employing Vietnamese labourers for the projects in the North African country as well as recruiting the Vietnamese again when Libya had become stable.
Molisa has also recommended that the Turkish side receive Vietnamese workers for not only the construction sector.
Before the political turmoil in Libya, Turkish companies operated many projects in the Middle East and North Africa, hiring a large number of foreign workers. Six Vietnamese firms cooperated with 14 Turkish companies to send Vietnamese labourers to work on construction projects in Libya.
Libya used to be an attractive market because its firms could offer better salaries than most other markets. Each worker received a minimum monthly salary of about VND8 million (USD380), according to the Vietnam Labour Export Association.
