Vietnam promotes sending guest workers to key markets

Hanoi, January 27 (VNA) – Vietnam looks to encourage sending citizens to Taiwan (China), Malaysia, and the Republic of Korea (RoK) to work as domestic workers, and to Japan and Germany to work as orderlies and nurses, in 2015. It plans to export 100,000 workers for the year. Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Thi Hai Chuyen said Vietnam’s key markets for guest workers are Taiwan, Japan, the RoK, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia. Data from the ministry’s Overseas Labour Management Department showed that compared to 2013, the number of Vietnamese guest workers sent to Taiwan increased from 46,000 to 60,000 with the number in Japan rising from 9,600 to 20,000 in 2014. A total of 7,000 guest workers were sent to the RoK, 5,000 to Malaysia, and 4,000 to Saudi Arabia, and 1,000 to Qatar. Compared to 2013, the number of workers in these four markets dropped by about 5,000. Thailand has begun to stand out as a promising market, with agreements between the two nations to coordinate their labour exports in 2015. Meanwhile, existing problems with guest workers between Vietnam and Taiwan are expected to be resolved this year, as the system returns to full function after the lift of the Chinese territory’s suspension on receiving Vietnamese labourers, she noted. Responding to reports of mistreatment in the Middle East, the official said the region is a good market with about 16,000 Vietnamese labourers, including 4,000 domestic workers. She explained these markets have specific regulations, and some of the recruitment companies did not help labourers prepare adequately, causing several workers fail in their attempts to adapt to the local environment. The ministry worked with the Vietnamese Embassy in Saudi Arabia to resolve the issues, including examining recruitment businesses to ensure proper operation.-VNA