News - Manpower exports need trademark

VietNamNet Bridge – Along with expanding the market, it’s time for Vietnam to think of building a trademark and prestige for labour exports through raising labour quality and tightening management.

From raising awareness of labourers…

According to the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), last year Vietnam sent more than 78,000 workers abroad, exceeding the annual goal, including 37,950 to Malaysia and 14,120 to Taiwan. This year the country aims to send 80,000 workers abroad.

However, labour quality has become an urgent issue as importing manpower countries are raising standards on imported labour, said Nguyen Xuan Vui, Director of the Airserco Labour Export Centre.

According to Mr Vui, Vietnamese workers have basically met requirements of foreign employers but in some markets, they are no longer ‘favoured’.

In Malaysia, local employers previously praised Vietnamese workers for their intelligence, work ethic, and agility but now they often complain of male Vietnamese workers being undisciplined and many companies refuse to hire Vietnamese labourers.

Vietnam currently accounts for a large part of the Middle Eastern market for manpower with more than 3,000 workers in the United Arab Emirates and 2,000 in Qatar. The Middle East is considered a market with great potential for Vietnamese labour, especially Qatar with many favourable conditions for Vietnamese workers.

However, According to Tran Luc, Director of the Labour Export, Trade and Tourism JS Company, Vietnamese workers’ lack of discipline could lead to the failure of Vietnam in this market since countries in the Middle East are Muslim nations with strict rules.

Deputy Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thanh Hoa said that this year the ministry would focus on manpower training for exports and the ministry was considering training under the requirements of foreign partners.

… to managing Vietnamese workers abroad

The MoLISA reported that there were 50 companies exporting manpower to the Middle East, but only three of them had representative offices in this region. This says that manpower export companies are working in the style of “bringing their children to leave at the market”. They only collect fees and send labourers abroad; they don’t bear any responsibility after that.

It is the same for other markets, which leads to problems associated with Vietnamese workers abroad. Without being ‘managed’, many workers live and work in an unorganised manner and are expelled and those cases are not seen to by any Vietnamese representative agency.

Deputy Minister Hoa said that the government’s labour export scheme to 2015 was being implemented, under which labour exporters would be strictly controlled.

The MoLISA has recently asked labour exporters to open representative offices in the markets where they export over 100 workers. Exporters which send less than 100 workers can cooperate with others to open joint representative offices to manage Vietnamese workers abroad.

Deputy Minister Hoa also said that the ministry would soon establish the Overseas Labour Management Board in Dubai. The ministry’s goal is to have such boards in all countries where there are Vietnamese workers.

Viet Nam Net