Can Tho: more workers go to work in RoK

Vietnamese workers check job offers (Source: VNA)

Nearly 500 people left to work abroad as of mid-April, according to the Can Tho City Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Nearly 300 people worked abroad last year, an increase of 14 per cent compared to 2017.

Most of the employees were manual labourers in construction, mechanics, electronics, food processing, textile-garment, agriculture and other sectors, earning between VND14 million and VND18 million (US$601-773) per month.

Labourers working in Japan and South Korea had the highest income, with VND26 million to VND48 million ($1,116-2,062) per month.

Chau Hong Thai, the deputy head of the department, said that Japan, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan were the city’s main labour export markets thanks to new policies allowing labourers from other countries to work for five years and to later return to work in certain industries after their contracts expire.

The cost to enter these markets is lower than in the US and European markets.

In January, four Malaysian and South Korean enterprises signed agreements with the city’s Employment Service Centre to organise training courses and tests for guest workers abroad.

Nguyen Thi Bich Van, deputy head of the Employment Service Centre, said that it had been working with local authorities to provide workers with more information about jobs, skill levels, countries for guest workers, and monthly incomes.

The centre also maintains contact with workers abroad and their relatives to identify any problems and solve them in time, Van said.

A Job Day involving 28 enterprises was held in the first quarter of the year, attracting nearly 1,000 people.

More than 9,340 people were needed, but many of the attendees had poor skills and low proficiency in foreign languages.

Only 200 of 1,000 attendees were hired at the Job Day event.

Van said the city is working with foreign language training centres and vocational training schools to solve these shortcomings.

The centre is also providing job assistance to people returning to Can Tho after their job contract abroad expires.

The workers are encouraged to return to Vietnam and not stay illegally in the country after their contract ends.

Most people who want to work abroad have financial difficulties, according to city authorities.

Thai, deputy head of the labour department, said the city would provide funds from its budget to the Bank for Social Policies to provide loans to guest workers so they can pay their initial costs for working abroad.

Thai said that people who want to work abroad should seek help from official agencies only to prevent cheating by others who claim to help them.

The department is also working with the police to monitor and fine enterprises which cheat and collect illegal amounts of money from people who want to work abroad, he added.

VNS