VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese law doesn’t allow enterprises to use untrained foreign workers. But in the northern province of Ninh Binh, there is a construction site where unskilled Chinese workers number nearly 1,500 people.

People in Khanh Phu commune in Yen Khanh district of the Ninh Binh province calls a section of National Highway 10, which passes the commune as “The Street of Chinese” because at night, hundreds of Chinese workers flock to this street.

“This place used to be very peaceful, but since Chinese workers came here, our street has become noisier than ever. Every night, many Chinese young men half-nakedly drink alcohol along the road, spit and annoy girls,” a local said.

A Vietnamese worker at the construction site of the Ninh Binh Nitrogenous Fertilizer Factory said that quarrels between Vietnamese and Chinese workers, and between Chinese happen very often.

“After the construction of the Ninh Binh Nitrogenous Fertilizer Factory was kicked off, this rural area has totally changed. Restaurants, shops, hairdressing salons, massage parlous, inns, etc. have been mushrooming to serve Chinese workers,” a local man named Nguyen Hoang Tam said.

“Chinese workers often group in tens. They wear only shorts to walk on the street and tease any girl they see,” Tam added.

He said his neighbor who leased some rooms to Chinese workers had to end leasing contracts early, because that family could not stand Chinese workers’ disorderly lifestyle.

“Once, several Chinese guys teased each other while having bath. They screamed and ran after each other on the street. The guy behind slid down the pants of the guy in front, disturbing local residents”.

A resident in the “Chinese street” complained: “After the dinner, they often walk along the street in groups of tens. They keep covetous eyes on houses. More terribly, they pissed in front of my home. I was very angry and drove them away, but they were not afraid and insulted me”.

Over 1,500 illegal workers

According to the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Ninh Binh, there are 26 companies using foreign workers in the province, totaling 2,400 people, accounting for 15.2 percent of the workforce at these firms. Of this number, only 717 have work permits. Up to 1,448 illegal foreign workers are employed by the Ninh Binh Nitrogenous Fertilizer Factory.

“Chinese workers in Ninh Binh come to Vietnam with travel visas,” said Vu Duc Duong, an official from the local Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

Chinese workers account for the highest rate of foreign workers in Ninh Binh. They mainly work at cement companies and construction sites.

At the construction site of the Ninh Binh Nitrogenous Fertilizer Factory, there are up to 1,988 foreign Chinese. Only 82 of them are managers, 514 are technicians and the remaining are untrained workers.

“Vietnamese law does not open the door for foreign untrained laborers, but a big flow of unskilled foreign workers is still running into Vietnam,” Duong said.

The official said that Ninh Binh authorities have asked the fertilizer factory management board to provide sufficient information about Chinese workers, but the board has not accomplished this task yet.

Investors often plead that if illegal foreign workers are expelled; their projects will go slowly or be stopped.

Duong also worried that local workers are losing jobs for Chinese.

Source: TN