VietNamNet Bridge – The association mentioned the number at a conference on the Vietnam-Laos labor cooperation agreement in the central province of Nghe An on August 18. Figures at this event showed some 13,500 Vietnamese are working in Laos in investment projects, components by contractors and cooperation projects by localities along the border of the two countries.

Deputy Minister of Labor , Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thanh Hoa (C) speaks at a conference on the Vietnam-Laos labor cooperation agreement in the central province of Nghe An on August 18 – Photo: Courtesy of Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs

Most of the workers are skilled. Vietnam Rubber Corporation accounts for nearly 1,000 Vietnamese employees and Song Da Group makes up 600.

Nguyen Ngoc Quynh , head of the Department for Overseas Labor Management under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, estimated the average monthly wage is US$250 per person for unskilled Vietnamese employees in Laos and US $500 for skilled ones. They also enjoy social, health and voluntary insurance as well as public holidays of Laos and Vietnam .

Apart from the Vietnamese guest workers sent to Laos via official channels, a significant number of Vietnamese workers go to the neighboring country by themselves, mostly in the areas on the border with Vietnam’s central provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh .

Le Xuan Dai , vice chairman of Nghe An Province , said 5,000-6,000 people in this province go by themselves to work in Laos, mainly in the fields of construction, mining and agriculture. Their average incomes are VND7-8 million per month (less than US$400) and people having long-term jobs take only 30% of the total.

In July last year, the labor ministries of Laos and Vietnam clinched a labor cooperation agreement containing detailed regulations on work permits, registration for residence of guest workers, fees, insurance and health, and conflict settlement.

In the coming time, Vietnam’s Ministry of Labor , Invalids and Social Affairs will set up a working group to better implement the pact, help Vietnamese enterprises carry out projects and bring laborers to Laos, and manage Vietnamese guest workers in that country.

The number of Vietnamese workers in Laos is forecast to increase to 20,000 next year.

SGT/VNN