VietNamNet Bridge – The system of policies on labour and employment must be reviewed and amended to be more easily-approached and ensure the rights and interests of employers and employees during Viet Nam’s integration into international markets.

Workers manufacture electric components at Ha Noi’s Quang Minh Industrial Park. The industrial park was invested in by SYNOFEX Viet Nam Ltd company with 100 per cent of investment capital from South Korea. It has created jobs for 1,600 labourers. — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), Doan Mau Diep, made the requirement while pointing out opportunities and challenges of integration during an online dialogue held by Government Portal yesterday in Ha Noi.

He said that Viet Nam’s participation in the ASEAN Economic Community, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and other free trade agreements has offered various job opportunities to Vietnamese workers, especially those who are skilled and good at foreign languages.

Besides the chance of attracting investment and encouraging the free movement of labourers, Viet Nam also has a great chance to draw in high-quality foreign employees to fill domestic labour shortages in the economic sector, Diep said.

Viet Nam’s labour productivity is forecast to increase, narrowing the gap between the Vietnamese economy and others in the region and the wider world, he said.

However, he clarified several challenges including some labour quality structures that were irrelevant to the requirements of development and the progress of integration for the country.

“Free movement of labour will create a severe competitive environment that requires skilled and high-quality workers,” he said, warning that foreign workers might take over positions that require certain skills, leading to high levels of unemployment in Viet Nam.

To limit the negative impacts of international integration on Viet Nam’s labour market, he suggested intensifying preferential policies for labourers, especially disadvantaged workers and those from ethnic minority groups.

He said that in the future, MOLISA will foster co-operation among sectors to create favourable conditions and to motivate enterprises to improve the professional skills of their workers.

Policies to assist apprenticeships, information about the labour market and job consultations will be stepped up. The ministry will also promote communication to encourage labourers to apply for unemployment insurance and go to employment service centres when they are in need of training and jobs.

The deputy minister advised labourers to actively familiarise themselves with the laws on labour in general, and unemployment insurance in particular, and make the best use of opportunities brought about by policies to obtain stable jobs and be rewarded job promotion.

VNS