Japanese companies eye Vietnamese labourers

Demand for foreign labourers has increased in Japan in recent years, with workers from Viet Nam being particularly sought after, according to a representative of Japan's Esuhai company.

The comments came from Esuhai deputy director, Nguyen Huu Nghia, at a careers fair held in the southern province of Dong Nai on Sunday

The fair, co-organised by Dong Nai Vocational Training College and Esuhai- Kaizen Yoshida School, aimed to introduce job opportunities with Japanese companies in both Viet Nam and Japan for Vietnamese people.

A representative of the Esuhai company said Japan had an increasing demand for foreign labourers in recent years, and the majority of Japanese companies are interested in recruiting Vietnamese labourers.

There is currently a wave of Japanese investment in Viet Nam's workers, with the country sending over 4,000 labourers to work in Japan in the first ten months of this year. This took the total number of Vietnamese labourers in Japan to 18,000 and these labourers earned an average of about US$1,500 per month.

Deputy director of Esuhai company, Nguyen Huu Nghia said for many Vietnamese, the Japan labour market is an attractive destination due to its high wages, but is thought to recruit professional labourers only, while opportunities to work for Japanese companies are few and far between. In fact, Japan's labour market has recruited many high school graduate labourers to work in the fields of mechanics, aquaculture and fishing. This year, Japanese businesses need 10,000 Vietnamese labourers to work for them in the fields of agriculture and seafood processing.

Nghia urged Vietnamese labourers eager to work in Japan to contact licensed labour export companies directly and not go through brokers.

RoK-Vietnam Friendship Association leaders honoured

The President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO), Vu Xuan Hong, has presented an insignia “for peace and friendships among nations” to Lee Sang Mo, Vice President of the Republic of Korea-Vietnam Friendship Association.

Dinh Hanh, President of the Hanoi municipal Association for Disabled People and Orphans, also conferred an insignia on President of the RoK-Vietnam Association (RVA) Choi Young Joo and RVA Vice President Lee Hee Yeon, for their contributions to strengthening the ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

Speaking at the awards ceremony in Hanoi on November 12, Choi Young Joo expressed his delight at receiving the noble award and affirmed that he will do his utmost to promote the traditional friendship in the future.

The RoK-Vietnam Friendship Association presented Grand Piano to the VUFO as a gift of the Vietnam-RoK Friendship Year.

US foundation donates 320 wheelchairs

Sports clubs for the disabled as well as needy individuals received 320 wheelchairs at a function organised in HCM City yesterday.

The wheelchairs, both sports and standard models, were donated by the US-based Wheelchair Foundation and the Viet Nam Veterans of Diablo Valley in an event coordinated by the Viet Nam Paralympic Association and the US-based East meets West organization.

The wheelchairs were given to individuals and clubs in Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, Dong Nai, HCM City and Can Tho.

Illegal gold miners threaten riverside crops in Lao Cai

Illegal gold prospecting and dredging has led to loss of crops along parts of the Red River in the northern province of Lao Cai.

Local farmers have raised concerns about frequent dredging of the river bed for gold, a widespread activity during the past two years that has led to soil erosion.

Le Thanh Vui, a local resident living along the river in Bao Yen District, said gold mining indirectly destroyed local crops.

He added that as many as 10 dredging machines were digging up parts of the river bed in Cam Con and Kim Son communes for gold, which had been causing erosion along the banks of the river.

"My 5,000 sq.m of crops have been totally washed away by a landslide," Vui said.

Gold mining actives were also reported to have created noise pollution and threatened local security.

According to Nguyen Van Tam, village head of Cam 4 in Bao Yen District, gold miners even assaulted people who tried to prevent them from pursuing their illegal activities. But no effective action from authorities has been taken.

Vui said that in Cam Con commune, where he lives, authorities have said they are not responsible for controlling the illegal dredging, even though they were assigned the task in 2008 by the provincial People's Committee.

The Lao Cai department of natural resources and environment said it was difficult to control gold mining activities as gold miners always turned off their dredging machines whenever they saw inspection teams on patrol.

Russia to open air route to Cam Ranh

There will be direct flights from Chelyabinsk Airport to Cam Ranh in Vietnam and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Interfax-Ural News Agency.

It quoted a press release from this airport as saying the monthly frequency of flights to popular tourism destinations in winter will increase by three times to Hurghada (20 flights) and by two times to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt (10 flights) –both in Egypt – as compared to last year.

In addition, flights to Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, Dubai in the UAE and Goa in India will also be resumed.

VND15.6 trillion for Ca Pass tunnel project

More than VND15.6 trillion will be invested in a project to build a tunnel route under Ca Pass and Co Ma Pass, linking the two central provinces of Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa on National Highway 1A, the Ministry of Transport announced on November.

The route will be 13.4 km long, with the section under Ca Pass measuring 3.9 km and 500m under Co Ma pass.
Construction is scheduled to start on November 18 and complete by 2016.

On completion, the route is expected to reduce traffic accidents on National Highway 1A and contribute to the development of big economic centres, industrial zones and tourism sites in the central region.

It will also contribute to socio-economic and political development and ensure security-defence in the central and Central Highlands region.

VNN/VOV/VNS