The amount of foreign currency sent home annually by Vietnamese workers in other countries is estimated at US$3 billion on average, heard a policy consultation workshop on “the role of the trade unions in promoting fair recruitment and decent work for overseas migrant workers.”

According to a news report in Lao Dong newspaper, some 500,000 Vietnamese people are working overseas under employment contracts. Last year alone, some 134,000 domestic laborers went abroad for guest work.

At the workshop held on June 18 in Hanoi City by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL), the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Asia Foundation (TAF), VGCL Vice Chairman Tran Van Ly said, in addition to earning incomes for themselves, Vietnamese guest workers have greatly contributed to the economic development of Vietnam and the countries where they work.

However, they also face challenges and risks, though trade unions, which are in charge of protecting laborers’ legitimate rights and benefits, have prioritized their focus on the jobs, incomes and rights of Vietnamese workers overseas.

The trade unions have ensured fair recruitment practices and good jobs for the workers and have supported them in re-entering the local labor market when they terminate their overseas employment contracts.

Over the past few years, local trade unions have proactively cooperated with Japan, the Republic of Korea and Malaysia to protect the rights and interests of Vietnamese guest workers in these countries and have coordinated with State agencies and non-governmental organizations to send local laborers abroad for work.

With the technical and financial support of ILO and TAF, these jobs have been promoted.

Ly stressed that the workshop is aimed at strengthening the coordination of the relevant agencies in ensuring the rights of Vietnamese guest workers in line with the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, approved in 1990.

Trieu Thi Thiet, a Vietnamese guest worker, told the workshop her story, claiming she had to ask for a VND260-million loan to pay for fees to secure a job in a plastic company in Japan.

However, the working conditions differed from those promised by the labor export firm.

She had to work 10 hours instead of eight hours each day to be paid VND26 million per month, instead of the VND33 million expected.

In particular, she was blamed for others’ faults due to language barriers.

She later escaped the company and returned to Vietnam in 2016.

Thiet advised Vietnamese workers intending to go abroad for guest work to carefully evaluate information provided by labor export firms and to work only with prestigious ones.

She also proposed setting up trade unions in foreign countries to protect Vietnamese laborers.

Saigon Times