Vietnam’s economic growth has improved mobility, giving people more opportunities to travel to find better jobs.But as industries change and cities grow, so do the dangers to the country’s workers. Human trafficking is becoming a bigger problem in Vietnam and the government is doing more to address the problem.

What was once an issue confined mostly to women and children who are sold into the sex industry, pressures from increasing urbanization are changing the nature of human trafficking in Vietnam.

While, demand for wives in countries like China fuel the trade, the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking, says socio-economic factors are also at play. People living in rural areas with low employment, little awareness and poor education are vulnerable to ploys that could leave them as virtual slaves.

Phan Van Ngoc, former Vietnam country director for Actionaid, says Vietnam’s economic situation is making people more vulnerable to trafficking. In underemployed rural areas, people want to migrate from their home village to make more money.

The issue is not confined to Vietnam. It also occurs in China, Thailand and other neighboring countries. He says the bottom line is that poor people want better lives.

“The problem is that people seek a better life and the problem is that they do not have enough information about the destination,” said Ngoc. “That’s why they are trapped into something that is against their will and against their basic rights.”

In January, Vietnam is set to introduce the Anti-Human Trafficking Law, which the National Assembly passed in March. The law is accompanied by a $13.5 million dollar, five-year anti-trafficking plan. The National Plan of Action for Trafficking has been welcomed by international organizations as a positive step because it goes beyond countering trafficking for sexual exploitation.

The law improves coordination among different ministries, institutions and mass organizations in Vietnam and also stresses the importance of prevention. Ngoc says the new provisions are vital to protect workers who are poorly informed about trafficking risks.

“They have to have an informed choice,” Ngoc added. “It means that they should have enough information about the destination so they can decide whether or not they want to go. It’s best to work at the commune and even district level in areas with a high risk of human trafficking. If they want to go, please, but there must be guidance.”

Although authorities have started paying more attention to people being trafficked for cheap labor, Florian Forster, the country director for the International Organization of Migration (IOM) says that does not mean all laborers are treated badly.

“We should not think that all internal workers are exploited,” said Forster. “Actually, research shows internal migrants moving to urban areas are economically better off. That’s one of the reasons why they move.”

Vietnam also has an official policy to promote sending temporary laborers abroad. Around 80 to 100,000 Vietnamese workers leave the country, through official channels, every year.

The United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking says labor reforms in China are actually fueling abuses among Vietnamese. A 2008 law in China mandates better pay and benefits for Chinese nationals, so Chinese employers instead hire Vietnamese laborers who are exempt from the provisions. However, Forster says the two governments are working together to tackle exploitation.

“There is some ongoing cooperation between Vietnam and China,” Forster added. “This year they signed a memorandum of understanding to address trafficking in human beings so there is a legal basis for cooperation. There is also a sub-regional process involving Mekong sub-regional countries, including China.”

Although Ngoc welcomes Vietnam’s anti-trafficking law, he says there needs to be a firmer commitment from government agencies and outside groups to get better results. He says one reason for the lack of progress is local governments not wanting to take responsibility.

“They don’t want to admit there is trafficking of Vietnamese women,” Ngoc noted. “It’s really sensitive, for example if you work as a provincial authority you don’t want to say there is a lot of human trafficking from my own province.”

He says the situation is now improving because the country’s anti-trafficking law is helping to address that kind of attitude.

By Marianne Brown
Published on November 29, 2011

HA NOI – Local authorities have been urged to conduct inspections on foreign workers, particularly those involved in foreign-invested projects, according to a new request made by Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) Pham Thi Hai Chuyen.The move came after local media reported that a number of foreign labourers had been employed in Viet Nam without work permits.

Inspectors were tasked with figuring out how foreign contractors, working on projects in Viet Nam, Vietnamese investors and foreign workers, abide by domestic laws.

Localities were told to disseminate laws and regulations concerning foreign workers to enterprises and contractors employing them.

Foreign contractors were in turn requested to apply for work permits in accordance with the law before their workers arrived and took up employment in Viet Nam.

Meanwhile, the local departments of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs was called upon to increase check ups and inspections on the process of recruiting foreign workers, the granting and extension of work permits, especially for those working for foreign contractors.

Violators have been warned of strict punishments in the case of apprehension.

Inspection results must be submitted to MoLISA before October 31 in order that the ministry could report the current situation to the Prime Minister as soon as permissable.

According to the Department of Employment, Viet Nam currently employs around 74,000 workers from over 60 countries, with 58 per cent originating from Asia.

Around 21,400 foreign workers have been added to the country’s workforce since 2008.

The deputy department director said that the increase in foreign investment was among the main reasons behind the rise in foreign worker numbers.

According to MoLISA, the country will limit the group of foreign employees with lower qualifications, particularly among manual workers, the majority of whom come to Viet Nam to work on construction projects.

By Viet Nam News
Published on September 27, 2011

HCM CITY – Poor awareness and infrastructure are stymieing the implementation of a national programme to send people from disadvantaged areas abroad as guest workers.Authorities in participating provinces struggle to find beneficiaries despite giving poor people subsidies for the expenses involved, including for training.

Around 5,500 people from all over the country have been sent to work overseas since Project 71 was launched two years ago to eliminate poverty, according to statistics from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

More than 1,000 have benefited this year, of whom 95 per cent are poor and ethic minority people.

However, low awareness of the programme among disadvantaged people and the difficulty in travelling around remote and mountainous areas are major hurdles.

Nghe An, one of the poorest provinces in the central region, has sent the largest number of people abroad under the programme, according to its Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DoLISA).

More than 43,000 people from Nghe An now work overseas, mostly in Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and the Middle East.

This helped advance the province’s hunger and poverty elimination efforts, DoLISA said. Around US$90-95 million, earned by its overseas workers, have been sent to Nghe An through commercial banks each year.

Lao Cai in the northern mountains, where the poverty rate is 43 per cent, is another province to implement Project 71 strongly, sending more than 200 people from the three poorest districts overseas in the first half of this year.

“Most of the people working overseas have repaid their bank loans and improved their families’ business,” said Trinh Quang Chinh, head of the province DoLISA.

But authorities said they were unable to find high-quality human resources for the programme since most ethnic people were poorly educated and could not meet the requirements of demanding markets like Japan and South Korea.

“The ethnic people have limited knowledge of the Government’s policies and it is not easy to change their fear of working overseas,” Chinh said, adding that not many applied for foreign jobs.

The difficulty in travelling in the mountainous province was also a factor.

“It [difficulty in travel] is the main reason why information about the programme has not been fully disseminated to people living in distant villages,” Chinh said, adding that the lack of representatives from labour companies to counsel people was another problem.

To encourage people to join the programme, DoLISA in central Khanh Hoa Province has begun to provide a subsidy of VND6 million per applicant to certain categories of applicants from this month.

It is to help cover their foreign language training, travel, and other expenses like getting a visa and doing health checks.

The beneficiaries include people who contributed to the country’s development, children of war invalids and martyrs, poor people, ethnic minorities, and residents of mountainous areas.

With the Government committed to continuing with policies to promote labour export from poor localities, these provinces have an incentive to implement the project better.

The Government is also expected to step up investment, subsidies, and other financial assistance for poor people to encourage them to apply for work abroad.

By Viet Nam News
Published on September 27, 2011