First guest workers get green light to work in US, Vietnam News

HCMCITY — The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has allowed five labour export companies to send 20 Vietnamese workers to the US.

Eighteen workers were sent by the Labour Export Joint-Stock Company of Vietnam Motor Industry Corporation and two from the Transport Ministry’s Advanced International Joint Stock Co.

The workers, whose monthly salaries are between US$1,300 and $3,500, are highly skilled, in good health, and scored a minium 500 on a TOEFL English test.

Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, director of Foreign Labor Management Department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said workers were checked thoroughly by the US embassy and consulate before they were granted a visa.

Nguyen Tri Dung, deputy director of Vietnam Motor Industry Corporation, said workers had to pay his company a fee between $6,500 and $7,000, which included service charges and a one-way air ticket to the US.

Each guest workers paid a $15,000 deposit to the company as a deterrent to their staying permanently in the US, Dung said in interview with Tuoi Tre newspaper.

One of the areas in high demand in the US was shipbuilding, he said. The Vietnamsese would work in that industry as well as others that require skilled manual work.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs, the total number of guest workers sent to other countries in January and February was 15,764. Most of them were sent to Asian countries and territories, including 5,851 to Taiwan, 2,939 to Malaysia, 1,612 to South Korea and 749 to Japan. — VNS