According to the Overseas Workers Management Department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), 85,020 Vietnamese labourers were recruited to work in foreign countries in 2007, surpassing the yearly target by nearly 5 percent.

Completing legal document system

The law on sending Vietnamese workers abroad was brought to life on July 1, 2007. Last year, 28 legal documents were completed, and two decrees were approved, providing regulations on the implementation of these laws and the punishment for violations of these laws. These decrees and legal documents have created a legal framework to increase the efficiency of labour exportation.

Positive changes in labour port markets

In 2007, apart from maintaining its traditional markets, the labour export sector explored opportunities and experienced many positive changes in its new markets. The number of Vietnamese guest workers increased remarkably in traditional markets such as Japan, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan. In particular, Vietnam sent more than 5,500 workers to the Japanese market, the highest figure so far.

The labour export sector is striving to expand its foothold in Middle Eastern countries, including Qatar, the United Arabia Emirates (UAE), Oman and Bahrain. Last year, the MOSILA and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Qatar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in this field. Under the MoU, 25,000 Vietnamese guest workers will be sent to work in Qatar in 2008, and the figure is expected to reach up to 100,000 in 2010.

In terms of State management, the government of Vietnam has established relations with management agencies from other countries and territories in order to facilitate the export of guest workers, strengthen management work and protect the legal rights of labourers while they work in foreign countries.

The Czech Republic is a country which has attracted many guest workers due to a favourable environment and high income. However, the biggest difficulty for local labour export enterprises is the granting of visas for labourers. As the Czech Republic belongs to the European Union, it requires labourers to have technical skills, a certain knowledge about foreign languages and work discipline.

Vietnam aims to send 85,000 labourers aboard under contracts in 2008

Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, deputy head of the Overseas Workers Management Department said the labour export sector aims to send 85,000 labourers to work abroad in 2008. To fulfill the goal, the sector should continue to strengthen its managements and inspection work concerning enterprises, and coordinate efforts with the diplomatic sector and police force.

To implement the law on sending Vietnamese workers abroad, the department has granted licenses to labour export enterprises, which contribute to improving the management of labour exports.

Especially, the labour export sector has paid special attention to improving the quality of labour resources. Currently, the sector still lacks highly skilled workers. The Republic of Korea and Japan have a great demand for skilled workers with a command of foreign languages, but labour export enterprises are still unable to meet the demand for such workers. This is a thorny problem for enterprises and state management agencies. Almost all workers want to receive training activities as highly-skilled workers have a higher income than unskilled ones. Besides, workers after receiving training activities are often more disciplined and work better.

In 2007, the number of Vietnamese guest workers to Malaysia reached 26,704, followed by Taiwan 23,640, the Republic of Korea 12,187, Japan 5,517, Laos 3,068, Qatar 4,685, UAE 2,130, Macau 2,132, Arab Saudi 1,620, Czech Republic 423, Australia 32 and other countries 2,882.