Over 80,000 foreigners working in Vietnam

Foreign workers in Vietnam

Vietnam is now home to more than 80,000 foreign workers, according to Le Quang Trung, deputy head of the Department of Employment under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).
They come from over 100 countries and territories and work as mangers, managing directors, experts and technical workers, Trung said at a meeting on communication work on employment hosted by the ministry in the southern province of Binh Duong on May 10.

Ninety-five percent of eligible foreign workers in Vietnam have been granted work permits, he said, adding that they provide a significant contingent of skilled, experienced and professional workers for Vietnam.

However, he noted that there is a lack of close, timely and comprehensive coordination in managing foreign labourers among local authorised agencies while violations have not been strictly handled.

The sense of law observance of some contractors, businesses and foreigner workers in recruiting, employing labourers and following work permits remains limited, even some foreigners enter Vietnam before applying for work permit, he said.

The increasing number of foreign workers in Vietnam requires the improvement of the legal system to ensure the rights of migrant workers, especially social security.

Social insurance authorities in the country have developed a compulsory social insurance scheme for foreign workers in the country, citing the need to follow international practices as the country deepens its integration.

The 2014 Law on Social Insurance requires compulsory enrollment of foreign workers in the social insurance scheme, starting in 2018, to ensure their equality and welfare. However, to date, it has not yet been realised due to a lack of guiding documents.

A MoLISA draft decree also proposed requiring foreign workers to take part in all five social insurance programmes – pension and insurance for sickness, maternity, vocational injuries, disease, and death.