While Vietnamese guest workers in foreign countries have to register with the local authorities through their employers, there is a large number of foreign workers illegally employed in Vietnam but local authorities do not know the exact figure even where they live and work.

According to Phan Quoc Thai, deputy head of the Vietnam Immigration Department in Southern regions of Vietnam under the Ministry of Public Security, the number of foreign workers from Africa and the Middle East coming to Ho Chi Minh City has increased rapidly in recent years. The number rose from 2,893 in 2005 to 4,080 in 2007 and 1,765 in just the first half on 2008.

However, many foreign workers in Ho Chi Minh City do not have work permits because they don’t satisfy the criteria in terms of work experience. Some work at two firms at once. Tam said the Department is seeking ways to address the situation.

Problems persist in the management of foreign labourers. Ho Chi Minh City currently has about 8,000 legal foreign workers, however, this figure is only the tip of the iceberg. Many enterprises recruit foreign labourers themselves from China and African countries, since there are no enterprises in Vietnam which are permitted to do it for them.

Foreign labourers work in Vietnam in such fields as education, footwear, garments and textiles, printing and building-often for low salaries. Most footwear and garment and textile companies employ Chinese workers.

Foreign workers beyond number 

A report from Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Labour-Invalids and Social Affairs in a survey of 200 enterprises at the end of 2008 shows that 30% of foreign workers do not have permits and 10% of them are not qualified to get one.

After concluding their review of 14 companies employing foreign labourers in the last quarter of 2008, the review committee was shocked to discover that only 3 out of 23 foreign workers have a labour license.

Some experts are worried about the difficulty of foreign-labour management in the face of increasingly large numbers. Last year, for example, the number of Asian workers in Ho Chi Minh City rose drastically. In addition, the number of Korean, Japanese, Malaysian and French workers also increased sharply, respectively by 125%, 35%, 136% and 87%.

Le Hong Tam, head of the Ho Chi Minh City’ Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that the Department cannot control the amount of illegal labourers being used by companies outside the designated economic zones since reporting by such companies to the Department is often incomplete, moreover, many foreigners work illegally using tourist visas.

In Hai Phong there are about 4,000 labourers, half of them working on the construction of the Hai Phong thermal power plant in Thuy Nguyen district, while others work in Do Son industrial park and some factories in An Duong district.

According to Nguyen Hong Mai, deputy head of the Institute of Construction Economics, large construction sites like Ca Mau Gas-Power-Fertilizer Complex and Hai Phong’s thermal power plant always employ thousands of Chinese workers.

Nguyen Cong Luc, head of the Department of Economic Sectors of the Government Office said that a thermal power plant in Quang Ninh uses more than 2,000 Chinese workers. The chairman of the Vietnam Association of Building Materials added that more than 10 large cement factories and power plant projects are being undertaken by Chinese contractors.

Tran Ngoc Hung, head of the Vietnam Federation of Civil Engineering Associations confirmed that Vietnamese contractors are worried that Chinese contractors are winning in key construction projects for the production of electricity, cement and chemicals. To make matters worse these contractors bring with them thousands of Chinese workers and materials which can be easily obtained in Vietnam.

Tougher foreign labour management needed

Mr. Thai pointed out that the number of visas granted cannot be used to count   the number of people registered to work in Vietnam since visas are granted for both tourism and business, and are then extended by those wishing to stay in the country to work. This uncontrolled process of visa granting enables foreigners to easily immigrate to Vietnam in large numbers.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has proposed that foreign labourers in Vietnam be required to have at least a university degree. Foreign workers skilled in traditional handicrafts or who have valuable experience in their profession but who do not have qualifications must obtain approval from relevant authorities in their country of origin. This would enable Vietnam to close the door on unskilled foreign labour.

However, since there is no set agreement among Vietnam and other countries as to the definition of ”a skilled worker” employers may be able to exploit the situation to bring in unskilled workers anyway.

This would make it easy for some foreign workers to enter the country and negatively impact social security and the development of many regions in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs urged its Department to broaden their knowledge of laws and regulations on the employment and the management of foreign labourers in Vietnam, which apply to local enterprises and organisations. The Vietnam Immigration Department, under the Ministry of Public Security, has already officially notified the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform them that the Department of Security under the Ministry of Public Security has instructed the police in the cities and provinces not to grant visa application and extensions for foreign workers without reason.

Statistics from the relevant agencies have shown that most foreign workers employed in the educational, footwear, garments and textiles, banking, finance, securities and building construction sectors have a stable monthly payroll much higher than Vietnamese workers.

For foreign workers who have labour contracts, enterprises must post the job advertisement and register with relevant organisations.