The irresponsibility of the local authorities is the main reason why Chinese unskilled workers can continue to work in Vietnam despite strict regulations set up to prevent them.
The Tra Vinh provincial Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, for example, has granted work permits to 2,100 Chinese workers to work at the Duyen Hai 3 Thermopower Plant.
The Tra Vinh provincial authorities, in an effort to calm people down, explained that they only allowed the Chinese workers to enter Vietnam after being sure that the Chinese contractor could not employ Vietnamese workers for important positions.
Under current laws, Vietnam only accepts qualified foreign workers for the posts of managers, specialists and skilled workers, while it does not welcome untrained foreign workers.
Deputy director of the provincial labor department Duong Quang Ngoc said China Chengda Engineering, the Chinese contractor, tried to look for Vietnamese workers through districts’ labor sub-departments and job centers, but could not find candidates who could satisfy the requirements to work as specialists and technically skilled workers.
However, the information about the requirements on candidates was unclear. The Chinese contractor only said it needed technical workers, commercial affairs workers and safety workers, while it did not describe detailed requirements. As a result, job centers did not know for sure who they should look for, while workers did not know if they were a good fit for the jobs.
Sources said that a job center had many times tried to contact the Chinese contractor and introduce tens of workers who applied for the jobs. However, there was no reply from the employer.
A lawyer, who asked to be anonymous, said under the current decentralization mechanism, local authorities are authorized by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) to grant work permits to foreign workers.
Meanwhile, local authorities, in an effort to compete with other provinces and cities in attracting investors, tend to satisfy all the claims by investors, including ones on employing foreign workers.
MOLISA to deal with the problem
Nguyen Le Minh, a labor expert, suggested that Vietnam should learn experiences from the US and Singapore in recruiting foreign employees. Foreign candidates need to be classified into different groups and all of them have to sit the entrance exams. In case the candidates cannot meet the requirements, they will be expelled immediately.
Meanwhile, MOLISA Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Hoa said MOLISA is considering drawing up new regulations to tighten the granting of work permits to foreign workers.
Foreign contractors must discuss with project investors and get the investors’ approval when employing foreign workers. They must prove that they will only employ workers for posts that cannot be undertaken by Vietnamese workers.
If labor inspection agencies find unpermitted foreign workers in Vietnam, they would have the the right to force the workers to exit Vietnam. Under current regulations, the unpermitted workers will be expelled from Vietnam by a decision from the Minister of Public Security.
As such, once the new regulations are applied, directors of provincial police departments would have the right to make decisions to force unpermitted workers to leave Vietnam, and would not need to wait for a decision by Minister of Public Security.
