Stronger together forced labour

Nguyen Xuan Son - Operations manager of Staffing and Outsourcing ManpowerGroup Vietnam According to the results of the Labour Employment Survey in the first quarter of 2019 by the General Statistics Office, the foreign direct investment (FDI) sector had been creating jobs for around 3.8 million workers, accounting for over 7 per cent of the total labour force (over 54 million employees) and over 15 per cent of the total wage labourers (25.3 million people) in Vietnam. In addition to creating direct jobs, the sector also indirectly created jobs for many workers in supporting industries or other businesses in the supply chain for foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs). The average salary of employees working in FIEs is often higher than in the state sector or non-state sector. Specifically, before the pandemic, the average salary of workers in the FDI sector was $350 per month. Meanwhile, workers in the state sector had an average salary of $328/month and for the non-state sector … [Read more...] about The impressive changes in Vietnamese labour market

In a dispatch signed on May 22 and sent to leaders of relevant ministries, agencies, and localities, the PM noted that Northern, Central and Southwestern regions are going through heatwaves that push temperatures North of 40 degrees Celsius in certain areas. Forest fires have been reported in some localities like Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Quang Nam, and Lam Dong, causing great losses, according to the dispatch. To prevent wildfires and ease their damage, the PM asked chairpersons of people’s committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to take responsibility for the work in their localities. Inspections and supervisions over wildfire prevention and control should be enhanced and considered a key task, he said, asking them to review forces and equipment, and outline wildfire prevention and control plans. The leader stressed that relevant forces need to work round the clock during the dry season and hot days. He also emphasized the need for localities to raise … [Read more...] about Prime Minister urges stronger wildfire prevention measures

Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has urged stepping up wildfire prevention measures as heatwaves are scorching many localities nationwide, increasing the risk of wildfires. In a dispatch signed on May 22 and sent to leaders of relevant ministries, agencies and localities, the PM noted that northern, central and southwestern regions are going through heatwaves that push temperatures north of 40 degrees Celsius in certain areas. Forest fires have been reported in some localities like Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Quang Nam and Lam Dong, causing great losses, according to the dispatch. To prevent wildfires and ease their damage, the PM asked Chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to take responsibility for the work in their localities. Inspections and supervisions over wildfire prevention and control should be enhanced and considered a key task, he said, asking them to review forces … [Read more...] about PM urges stronger wildfire prevention measures

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Labour , Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) is carrying out measures to create sustainable employment, as many businesses are forced to cut the number of their employees, although the labour market is showing signs of recovery in the second quarter of this year. Over the recent past, the ministry has directed the Departments of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to actively coordinate with the management boards of industrial parks, export processing zones and economic zones, and the local Confederations of Labour, representative organisations of employers and relevant departments and sectors to grasp the production and business situation of enterprises, and promptly take appropriate solutions to remove difficulties and obstacles for them. However, in the long run, it is necessary to concertedly implement measures such as attracting investment and supporting enterprises to recover and develop production … [Read more...] about Actions taken to ensure sustainable employment

Illustrative image (Photo: vtv.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Labour , Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has submitted to the Government a plan in which it proposes a 20.8% increase of pensions and social insurance benefits and monthly allowances for those with no salary increase from January 1, 2022. Compared with the previous draft, in the new draft decree, the ministry adds the groups of people who are enjoying monthly benefits for accidents at work and occupational diseases to be entitled to this increase. The draft decree also proposes raising wages by 12.5% for people who are receiving pensions, social insurance benefits and monthly allowances from July 1, 2023. Under the new draft decree, recipients of pensions, social insurance benefits, and monthly allowances before January 1, 1995 with a salary of less than 3 million VND (127.6 USD) per month will be further adjusted. Specifically, people whose pension after the increase is less than 2.7 … [Read more...] about Ministry proposes plan on pension, allowance increases

A total of 60 Vietnamese nationals who were among over 1,000 people rescued from a casino in the Philippines returned home early Tuesday morning. A total of 60 Vietnamese nationals who were among over 1,000 people rescued from a casino in the Philippines return home on May 30. Photo by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), there were 437 Vietnamese among the over 1,000 forced workers rescued on May 4 from an establishment owned by the Clark Sun Valley Hub Group in Pampanga Province, near the Filipino capital of Manila. The ministry has instructed its consular department to contact the Filipino embassy in Vietnam and ask for support in assisting the Vietnamese citizens, especially those with expired personal papers to return home. The ministry has also proposed the Philippine authorities help ensure accommodation for the Vietnamese citizens, inform the Vietnamese side about their residence status, … [Read more...] about 60 Vietnamese nationals rescued from Philippine casino return home

Since last October, Pham Manh Hung has been struggling to feed his five-member family. Hung has been forced into a reduction of working hours, while his wife last worked for an apparel company in Hanoi almost a year ago. For most of 2022, all 1,500 workers at Hung’s company in Hanoi’s Quang Minh Industrial Park (IP), producing furniture products exported to Europe and Japan, operated at full speed with many export orders coming from foreign partners. Prolonged economic difficulties will inevitably mean that some people will be squeezed out of work, photo Le Toan “However, over the past seven months, the company has landed only several orders. So its leadership has been seeking more markets for its products in order to create employment and retain workers,” Hung said. “They don’t want to let go of workers and instead reduce the working hours by two hours a day.” Meanwhile, his wife, Nguyen Thi Mo, had been working for a Japanese firm in the capital’s Thang Long IP … [Read more...] about Nation braced for dim job prospects

Both domestic and global difficulties badly affecting Vietnam’s industrial production were highlighted last week when the National Assembly opened its fifth session in Hanoi. “The economic situation has continued depressing and the consumption demands in Vietnam’s key export markets have slashed due to high inflation. Meanwhile, there has been a rise in geopolitical tensions and many nations have tightened their monetary policy. All of these have badly affecting Vietnam’s industrial production and socioeconomic performance as a whole,” said Vuong Dinh Hue, Chairman of the National Assembly (NA). The government last week reported that in Q1, GDP grew only 3.32 per cent on-year, the lowest Q1 growth level over the past 12 years. In which many localities saw their industrial growth record a low or below-zero level. For example, regional GDP declined in the provinces of Bac Ninh (11.85 per cent), Quang Nam (10.88 per cent), Ba Ria-Vung Tau (4.75 per cent), Vinh Phuc (2.47 per cent), … [Read more...] about Ambitious 2023 targets out of reach with weak progress

Le Huu Quang Huy Former Investment counsellor, Embassy of Vietnam to Japan Previously, personal income in this country was low, so Vietnamese people paid little attention to services such as finance, insurance, healthcare, and education. Lately, living standards have improved a great deal, leading to more demand for such services. Vietnam has signed and implemented many commitments to open its market and offer protection to investors, regulated in both bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements. If investors have not kept up to date on this information, they may be losing out on opportunities to increase their market share. A number of foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) face problems while trading or manufacturing in Vietnam. In such cases, they should work together to raise their voices for local authorities to hear. FIEs need to strengthen relations with domestic partners and the local labour force by increasing training opportunities, with some 80 per cent of … [Read more...] about Vietnam needs to improve investment promotion

Do Van Su, deputy director general of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment Last week, Do Van Su, deputy director general of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said the quality and quantity of foreign-headed projects have improved in recent years. “Although the number of large-scale projects has decreased due to the impact of many factors, the quantity of projects overall sees an average increase of 16-19 per cent per year. The average capital of projects is $16 million,” he said. Statistics published by Su’s agency showed that in the first four months of 2023, Vietnam attracted 750 newly registered projects, 386 added-capital projects, and 1,044 paid-in capital, signifying increases of 65.2, 19.5, and 1.8 per cent on-year, respectively. The results are deemed positive in the context that global foreign investment capital inflow is forecasted to dip this year. In addition, these positive … [Read more...] about Quality and quantity advances sought