Minister Dao Ngoc Dung: 'The Ministry is ready to go to court if wrong'

On September 30, reporting on the implementation of the promise when answering questions at the 9th session of the 14th National Assembly Standing Committee, Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said that in the past time, he and his staff have worked with the "highest determination".

According to Mr. Dung, in the past, labor export enterprises, even if they violated the law and did not ensure the rights of workers, were not punished. In the past six months, the Ministry has taken action to rectify this.

"Nine businesses had their licenses suspended and revoked, along with fines of tens of billions of dong. There were lawsuits, but I told the Minister that I was ready to go to court if the Minister was wrong, but I was definitely not wrong. It was all to ensure the rights of workers," he said.

Reporting on the results of administrative reform implementation, Mr. Dung said that the Ministry has put forth a drastic program for implementation.

"Perhaps now only the Ministry of Labor is the Minister volunteering to be the head of the administrative reform and information technology committee. Four days ago, we signed a contract with Viettel when the Government had not yet provided funding. In case the Government does not provide funding, Viettel is ready to support," said Mr. Dung.

Some technology applications will begin to be operated by the Ministry this December. By the end of 2018, basic areas such as employment, labor safety, overseas labor management, meritorious people and vocational training will be "connected".

Minister Dao Ngoc Dung explains the promised issues to the National Assembly. Photo: HT

Negotiations for Korea to accept workers from 4 Central provinces

Regarding Korea stopping accepting workers from localities with many illegal residents, Mr. Dung informed that the Ministry of Labor had negotiated with the other side and had positive results.

Specifically, in August 2012, Vietnam failed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on sending workers to work in Korea due to the high rate of workers whose contracts expired and who did not return home (accounting for 55% in late 2011 and early 2012). Through negotiations, in May 2016, the other side resumed receiving workers after a nearly 4-year hiatus.

However, the number of runaway workers is still so large that South Korea requires annual reviews. In March 2017, the Ministry stopped recruiting workers in 58 districts with 60 or more illegal residents.

"Regarding the coastal districts affected by the 2016 marine environmental incident in Ha Tinh and Quang Binh, the Minister personally negotiated with South Korea. They agreed to continue using workers in the fishing industry in 2017 for these localities," said Mr. Dung.

Increase the employment rate of vocational students

According to Mr. Dung, there are currently 130 job service centers operating nationwide. During the period 2011-2015, these facilities provided consultation to about 8.1 million workers. There are 48 localities organizing job exchanges.

"The Ministry of Labor has been building information indicators on the labor market related to vocational education, building a database system on vocational education. The system has been operating stably, connecting information between vocational training institutions with management agencies and employment service centers," Mr. Dung informed.

In addition, the Ministry of Labor has attached importance to cooperation between enterprises and educational institutions. Some enterprises have supported vocational training facilities with vocational training equipment; arranged jobs for students; sent experts to teach; and granted scholarships to students.

"More and more schools are signing training contracts with businesses, committing to minimum wages and jobs for students after graduation," said Mr. Dung. The rate of students and graduates having jobs is increasing, in 2016 it was about 70%.

According to VNE