Nghe An workers cautious when approaching new job opportunities in Australia
Recently, Australia and Vietnam have agreed to facilitate 1,000 Vietnamese workers to work in the agricultural sector in Australia. However, the opportunity to go to Australia under this program is not easy for workers.
New opportunities for workers
The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Australian Embassy in Vietnam have just announced the implementation of support for Vietnamese citizens to work in Australia under the Pacific Australia Labour Migration Program (PALM). Accordingly, Australia will grant permits for up to 1,000 Vietnamese workers to work in the agricultural sector in this country, with a salary of up to 60 million VND/month. Workers can choose short-term jobs, lasting 6-9 months, or long-term jobs, lasting 1-4 years.
The partner only requires low to semi-skilled skills in the agricultural sector such as farming, meat processing, seafood (including aquaculture) and forestry. Workers must meet the following criteria and conditions: have appropriate skills, qualifications or work experience as required by the employer; be physically fit; and be over 21 years old. In particular, they must have an IELTS English level of 4.0 or higher, sufficient to be able to work, integrate into life in Australia and contribute to reducing risks and resolving problems themselves.
Workers participating in the program enjoy the same rights as Australian workers under Australian law; are provided with adequate employment, a safe workplace, and are paid a minimum of AUD 300 (Australian Dollars), approximately VND 5 million, by the employer for airfare from Vietnam to the workplace and accommodation in Australia.
Not only do they not have to pay service fees to service businesses or administrative costs to public service units, workers in this country with a modern agricultural system enjoy an income level that is considered high compared to other labor markets.
According to Mr. Tran Phi Hung - Head of Labor Safety - Employment Department, Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs of Nghe An, despite such attractive income and benefits, it is difficult for workers in Nghe An to access them, because most workers who want to work abroad in this field do not have the required English proficiency. If they have IELTS 4.0 or higher, most workers are studying at universities and do not want to work in the agricultural sector.
It is very difficult for workers to access companies that are authorized to send workers to Australia, when there are too few businesses selected. In addition, recently many units, businesses, organizations and individuals have used advertising tricks to send workers to Australia, while they themselves are not selected as businesses authorized to recruit and send workers to Australia under the PALM program.
Mr. Tran Phi Hung - Head of Labor Safety and Employment Department, Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs of Nghe An
Workers need to avoid being scammed
Although the program has just begun to be implemented, according to the records of the functional sector, recently there have appeared a number of organizations and individuals impersonating those selected by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Australian side to select and collect money from workers in violation of the law.
Also according to the exchange of Mr. Tran Phi Hung - Head of Labor Safety - Employment Department, Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs of Nghe An, last May, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs issued Official Dispatch 2045/LĐTBXH-QLLĐNN dated May 16, 2024 on coordinating information to prevent fraud in sending Vietnamese workers to work in the agricultural sector under the PALM Program.
Accordingly, Nghe An promptly issued Official Dispatch No. 2078/SLĐTBXH-LĐVL dated May 17, 2024 on coordinating information to prevent fraud regarding the agricultural labor program in Australia, in order to prevent individuals and organizations from taking advantage of information about the Agricultural Labor Program in Australia to defraud and collect money from workers.
According to this document, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Nghe An province requests the People's Committees of districts, cities and towns to direct competent agencies to organize information and propaganda to local workers to absolutely not register with any individual or organization (including individuals and organizations claiming to be representatives of employers in Australia) to participate in the agricultural labor program in Australia until the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Australian Embassy in Vietnam officially announce the list of Vietnamese service enterprises, public service units selected to participate in the PALM Program and units selected by Australia to implement the Program.
At the same time, promptly detect and handle individuals and organizations that go to localities to promote and recruit workers to participate in the above program without guidance documents from the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs according to the provisions of law.
Enterprises that meet the above mandatory criteria will be scored according to the following criteria: Experience in sending workers to work abroad under contracts (by number of years, labor export market); Level of compliance with legal regulations on sending Vietnamese workers to work abroad under contracts (by number of years without being continuously administratively sanctioned for 2 years or more up to the date of application submission); Number of times the enterprise has been rated 5 stars or higher by the Vietnam Association of Labor Export.
In the first year, up to 6 businesses will be selected to send workers to Australia to work. Businesses must meet the following conditions: Have at least 5 years of experience in sending Vietnamese workers to work abroad under contracts (from the date the first worker leaves the country). Have at least 3 staff members specializing in the Australian market who have participated in insurance at the business for at least 6 months; including 1 staff member in charge of market research and development, and 1 staff member in charge of labor management with an English proficiency of 6.5 IELTS, or equivalent or higher; have 1 staff member in charge of orientation education for workers before they go to work in Australia with an English proficiency of 5.0 IELTS, or equivalent or higher.
Mr. Vi Ngoc Quynh - Deputy Director of Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs of Nghe An
The selection of enterprises is based on the principle of taking the highest score downwards. In case the enterprises have the same score, the order of priority for selection is as follows: In the last 5 years, the enterprise has sent a larger number of Vietnamese workers to work abroad; In the last 5 years, the enterprise has sent workers to work in more countries/territories in the agricultural sector. The enterprise has a specialist officer in charge of the Australian market with experience studying, working, or residing in Australia.
Such strict conditions mean that up to now, no labor export enterprise in Nghe An has met them all. Mr. Nguyen Le Thang - Director of Phuc Chien Thang Joint Stock Company, said: Regarding the scores such as years of experience or having employees with an English certificate of 6.5 IELTS, many enterprises like ours have met them all. However, we still lack 3 employees specializing in the Australian market, and I believe that no company in Nghe An has been licensed to send workers abroad that meets all the requirements of partners, so this is also a "fertile land" for many individuals to take advantage of to defraud workers./.
