Lesson 2: Runaway workers and their consequences

(Baonghean) - As mentioned, the Korean labor export market is an attractive market in terms of income and high stability. However, in Nghe An, there are currently 1,031 workers who have completed the Korean language test and have certificates but are still "waiting" to go to work in the land of kimchi. The main reason is that Vietnam has not been able to control the situation of workers running away in their home country. Meanwhile, in

Difficulties in solving runaway workers

Instead of signing long-term contracts, for the past 3 years, due to the large number of Vietnamese workers who have escaped to work and reside illegally after their contracts have expired, the Korean Government has only signed a labor cooperation agreement with Vietnam once a year. Therefore, from 2011 to now, Vietnam has not organized any additional Korean language exams and the cases of returning to Korea are only given priority to 2 subjects: First, those who have passed the Korean language certificate exam under the EPS Program and second, Vietnamese workers who have completed the labor regulations and returned home to retake the exam. In addition, priority is given to some subjects who are poor households (the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs organizes a separate exam for poor households) and the E7 license program is for highly skilled workers (usually workers with English proficiency, international level skills and many years of experience).

The family of Cong in Nghi Phong commune (Nghi Loc) told reporters about being scammed by a labor export brokerage company.

Although the number is very limited, mainly “priority” subjects, but because the number of Korean workers recruited each year is limited, there are still thousands of workers with certificates who have not yet been able to go to Korea to work. In Nghe An alone, this number is currently up to 1,031 people. This greatly affects the workers who return home on time and negatively impacts the psychology of workers working in the host country.

Talking about this situation, Mr. Ngo Trung Dung, Vice Chairman of Nghi Hai Ward People's Committee, the locality with the largest number of workers working in Korea in Cua Lo Town, shared that: Every year, Nghi Hai Ward is notified of nearly 20 cases that must return home on time. In addition to propaganda and mobilization on mass media, the ward has also organized many campaigns to reach each family; but staying at home to commit is one thing, whether or not the people in Korea will return home is another matter...

Talking to Mr. Nguyen Huu Viet in Dien Hai commune (Dien Chau), who has worked for 8 years after returning from Korea, he said: “Although I have only worked for one company for 8 years, I still clearly see the difference between official workers and illegal workers. Most specifically, in terms of benefits: If you are a contract worker, you are covered by insurance, and enjoy full holidays and vacations. When you are an illegal worker, you have to look carefully before going out, and if you are careless, you will be arrested by the police. The employer, apart from paying you a salary, does not give you any other preferential rights...”.

Anh Viet also added that: Vietnamese workers flee and stay in Korea mainly for 3 reasons. First is for economic purposes, because most of the subjects participating in labor export have low incomes, before going to work abroad, they have to borrow a large amount of money to cover expenses from several tens to hundreds of millions of VND. Therefore, the pressure on them to quickly repay the capital and have some savings to do business when returning home is also very large. Moreover, the income level of workers paid in Korea is quite high, so many people after the end of their contracts refuse to return but intentionally flee to stay and work "illegally" despite the risks.

The second group is the workers who are being scammed. These are people who are scammed by brokers and brokers. When they go abroad, they know that they are not following the official path, so they have to find a way to escape, accept illegal residence to find another job with the hope of earning money to recover the capital they have spent. Through researching some people who have worked in Korea, we also learned that: According to the mandatory regulations of the host country, when workers work according to orders, they are fully paid by their employers for insurance and social security. However, when they go out to work, because the employers do not have to pay the prescribed regimes, these amounts are paid to the workers. Therefore, the number of "illegal" workers also receive higher salaries.

Discussing further on this issue, Mr. Dang Cao Thang - Deputy Director of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs added: The core issue is still the awareness of workers. Illegal workers in Korea lack awareness of complying with Vietnamese and Korean laws, only knowing personal interests without thinking about the interests of the community.

Disadvantages for workers at home

The situation of runaway workers also affects those who return home on time. Ms. Ngo Thi Trang in Tan Phuc block, Nghi Hoa ward (Cua Lo town) returned from Korea more than a year ago on time. When Ms. Trang returned, her family had high hopes, because according to regulations, exemplary workers are the number 1 "priority" to return to work. However, for the past 2 years, because Vietnam has not been able to limit the situation of runaway workers, each year Korea only allows a small number of workers to go abroad to work. Therefore, although the documents have been submitted to the Department of Overseas Labor Management for a long time, Ms. Trang and many others who returned home on time have not had the opportunity to return to Korea to work. Although the situation is still very difficult, in early April this year, when she learned that her younger brother Ngo Quoc Viet's labor export permit under the EPS Program had expired, she and her family continued to campaign for Viet to return home on time. The day we arrived, Viet was in Hanoi reviewing his Korean to continue preparing for the Korean language test organized by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs for workers returning home to fulfill their commitments.

Talking to us, Mr. Ngo Van Nam, Trang and Viet's father, honestly said: Although Trang and Viet both went to work under the EPS Program, the amount of money the family had to pay for one person to go was much more than the 636 USD required by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. Even in Viet's case, although at that time the family had learned from experience and knew that Viet's application was selected by Korea completely randomly, but close to the departure date, because they were afraid that the "decoy" would make things difficult, the family still had to pay nearly 100 million VND (in addition to the main budget).

The opportunity to go to Korea is increasingly narrowing, so in many different ways, many workers have found ways to "circumvent" the law. The most obvious way is to go to Korea through "studying abroad". Recently, talking to Mr. Luu Giang Nam, Head of Market Department of Incomex Company, he said: Studying abroad is actually very good and if done correctly, workers can "legally" live in Korea. Simply, because most of the students studying abroad have good foreign language skills and knowledge, there are many opportunities to work in high-paying jobs such as interpreters and tour guides.

Moreover, international students are legal residents, so they do not have to pay taxes during their working time, which is very beneficial economically... Of course, to achieve this result, international students must spend at least 2 years to get acquainted with the language, customs, and practices of the host country and have a certain level of knowledge and skills. Currently, international students mainly want to "live for a living", considering studying abroad as the shortest way to legally go to Korea. After that, after only a few days or half a month, they find a way to sneak out to work. Currently, Incomex Company is also having a "headache", because from the beginning of 2015 until now, 80% of students studying abroad through the company have sneaked out after only 1 month, accepting to live in hiding to work. The company is also helpless, there is no solution to limit this situation, including mortgaging the red book of houses and land of international students.

This is also a problem for many study abroad companies today. At the study abroad consulting session of Atlanta Company, the company representative also frankly said: I am very sorry to see a reality that our students call it studying abroad, but in fact go to Korea to find work. This is a big risk, because the cost of studying abroad (including tuition fees is very high), nearly 200 million VND/person. If after escaping, they are caught and deported, the economic burden on the family is very large. Learning more, we also know that, besides studying abroad, many other workers choose to go to Korea by tourism, by going through an intermediary country, by water and then fleeing to the shore to work...

Recently, the Office of the Investigation Police Agency - Provincial Police has also received many complaints from workers about the fraud of Bui Van Phuc - Director of Phuc Duc Construction and Import-Export Trading Company Limited, located at 134, Kim Dong (Vinh City) in illegally sending workers to work in Korea. Coming to the house of Nguyen Chi Cong, Phong Thinh hamlet, Nghi Phong commune (Nghi Loc) - one of the subjects who was scammed by Phuc of nearly 200 million VND, it was learned that: Because his brother is working in Korea, after finishing high school, his family intended to send Cong to Korea to work together.

Through an acquaintance in the commune, the family was introduced to Phuc Duc Import-Export Construction and Trading Company Limited and was guided to go to Korea through the route of studying abroad. After a while, because he could not do it, Phuc promised to take them to Korea through sponsorship. To be sure, Phuc called Cong's family and many other families, introducing them to the stamped visa. Although at that time, the image of the visa could only be seen online, because they trusted Phuc, the families still agreed to pay Phuc 11,000 USD and went home, eagerly waiting for the day their children could fly to Korea.

A month later, Cong was also notified by the company to go to Ho Chi Minh City to complete procedures, but he waited there for more than 30 days without being able to leave the country. By the end of March 2014, Cong and 5 others were informed by the company that they would go to Chechu Island as tourists. However, when they all arrived at the airport of Chechu Island, they were deported back to their country because they were suspected of being illegal workers. Since returning to Vietnam, knowing for sure that they had been scammed, Cong and many other workers have searched everywhere to find Phuc to get their money back but have been unsuccessful. Too worried, the families had to go to the police to report.

Inquiry at the Department of Vocational Education - Department of Education and Training also found out: Currently in Nghe An province, there are dozens of companies registered to announce registration for studying abroad in Korea, but in fact only about 10 units are licensed. However, even qualified units have not proven to be effective.

Responding to us about the workers being tricked into going to Korea, Senior Lieutenant Nguyen Tuan Anh - Deputy Head of the Investigation Team - Office of the Investigation Police Agency, Nghe An Police said: Most of the victims of the fraud knew that the previous path was illegal labor, but they still accepted the risk, as long as they could go to Korea. By the time the incident was reported to the police, it was too late, the subject had fled the area, so the investigation and verification encountered many difficulties...

(To be continued)

My Ha - Khanh Ly