Tightening control over migrant labor contracts

With the support of the International Labor Organization, the Vietnamese Government has detailed regulations on contracts and deposit ceilings to protect migrant workers and minimize risks for recruitment companies.

It is known that the recruitment process and costs related to international migrant workers in Vietnam will be more transparent after the new regulations take effect from December 1, 2013.

With the support of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) has just issued two circulars to standardize contracts and set mandatory deposit ceilings for each labor receiving country.

"The issuance of two circulars is necessary to help businesses have specific standards in signing contracts with foreign partners and workers, in order to limit risks for both businesses and workers," said Mr. Nguyen Luong Trao, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Manpower Supply. "This is also one of the factors contributing to sustainable business development and safe labor migration."

Under the new regulations, Vietnamese recruitment businesses will no longer be able to impose conditions in contracts, but must comply with standard conditions, including requiring businesses to reimburse workers if they cannot send workers abroad to work.

The model contract also requires details such as mentioning a specific job, the name and address of the receiving company, clearly establishing the responsibilities of all parties and dispute resolution procedures, to protect migrant workers in the event of contract termination.

“With Circular 22, recruitment agencies cannot include provisions that only benefit themselves and ignore provisions that benefit migrant workers,” said Max Tunon, coordinator of the ILO’s Triangle project. The Triangle project is a program to protect migrant workers in the Mekong sub-region.

Meanwhile, another new regulation, Circular 21, does not allow recruitment businesses to freely impose deposit levels on workers.

According to Mr. Tran Van Tu, Head of the Policy and Mechanism Department of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, the two new circulars will help solve the problem of unfair competition between recruitment businesses and the "hidden costs" that workers have to pay to work abroad.

But to make the above expectation come true, he said that "State management agencies must strengthen inspection of businesses providing services to send workers to work abroad."

Representing the Government, Ms. Hoang Kim Ngoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Overseas Labor Management under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that the new regulations will contribute to facilitating functional agencies in State management and handling violations in the field of sending workers to work abroad.

According to Hanoimoi