Workers arriving home need support

Vietnamese workers who return home after working aboard should be given more support to enable them to reintegrate into the community and find work, a labour expert has suggested.

The survey was conducted between November 2012 and May 2013, with the respondents including both overseas workers, returnees, their families, Korean employers, police and the local authorities of both countries, also revealed that over 44 per cent of respondents had found it difficult to find a job at home.

The head of the Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs, Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, said at a ministry conference in Ha Noi on July 16 that the move would help to reduce the rate of Vietnamese workers who remain overseas after their contracts have expired.

As one of 15 countries that sends workers to South Korea, since 2004, 71,730 Vietnamese people have gone to work in South Korea through the ‘Employment Permit System', which provides most of the workers for small and medium sized Korean enterprises.

Over 70 per cent of migrant Vietnamese workers work in the manufacturing sector, less than 20 per cent work in construction, while almost 10 per cent are involved in agriculture and fishing. Their monthly average income is roughly one million South Korean won (US$900), 7-20 times higher than their salaries in Viet Nam.

The big gap in income is a major factor that drives Vietnamese workers to illegally overstay in South Korea beyond their labour contracts, said Huong, noting that 77 per cent of the 243 workers responding to her survey had admitted that.

The survey was conducted between November 2012 and May 2013, with the respondents including both overseas workers, returnees, their families, Korean employers, police and the local authorities of both countries, also revealed that over 44 per cent of respondents had found it difficult to find a job at home.

"The savings that those returning bring back are usually spent on improving their living standard such as building a new house," she said, emphasizing that some of the savings were also spent on starting up a business or for investment purposes.

Huong said that after returning home, these workers needed support on a range of issues including money management, accessing capital and further training.

She also recommended granting unemployment insurance to returnees to encourage them to return home on time.

The "overstays" reached alarming levels, as in 2011, 57 per cent of Vietnamese workers stayed in South Korea illegally after their contracts had expired. However the rate had fallen by 30 per cent at the end of last year when around 17,000 Vietnamese workers were reported to be staying on without legal documentation.

The problem is blamed on the workers being unaware of the regulations and having a lack of discipline, as well as difficulties with the legal framework and co-ordination between Vietnamese and Korean agencies. There is also a substantial demand for these cheaper illegal workers from Korean employers.

Deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Association for Labour Export Companies Pham Do Nhat Tan said that overseas workers needed to be equipped with a proper understanding of their recipient countries, their rights and obligations.

He also agreed that stricter punishments on workers who overstayed as well as their employers were needed immediately, as they are largely ignored for their inaction, whereas the workers are forced to leave the country if caught.

Subsequently, the high numbers of Vietnamese workers who are staying illegally in the country resulted in South Korea closing the door on further imports of Vietnamese labour last year.

The overstaying workers are vulnerable to discrimination, earn less wages, cannot afford healthcare and are expelled from the country if found out.

Strange disease identified as hepatitis

A strange disease that has affected 45 residents in the Central Highland province of Kon Tum's Ia Chiem and Dak Nang communes since May this year has been identified as hepatitis A, according to the provincial Health Department.

The patients, aged from seven to 50, were all suffering from fever, jaundice and white eyes. Samples taken by the health department reported positive to hepatitis A.

A strange disease that has affected 45 residents in the Central Highland province of Kon Tum's Ia Chiem and Dak Nang communes since May this year.

Director of the ministry's Preventive Health Department, Nguyen Van Binh, said the outbreaks were caused by unhygienic environments and the use of polluted well water.

The provincial and central health departments have co-operated with the Central Highland Institute of Epidemic Prevention to control the spread of the disease.

Capital may set up 190 taxi ranks

The Ha Noi Transport Department suggested the municipal People's Committee set up 190 taxi ranks at shopping centres, hotels, and hospitals throughout the city.

It also suggested that the taxis involved should be under the direction of controllers, as at leading airports.

A spokesman for the transport department said that the ranks would overcome the lack of space for taxis to park at many busy venues - and prevent traffic jams in busy times.

At present, taxi drivers often had to park near crowded residential areas or busy streets, he said.

Under the proposal, those seeking a taxi would only have to walk a few minutes to a rank, where they would be directed by taxi controllers.

Under the plan, taxi parking areas would be built in several downtown districts during the next two years.

The city now has 17,400 taxis. The current space for taxi parking only meets 5-10 per cent of demand.

Japan grants 30 scholarships for Vietnamese cadres

Japan will provide US$3.3 million in non-refundable aid for Vietnam within the framework of the Japan Human Resource Development Scholarships (JDS) project in the 2014-2017 period.

A diplomatic note was signed between Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Tanizaki Yasuaki and Vietnamese Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan in Hanoi on July 18.

Accordingly, Vietnam will send 30 students to Japan in 2014-2015 and enrollment for the scholarships will start this August.

They will study in various fields including mechanism building, urban and rural development, environmental protection, legal framework development and administrative management reform at famous universities, namely Hitotsubashi, Nagoya, Tsukuba, Meiji, Kobe, Kyushu, Hiroshima and International Christian.

The project started in 2,000 with a focus on young Vietnamese students who are expect to hold key positions in different professional aspects after finishing their training courses in Japan.

So far, 363 Vietnamese cadres have received master degree scholarships from Japan.

USAid funds children's rehabilitation centre

The central city of Da Nang's Hospital for Women and Children officially opened a new rehabilitation department for children with help from the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

The opening of the new rehabilitation centre was part of a three-year (2012-15) USAID-funded programme called Comprehensive Support for People with Disabilities.

During the centre's opening ceremony, the USAID presented wheelchairs to 69 people with disabilities at the Center for Social Work.

Deputy PM: training in tandem with job creation

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has stressed that vocational training in rural areas must go hand in hand with generating jobs and ensuring product marketing.

Chairing a national teleconference in Hanoi on July 17 to review how the 3-year implementation of the vocational training project in rural areas until 2020 has worked out over the past three years, the Deputy PM said the project is important to the restructuring of agriculture and the provision of a contingent of workforce for non-agricultural production and industrial parks in the coming period.

The Central Steering Board in charge of the project said over the past three years, pilot models to provide training in farming techniques, handicraft, fishing and several occupations at the request of local enterprises have been underway in 11 provinces nationwide.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has devised 55 pilot vocational training curricula to serve the programme.

More than 1 million rural workers have received vocational training, and more than 822,000 of them have found new jobs or earned higher income after graduation.

Particularly, the number of applicants for training has risen steadily over years, reflecting a shift in thinking among the rural population.

Participants, however, pointed out drawbacks like the absence of a long-term orientation in line with overall socio-economic development master plans and development plans for agriculture, industry, handicraft, services and markets in rural areas.

In some areas, vocational training exposes poor quality and has yet to meet requirements of both trainees and employers. Consultation and career orientations have yet to satisfy social demand, while training facilities are still ill-equipped.

Unhygienic toilets blamed for epidemics

About 26 per cent of the country's population are using unhygienic toilets, according to statistics released by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

This has been blamed for infectious epidemics in communities, according to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.

Four injured in Quang Binh coach accident

Four passengers were injured after a coach overturned on a section of National Highway 1A running through central Quang Binh Province's Bo Trach District yesterday morning (July 17).

Three victims received minor injuries, while one was more seriously hurt having suffered from a bone fracture and was rushed to the provincial Viet Nam-Cuba Dong Hoi Hospital.

Local police are investigating the cause of the accident.

Binh Duong plans land-use up to 2020

The southern province of Binh Duong has published a land-use plan that increases the supply of land for urban areas, industrial parks and tourism.

Under a provincial People's Committee plan to 2020 and a more detailed plan for the next three years, land for urban areas will increase from 25,800 to 73,980 hectares.

Land for industrial parks will increase from 9,250ha to 12,160ha and land for tourism will rise from 993 hectares to 3,157 hectares.

However, at the same time, agricultural land will decrease from 208,403 hectares to 189,921 hectare.

Chinese baby formula could be unhealthy

Three baby formula brands have been penalised after products imported from China were found to contain more than the permitted content of trans-fatty acids, which can cause heart disease.

The three brands, Baby Club, Super and Yili, were also found to have no licence for trade in Viet Nam, according to the Health Ministry's Administration for Food Safety and Hygiene.

The administration has been contacting relevant agencies in China and Hong Kong for more information so that it can update customers in Viet Nam.

Nghe An and Lao Cai provided with free rice

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked the Ministry of Finance to provide for free 1,356 tonnes of rice to people in the central province of Nghe An and the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai.

The aid aims to help farmers during their between-crop period and those affected by natural disasters. Nghe An will receive 1,220 tonnes and Lao Cai will receive 136 tonnes.

Having suffered an almost continuous series of natural disasters, Lao Cai Province will be allowed to ask for further assistance if necessary.

Noxious microbes devastate workforce

Microorganisms were blamed for the cause of a recent mass poisoning at ForeMart Garment Company in the northern province of Hung Yen's An Thi District, according to the Ministry of Health's Administration for Food Safety and Hygiene.

The poisoning happened to 230 workers last week after they had lunch at the company. Between July 10-15 workers complaining of stomachaches, vomiting and diarrhea were hospitalised at the district medical centre. Most of them have since been discharged. No casualties were reported.

Traffic accidents and fatalities begin to fall

The number of traffic accidents and related deaths have declined in Ha Noi over the past month, due to the city's implementation of Plan 59 to strengthen the enforcement of traffic laws.

According to statistics from the city's Traffic Police Division, there were 44 traffic accidents in the past month, with 36 people killed and 19 injured. These figures show a decline of 10 deaths and six injuries from the previous month.

Plan 59, implemented from June 6 to July 11, dealt with violations by buses, taxis, three-wheeled vehicles and cyclo. Over 5,000 citations were issued by the city's police, with the fines totaling nearly VND3.4 billion (US$161.428).

Health insurance law to lift coverage

Health insurance would be compulsory for all, according to a draft on amendment to the Law on Health Insurance.

The health insurance system will also be run as a non-profit operation by the State.

"Health insurance fees for health care services would be considered as a special tax for health care," said the Viet Nam Insurance Agency's Health Insurance deputy director Nguyen Van Tien at a workshop on Tuesday, July 16.

The draft amendment singled out 25 current forms of health insurance into three main groups, including insurance for workers; groups covered by the society insurance funds and the State budget; and those partially supported by the State Budget.

The agency explained that simplification of types of insurance would help better manage the health insurance network and expand it to cover the whole population.

The draft also highlighted health insurance for households with an aim to expand health insurance holders, especially among ethnic minority communities and among the poor.

"People of the Mong ethnic group have had less access to health care services than other ethnic minority groups despite most of these people having had health insurance cards. The most important thing is how the law could help increase access to health care services for them," stressed Tien.

A representative of the Lao Cai Health Department said that ethnic minority people in the province have been disadvantaged when compared to people in delta and urban areas due to the poor quality of medical services and health human resources in the northern mountainous provinces.

The changes to the law aim to expand health insurance cover to 70 per cent of the population by 2015 and over 80 per cent by 2020, said Tien.

The agency's statistics put the number of people with health insurance at more than 59.3 million, equivalent to 67 per cent of the country's population.

Quang Nam revisits resettlement issues related to power projects

The local authorities in the central province of Quang Nam were asked to run an exhaustive check on the investors of hydro-power development projects to see if they had fulfilled their commitments on compensating the people affected.

The resettlement issues were top of the agenda during a meeting between the board of the Tay Nguyen Steering Committee led by its deputy chairman Tran Viet Hung, and the local authorities on Tuesday, July 16.

The provincial Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Duc Hai said that the development of hydro-power plants in the mountainous parts of Quang Nam, where last year nearly half of the population were described as poor, has played an important role in improving the local infrastructure, which has in turn helped to trigger economic growth.

However, he noted that these developments had come with unwanted consequences. The construction of dams had had a seriously negative impact on the surrounding environment and disrupted the lives and lifestyles of the people living near the reservoir, 40 per cent of them belonging to ethnic groups.

According to the planners, Quang Nam has been developing or will develop 42 hydro-power plants whose total capacity will reach almost 1,600MW. The finished and ongoing construction of the dams has also led to 15,000 people being displaced as more than 1,700 households had to move elsewhere to make way for the construction.

However, the local authorities announced that in their opinion, the resettlement had not been carried out properly. In particular, there was not sufficient land for the local people to work or the land's quality was poor, while the resettlement itself was anything but aligned to their old lifestyle.

They also said that they would ask hydro-power investors to work with the relevant local agencies to address and sort out various technical issues that might arise from the operation of hydro-power plants.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA