Vietnam, Japan share trade union experience

President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour Dang Ngoc Tung held talks with the President of the National Confederation of Trade Unions of Japan (Zenroren) Sakuji Daikoku in Hanoi on Nov. 3.

Tung praised the cooperation and assistance from Zenroren and the trade unions movement of Japan to Vietnam ’s trade unions and expressed his wish that Vietnam would continue to receive support and learn from the experiences of Zenroren, to build trade union movements in Vietnam.

He expressed his hope that the current Vietnam visit by Sakuji Daikoku and Zenroren officials would help further develop the fine cooperation between the two trade union organisations.

The Vietnamese trade union leader told the guests that the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) was exerting efforts to accelerate trade union activities, especially at the grassroots level, increasing collective negotiations and signing collective labour agreements, with many benefits to workers.

The VGCL is in the process of adjusting the Law on Trade Unions and coordinating with the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs in amending the Labour Code, which is expected to be approved by the National Assembly in May 2011.

Sakuji Daikoku expressed his wish that the two sides would coordinate to help Vietnamese workers improve their skills and knowledge of Japanese labour law before being sent to Japan .

At present, Japan has 1,500 businesses operating in Vietnam. In 2010, Japan’s registered investment in Vietnam hit 1.5 billion USD.

During the visit, which runs from Nov. 2-8, Zenroren officials will work with several trade union organisations in Vietnam and visit some historical sites in the country./.

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Life sentence proposed for former transport official

Huynh Ngoc Si pictured before the trial on October 16, 2010

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Ho Chi Minh City People’s Procuracy on Saturday proposed the life sentence for Huynh Ngoc Si, former deputy director of the HCMC Transport Department and director of the Japan-funded East-West Highway and HCMC Water Environment projects.

The prosecution agency said Si took bribes worth US$262,000 from officials of the Japanese company Pacific Consultants International (PCI).

It said his act had caused “serious consequences,” affecting the process of foreign investment attraction and damaging Vietnam’s reputation of managing Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA).

According to the agency, Si should have been sentenced to death, but it proposed the life sentence given his contribution to the country in the war.

Si said the proposed sentence was “too harsh” for him, but added he did not ask to reduce the sentence because he was innocent.

The judges will deliver the sentence on Monday.

Last year a Tokyo court sentenced former PCI president Masayoshi Taga to a suspended jail term after convicting him of bribing Sy.

Japanese media reported that former PCI executives admitted paying Sy $820,000 in bribes.

Three former PCI executives in addition to Taga were given suspended prison terms and the company was fined 70 million yen ($774,193) over bribes to secure road contracts in the case.

Japan, Vietnam's biggest bilateral donor, resumed aid loans to Vietnam one year ago after suspending them during the PCI scandal.

Si is already serving a six-year jail term for “abuse of power” conviction. He was sentenced to three years in September last year for pocketing $2,900 in office rent to PCI. In March this year an appeals court increased his jail term to six years.

Sy's deputy, Le Qua, was also ordered to serve five years, up from an original two.

He and Qua were charged with renting state offices to PCI between 2001 and 2002 for a total of US$80,000 but not including the money in official accounts.

The two officials deducted VND350 million ($18,227) for "receptions", divided the rest among dozens of employees and managers, while each pocketed about VND53 million themselves, a court ruled in September.

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Vietnam attends World Travel Fair in Japan

Vietnam is attending the World Travel Fair 2010, which was opened in Tokyo on Sept. 24 by the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA).

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), Vietnam Airlines, Da Nang city and several travel agencies are joining others from nearly 140 countries and territories to introduce about the Vietnamese people and land, especially popular tourism sites and products of the country.

The JATA World Travel Fair 2010 will run until Sept. 26 and is expected to welcome 100,000 visitors.

Also on Sept. 24, VNAT, Vietnam Airlines and Da Nang jointly held a seminar in Tokyo to promote Vietnam , drawing many travel agencies from Vietnam and Japan .

Speaking at the seminar, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Phu Binh said Japan is a potential market for Vietnam and it is necessary to accelerate activities to promote the image of Vietnam in Japan .

Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, Deputy Head of VNAT Department for Tourism Promotion, said that Japan has been among the top five tourism markets of Vietnam , providing an average of 400,000 tourists a year./.

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Former project executive charged with taking bribe

Huynh Ngoc Si is former deputy director of HCMC Department of Transport

Photo: VNA

The Supreme People’s Procuracy on Thursday laid charges of taking bribes against Huynh Ngoc Si, former director of the management board of the ODA-funded East-West Highway in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the indictment, Si took US$262,000 from executives of Japan’s Pacific Consultants International (PCI) for awarding design and supervision consultancy contracts to the company.

As the ex-PCI officials, who were prosecuted on charges of bribery and violations of Japan’s anti-competition laws, confessed that Si received their bribes seven times in total, the Ministry of Public Security’s Investigation Agency decided to continue further investigation.

The ex-employees with Japan’s PCI claimed that they gave Si bribes totaling $800,000 in exchange for the provision of consultancy services for the project. The bribes were given between 2003 and 2006, at a time when the project in Ho Chi Minh City was underway.

The East-West Highway project was approved in 2000. It used the Japanese Government’s ODA and Vietnam’s capital.

On September 25, 2009, Si was sentenced to three years in jail on charges of “abuse of power” when overseeing the East-West Highway and HCMC Water Environment Improvement projects.

Si, who is also former deputy director of HCMC’s Department of Transport, and his deputy, Le Qua, misappropriated funds earned from leasing a state-owned house on Nguyen Thi Dieu Street in District 3 to Japan’s PCI.

The money received from the contract between August 2001 and November 2002, estimated at around VND1.2 billion ($66,500), was not submitted to the state budget but disbursed among 87 officials working in the project.

Si took VND52 million and Qua took VND54 million from the contract. The two officials also used VND350 million for “treating guests.”

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Japan shares public management experiences

A seminar on Japan’s experiences in public management was held on September 7 in Hanoi with the participation of managers and researchers from the two countries.

The seminar, jointly held by the Vietnam Academy for Social Sciences and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), talked about issues including national management trends in a globalisation context, international cooperation in public management, modernisation of public finance, public investment, and central and local hierarchies in public management.

Prof. Yoshiharu Tsuboi, senior expert of JICA, said that Japan would share experiences with Vietnam in regulations for public servants, state management, a transparent system for public capital and international cooperation in policing and the judicial sector.

Prof. Muneyuki Shindo said that Vietnam should have an agency for appraising the State’s investment projects, applying a common bidding form and increasing the participation of independenet experts and the public in drafting public projects. The government should also empower local administrators to supervise these works./.

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VN, Japan enhance cooperation in combating crimes

Vietnam and Japan should further enhance joint coordination in combating trans-national, drug trafficking and high tech crimes, said Minister of Public Security Le Hong Anh.

Minister Anh made the statement while receiving visiting Chairman of Japan’s National Commission on Public Safety (NCPA) Hiroshi Nakai in Hanoi on August 18.

The friendly cooperation between Vietnam and Japan has been expanded in various fields under the spirit of the strategic partnership that was defined by the two countries’ senior leaders, he said.

He confirmed that the collaboration between Vietnam ’s Ministry of Public Security and the NCPA and the National Police Agency of Japan in fighting transnational crimes has recorded certain results.

Nakai affirmed that the discussed orientations for cooperation would be a foundation for the implementation in the future.

He expressed his belief that the delegation’s visit would make important contributions to consolidating the special friendship between Japan and Vietnam./.

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