Labour exporters to review trawler case

HA NOI — The five companies that sent 11 Vietnamese to work aboard the South Korean fish trawler which sank off Antarctica on Monday have been ordered to do urgent tasks.

The Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Ministry's Management of Overseas Labour Department has told them to send representatives to South Korea to deal with the aftermaths of the sinking; the identify of the dead and missing – presumed dead – and those who were saved.

The department requires the five companies to ask the Foreign Affairs Ministry's Consular Office and Viet Nam's embassies in South Korea and New Zealand for more information.

They will also have to ask the diplomats to provide any essential documents.

In addition, they must inform the families and localities of the seafarers of their findings and provide support through any losses and difficulties.

The companies have been instructed to ask the trawler owner to ensure treatment for the rescued fishermen; the buying of e-tickets and the completion of procedures for those who want to return home.

They must also liquidate contracts with the workers who return to Viet Nam in accordance with the law.

The department has proposed that the families of the missing fishermen empower the companies or the trawler owner to make the necessary funeral arrangements and issue the appropriate declarations about the missing.

The department requires the five companies to work with their partners to pay all the salaries, allowances, bonuses and any other welfare due the fishermen.

They must also complete insurance procedures and arrange support from the overseas employment support fund in accordance with the regulations.

They must also issue regular updates.

The toothfish trawler sank in freezing waters early in the morning about 1,850km north of Antarctica and 2,700km south of New Zealand.

The New Zealand Rescue Co-ordination Centre says it's not known what caused the ship to sink and no distress call was made.

But information from the ship carrying the survivors suggests the boat sank quickly, giving the crew no time to don life jackets or immersion suits.

The water temperature was about 2 degrees and estimated survival time without proper equipment was about ten minutes.

One of the Vietnamese crew was reported dead with three missing and seven rescued.

The trawler had 42 crew aboard with 17 still missing. — VNS

Related Articles

• NA Committee debates Law on Denunciations
• Corporate governance below average: report
• Study reveals harsh realities for women migrants in HCM City
• Minister sees craft villages as essential to development
• Vietnam, China boost trade cooperation

Putting an end to gender selection

A newborn girl at Ha Noi's National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The Government is trying to reverse the gender imbalance at birth with a combination of measures. — VNA/VNS Photo The Duyet

HA NOI — By promoting a radical shift in women's roles within the family unit that allows daughters to perform ‘masculine' duties, Viet Nam may be able to reverse the country's imbalanced gender ratio.

Participants from across the country discussed this measure at the Workshop on Sharing Visions to Adress Viet Nam's Imbalanced Gender Ratio in Hoa Binh last week.

The gap in the ratio between boys and girls born in Viet Nam began to widen in 2006. The 2009 Census on Population and Housing reported that there were 110.6 boys born per 100 girls born last year.

Head of the General Office For Population and Family Planning Duong Quoc Trong said the desire to have a son is influenced by centuries-old beliefs that males provide additional stability for families. A survey conducted by the Research Institute for Social Development that was published this year also reported that couples favour male children because boys are given the important task of carrying on the family name and caring for the family.

Bac Lieu Province's Department of Health deputy director Chau Tuyet Ngoc said the motivation to have sons differs from the North to the South. "In the South, parents are more likely to prefer to have both sons and daughters than parents in the North are."

Participants at the conference discussed how new technology allows couples to determine the gender of their child earlier, and to what extent this technology has affected the nation's gender imbalance.

Trong said gender-selective abortions were only a small part of the big picture.

He said traditionally couples had also sought to engineer the sex of their child by ingesting traditional medicine, following a special diet or selecting a specific time for conception.

Participants said that in several provinces where people had limited access to ultrasounds and abortion clinics, the gender ratio imbalances at birth were still high.

Khuat Thu Hong, head of Research Institute for Social Development, said although the Population Ordinance in 2004 banned doctors from revealing the sex of a foetus before birth, many doctors ignore the rule.

"Patients and doctors often form close relationships during the nine-month pregnancy, which at times makes it nearly impossible for doctors to refuse to inform the parents about the foetus's sex," said Hong.

"And actually revealing this information is very easy, some doctors just use gestures."

Trong said officials were lax on enforcing the law. Only two clinics have been closed after investigative reporting uncovered that doctors were informing parents about the gender of their foetus.

Most pregnant women at health clinics that were surveyed knew their foetus' gender, said the office's deputy inspector Nguyen Dinh Bach.

United Nations Fund for Population Activities officer Pham Nguyen Bang said the demand to know the gender of one's child in advance is rational, normal and humane. It was the utilisation of that piece of information to eliminate a female foetuses that was illegal.

"It is time to intervene in gender-selective abortion, however, it is not easy to distinguish between a gender-selective abortion and family planning," he said.

Bang said as long as abortion is used as a tool for family planning, it will be difficult to combat gender-selective abortions.

Hong said South Korea's experience should serve as an example to other Asian countries. South Korea was the first of several Asian countries to deal with large gender imbalances at birth. The country effectively reversed the trend by implementing economic policies that opened the doors to women into the work place. South Korea also introduced a series of policies that established equal rights for men and women. These measures effectively empowered women and reduced the country's gender imbalance. — VNS

Related Articles

• Vietnam moves up in business-friendly rankings: WB report
• Enterprises to face higher capital cost
• Ethnic minorities, poor to receive free legal aid
• Mekong Delta’s King Of Rice Seeds
• Vietnam, Palestine increase solidarity

South Korean firms employ 5,000 VN workers this year

HA NOI — The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) announced that more than 5,000 Vietnamese workers had been hired by South Korean employers to work in Korea since the beginning of the year.

While there are only half as many workers employed in South Korea as there were in 2008, ministry officials believe it is a positive sign that the overseas job market is improving despite the global economic downturn.

Pham Van Minh, director of the Overseas Employment Centre under MoLISA's Overseas Employment Management Department, said that the increasing demand for work in South Korea had prompted the ministry to organise two Korean language tests, instead of one as usual, for candidates this year.

"Only candidates that passed the language exam are qualified to apply for jobs in Korea," said Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, head of the Overseas Employment Management Department.

The multiple-choice Korean language test was organised in four cities and provinces including Ha Noi, Nghe An, Da Nang and HCM City earlier this month. More than 27,000 candidates were qualified to take the test. Most candidates applied for industrial jobs, construction work and agricultural positions.

Quynh said the test results would be provided by Korean officials in early November.

Jung Ill Sung, head of Korea's Migrant Workers Management Department, said about 80 per cent of the people who passed the exam would be hired by Korean employers.

The Overseas Employment Office reported that since August 2004, 47,533 people have been sent to work in South Korea. — VNS

Related Articles

• 5,000 Vietnamese workers sent to RoK this year
• Ford rewards employee’s technician skills in contest
• Travel firms club to better serve Thai tourists
• Timber-product exporters sign $3b deals
• Assoc insists on power price hike despite protests

Korean bride murderer gets 12 years in jail

The mentally deranged South Korean husband who admitted to murdering his Vietnamese wife in July was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday by a Korean court.

Prosecutors last month suggested life-in-prison for Jang Do Hyo as he committed the crime despite receiving treatment for his condition many times. Prosecutors argued that Hyo posed a future risk to society.

But the judge determined that Hyo was mentally ill during the murder and has showed regret afterward, local news website VnExpress said Friday, citing an AFP report.

The 47-year-old requires mental treatment in jail and will have to wear an electronic monitoring device for ten years after his release, according to an announcement made at the trial.

Hyo stabbed his 20-year-old wife Thach Thi Hoang Ngoc, of Can Tho, to death just eight days after her arrival in the country. They wed early this year through a marriage brokerage firm.

He told the police he heard a voice in his head asking him to kill Ngoc during their quarrel.

Since July 2005, Hyo has been treated 57 times for mental illness, but stopped taking medicine after the marriage. Police say Hyo was afraid his wife would discover his past problems.

Seoul authorities have compensated Ngoc’s family US$25,000.

Following the case, South Korea pledged to make Korean men looking to marry foreign women undergo a cultural education program.

More than one-third of South Korean men, most of them farmers and fishermen, married foreign women last year, according to figures released by Korean authorities.

Statistics from the South Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City showed that around 27,500 Vietnamese women had been granted marriage visas by 2008 and around 8,000 such visas were granted in 2009 alone. This means around 35,500 Vietnamese women had migrated to South Korea for marriage by the end of 2009.

Most of these marriages were conducted by illegal brokerage firms.

Over the last two decades, poverty has driven thousands of women from poor families, especially the Mekong Delta, to marry older men, mainly from South Korea and Taiwan.

Related Articles

• Korean bride murderer gets 12 years in jail
• Nation puts pride on parade
• Former Saigon PM talks about homeland
• Market moves up sharply
• Assoc insists on power price hike despite protests

Korean bride murderer gets 12 years in jail

The mentally deranged South Korean husband who admitted to murdering his Vietnamese wife in July was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday by a Korean court.

Prosecutors last month suggested life-in-prison for Jang Do Hyo as he committed the crime despite receiving treatment for his condition many times. Prosecutors argued that Hyo posed a future risk to society.

But the judge determined that Hyo was mentally ill during the murder and has showed regret afterward, local news website VnExpress said Friday, citing an AFP report.

The 47-year-old requires mental treatment in jail and will have to wear an electronic monitoring device for ten years after his release, according to an announcement made at the trial.

Hyo stabbed his 20-year-old wife Thach Thi Hoang Ngoc, of Can Tho, to death just eight days after her arrival in the country. They wed early this year through a marriage brokerage firm.

He told the police he heard a voice in his head asking him to kill Ngoc during their quarrel.

Since July 2005, Hyo has been treated 57 times for mental illness, but stopped taking medicine after the marriage. Police say Hyo was afraid his wife would discover his past problems.

Seoul authorities have compensated Ngoc’s family US$25,000.

Following the case, South Korea pledged to make Korean men looking to marry foreign women undergo a cultural education program.

More than one-third of South Korean men, most of them farmers and fishermen, married foreign women last year, according to figures released by Korean authorities.

Statistics from the South Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City showed that around 27,500 Vietnamese women had been granted marriage visas by 2008 and around 8,000 such visas were granted in 2009 alone. This means around 35,500 Vietnamese women had migrated to South Korea for marriage by the end of 2009.

Most of these marriages were conducted by illegal brokerage firms.

Over the last two decades, poverty has driven thousands of women from poor families, especially the Mekong Delta, to marry older men, mainly from South Korea and Taiwan.

Related Articles

• Korean bride murderer gets 12 years in jail
• Nation puts pride on parade
• Former Saigon PM talks about homeland
• Market moves up sharply
• Assoc insists on power price hike despite protests

Police bust bride parade for Koreans in HCMC

Police in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday caught three Korean nationals including a marriage broker choosing Vietnamese brides from among 17 women paraded for them.

Among the Vietnamese caught at the scene were a translator, three brokers who also supplied the bride candidates between 18 and 20 years of age.

The Korean husbands-to-be and broker were picked up at the Tan Son Nhat Airport and taken straight to the house in Binh Chanh District where the Vietnamese women were paraded in front of them.

The translator, Nguyen Thi Tuoi, 26, who directly dealt with the Korean broker, told the police she had so far provided her services for three illegal marriage brokerages for Korean men at the same house this year for US$25 a day.

The suppliers of the girls will get a further VND2.8 million (US$144.30) for each one chosen by the Korean men, Tuoi said.

Most of the girls were brought from their families in the Mekong Delta. They stayed with the suppliers, were served daily meals and VND300,000 ($15.46) a month.

Police are investigating the case further.

Over the last two decades, poverty has driven thousands of women from poor families, especially the Mekong Delta, to marry older men, mainly from South Korea and Taiwan, despite language and cultural barriers.

Many of them are alienated and mistreated.

Statistics from the South Korean Consulate General in HCMC show that around 27,500 Vietnamese women had been granted marriage visas by 2008 and around 8,000 such visas were granted in 2009 alone.

This means around 35,500 Vietnamese women had migrated to South Korea after marriage by the end of 2009.

Most of these marriages were arranged by illegal brokers.

Related Articles

• Police bust bride parade for Koreans in HCMC
• PM lauds police for keeping public order
• Shopping fun at Dalat Market
• Child abuse more common than data suggests

Police bust bride parade for Koreans in HCMC

Police in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday caught three Korean nationals including a marriage broker choosing Vietnamese brides from among 17 women paraded for them.

Among the Vietnamese caught at the scene were a translator, three brokers who also supplied the bride candidates between 18 and 20 years of age.

The Korean husbands-to-be and broker were picked up at the Tan Son Nhat Airport and taken straight to the house in Binh Chanh District where the Vietnamese women were paraded in front of them.

The translator, Nguyen Thi Tuoi, 26, who directly dealt with the Korean broker, told the police she had so far provided her services for three illegal marriage brokerages for Korean men at the same house this year for US$25 a day.

The suppliers of the girls will get a further VND2.8 million (US$144.30) for each one chosen by the Korean men, Tuoi said.

Most of the girls were brought from their families in the Mekong Delta. They stayed with the suppliers, were served daily meals and VND300,000 ($15.46) a month.

Police are investigating the case further.

Over the last two decades, poverty has driven thousands of women from poor families, especially the Mekong Delta, to marry older men, mainly from South Korea and Taiwan, despite language and cultural barriers.

Many of them are alienated and mistreated.

Statistics from the South Korean Consulate General in HCMC show that around 27,500 Vietnamese women had been granted marriage visas by 2008 and around 8,000 such visas were granted in 2009 alone.

This means around 35,500 Vietnamese women had migrated to South Korea after marriage by the end of 2009.

Most of these marriages were arranged by illegal brokers.

Related Articles

• Police bust bride parade for Koreans in HCMC
• PM lauds police for keeping public order
• Shopping fun at Dalat Market
• Child abuse more common than data suggests

Vietnam, South Korea extend MoU on labor export

Vietnam and South Korea have extended the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on supplying and receiving Vietnamese guest workers under the employment permit system (EPS) program.

At the signing ceremony in Seoul on Sunday, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thanh Hoa emphasized that the extension of the MoU for two more years and the MoU on cooperation in vocational training, social insurance and labor safety that has been extended since late May 2009 are legal foundations and create conditions for a large number of Vietnamese workers to work in South Korea, thus further boosting the two countries’ labor cooperation.

Hoa said the ministry highly evaluated South Korea’s labor market, considering it an important market for Vietnamese workers.

According to the deputy minister, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has decided to set up a vocational training school for Vietnamese workers before sending to South Korea.

He said Vietnam hoped that the South Korean government and its Labor Ministry would join in training Vietnamese workers to help them get familiar with the lifestyle and daily activities in South Korea.

South Korean Deputy Labor Minister Lee Chae Pil said that Vietnam now tops of the list of 15 nations in South Korea’s EPS program.

Vietnamese workers are hardworking and skillful, he said, adding that there are more than 55,000 Vietnamese workers are working at over 1,500 South Korean small and medium-sized enterprises, contributing to promoting the development of business activities of South Korean enterprises and its economy at large.

He went on to stress that his government is not only exerting efforts to protect the Vietnamese workers’ benefits at the country’s workshops but also paying attention to improving the living conditions for Vietnamese workers.

Lee highlighted the job festival that took place in Vietnam last October where South Korean businesses and Vietnamese workers met one another.

He confirmed that South Korea would do its utmost to help train Vietnamese workers before entering the country.

Related Articles

• High rice price cuts exports
• Timber-product exporters sign $3b deals
• FTAs have positive impact on ASEAN trade
• Thousands await relocation
• Visit hell then heaven

Vietnamese culture to be part of South Korea museum

The National Children’s Museum of South Korea will add a section of Vietnamese culture later this month to make Korean children more aware of the 90,000-strong Vietnamese community in the country.

“Hello Vietnam” is part of a project to explore the cultural traits of countries that have large communities living in South Korea. This year, the museum will also add a section about Mongolian culture.

Each section will showcase various items and multi-media data, stored in cabinets, that will provide visitors with information about the history, language, natural conditions, cuisine, daily customs, religions, music and entertainment of the countries.

The Vietnamese cabinet will tell the legends of banh chung and banh day, Vietnamese traditional cakes made of glutinous rice and served at Tet (the Lunar New Year holiday). A comic book and cartoon will bring the stories to life in both Vietnamese and Korean.

The exhibitions are expected to provide schools, other museums and cultural agencies with materials, and to eliminate cultural disagreements in Korean society.

Around 1.2 million Vietnamese live in South Korea. Vietnamese people make up the second largest community after China, with 35,000 Vietnamese women married to Korean men.

Related Articles

• Vietnamese culture to be part of South Korea museum
• Agriculture sees annual growth of 3.8 percent
• HCMC to relay grand sale program to November
• Vietnam Air accepts web check-in for int’l flights
• Australia wants stronger cooperation to vocational education