Building workers can refuse unsafe jobs

Workers can refuse to work in conditions that do not meet safety standards, according to the Ministry of Construction's new regulations.

Specifically, if workers report unsafe conditions and do not receive responses, they can choose to stop working. The regulations also stipulate that they can resist work if not provided with adequate protective equipment.

Construction workers are barred from assignments that involve work they are not trained to do. Contractors must keep workers safe at all costs, including taking injured workers to hospitals and reporting accidents to relevant authorities for investigation.

According to Truong Anh Tu, a construction supervisor of the private Hanoi-based Acore 3D, workers are already refusing unsafe jobs. In fact, contractors already try to maintain safe construction sites.

He said if accidents occur, "construction will be stopped and our prestige will be damaged. So, any safety suggestions raised by workers will be seriously considered to make necessary changes."

However, he also said that it was nearly impossible to give assignments in line with workers' trained skills given that a majority of country's construction workers are freelance seasonal workers with little or no training at all.

At smaller firms, workers are usually required to do multiple jobs.

The regulations will come into effect as of January 16 next year./.

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Support available for firms employing ethnic minorities

Workers with the Son La Rubber Joint-Stock Company, most of whom are from ethnic minorities, prepare seedlings for new rubber plantations in mountainous Son La Province's Thuan Chau District. Businesses employing ethnic minorities are tipped to receive Government support. — VNA/VNS Photo Dieu ChinhToi

HA NOI — Enterprises in Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) region employing workers from ethnic minorities will be entitled to receive State support from January 1.

As part of Government Decision 75, the State will give targeted financial aid to agroforestry companies, management boards of protected and specific-use forests and to non-state enterprises which use land for the manufacture of agro-forestry products.

"The aim is to create jobs for ethnic minorities and help reduce poverty," said Director of the Tay Nguyen's Gia Lai Province Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Ngoc Thach.

He said that although vocational centres in Tay Nguyen region had trained more than 50,000 people from ethnic minorities in the past three years, most could not find proper jobs.

To improve the situation, the State will now pay all workers up to VND3 million (US$150) for three-month vocational training courses.

In a further incentive for business, companies where 30-50 per cent of workers belong to ethnic minorities will receive a 50 per cent reduction in land rent for one year. If this rate is more than 50 per cent, companies will then be exempt from land rent for twelve months.

The State also plans to pay the social, medical and unemployed insurance for ethnic minority workers within five years.

Tran Tam, director of the Krong Ana Coffee Company in Dac Lac Province, said that 350 of 475 workers in his company belonged to ethnic minorities.

"In previous years, few enterprises employed ethnic minority workers because they did not adapt to the company working environment and only worked for a short time," he said.

Tam added that he believed the new decree and proper training would result in more people from these groups finding jobs in the future.

Foreign-owned enterprises will not receive State support under the new scheme. — VNS

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Building workers can refuse unsafe jobs

HA NOI — According to the Ministry of Construction's new regulations, workers can refuse to work in conditions that do not meet safety standards.

Specifically, if workers report unsafe conditions and do not receive responses, they can choose to stop working. The regulations also stipulate that they can resist work if not provided adequate protective equipment.

Construction workers are barred from assignments that involve work they are not trained to do. Contractors must keep workers safe at all costs, including taking injured workers to hospitals and reporting accidents to relevant authorities for investigation.

According to Truong Anh Tu, a construction supervisor of the private Ha Noi-based Acore 3D, workers are already refusing unsafe jobs. In fact, contractors already try to maintain safe construction sites.

He said if accidents occur, "Construction will be stopped and our prestige will be damaged. So, any safety suggestions raised by workers will be seriously considered to make necessary changes."

However, he also said that it was nearly impossible to give assignments in line with workers' trained skills given that a majority of country's construction workers are freelance seasonal workers with little or no training at all.

At smaller firms, workers are usually required to do multiple jobs.

The regulations will come into effect as of January 16 next year. — VNS

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Staff shortage raises disease fears

Health workers examine residents in Ia Hru, Chu Se District in the Central Highland province of Gia Lai. Viet Nam's disease control faces difficulties including the shortage of preventative health workers and a low budget for the sector. — VNA/VNS Photo Sy Huynh

HA NOI — A shortage of essential medical workers threatens the control of the contagious diseases that constantly stalk Viet Nam.

Flu, dengue fever, malaria, encephalitis and diarrhoea strike an estimated 3.5 million people throughout the country each year.

But Health Ministry figures show that only about 8,600 preventative health workers are available to meet the threat.

Of these, about 1,200 work in central facilities and meet about 77 per cent of demand; another 7,397 are in the provinces where they meet 54 per cent of demand.

Up to 75 per cent of the workers have not been professionally trained.

Still, they have to monitor formerly infected zones; inspect the environment; find the causes of outbreaks and mobilise people to take preventive and control measures to stop dieseases from spreading.

Too small spending is blamed for the shortage.

The budget for preventive medicine accounts for just 25 per cent of all medical spending.

Expenses

Medical worker Doan Tat Thang, of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta Soc Trang Province preventive medicine centre, complained that although he and his fellow workers sometimes had to travel long distances to do their job, their expenses met only 30 per cent of cost.

"We sometimes have to travel up to 80 km by boat and motorbike to spray chemicals to kill mosquitoes and control dengue fever," he said.

"It often takes us from early morning to late at night to complete the work."

Very few preventive medicine workers were willing to work in remote regions for the prevailing daily pay of just VND30,000 (US$1.5), said Dr Luu Thi Thu Ha from the southern delta's Dong Thap Province preventive medicine centre.

Many of the workers also wanted to attend training courses to improve their skills.

"I was unclear about how to write a report about an epidemic and how to manage my staff to employ effective preventive measures before I had a chance to join a training course last year," she said.

Target

Viet Nam needs an extra 5,500 tertiary-educated preventive medical workers; 1,000 post-graduates and 4,200 nurses and technicians to meet the strategy for national preventive medicine to 2020.

The target will not be easily met.

A lack of qualified lecturers will be a major hindrance.

"In addition facilities and equipment for the study and practice of preventive medicine at the medical universities are obsolete and do not meet demand," said Health Ministry's Science and Training Department director Truong Viet Dung.

The low rate of student enrollments for preventive medicine compared with other health disciplines was also a barrier, he said.

"The low salary and hard work makes preventive medicine unattractive." he added.

A 2009 survey revealed that the number of students applying to study general medicine accounted for 91 per cent; the figure for preventive medicine was 73.8 per cent.

But Ha Noi College of Medicine and Pharmacy graduate Nguyen Thi Linh, said she had decided to train as a general nurse instead of a preventive medical worker as the former would provide her with more employment opportunities.

"I can apply for jobs at hospitals or any medical centres as a general nursing graduate, while the opportunities for a preventive medical worker is limited," she said.

The health ministry planned to spend more for facilities, lecturers and training programmes to address the shortage, Dung said.

The ministry would also providepreventive-medical-training for diploma holders in other medical disciplines to encourage them to work in the field.

The Ha Noi Medical University was piloting the training programme and if successful, it would be applied at other medical universities.

Potential students might also be provided scholarships or made exempt from tuition fees.

The health ministry's preventive medicine department's deputy director Phan Trong Lan said the ministry would work to provide preventive medical workers with a variety of preferential policies to help improve their working and living conditions.

A five-year preventive medical training master plan is to begin next year to train 1,000 preventive medical workers by 2015. — VNS

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Ha Noi employers dangle higher paychecks to attract workers

Employees of Goldsun Joint Stock Co, a Ha Noi- based kitchenware firm, work at a pot production line. Businesses in the capital have jumped into a race to increase salaries to attract more workers. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngoc Ha

HA NOI — Businesses in the capital have been pushing up salaries to attract employees in the final months of this year, labour management agencies report.

A consultant from Interserco Job Placement Centre said she had advised a transport company to increase its starting salary for labourers by VND300,000 (US$15) per month and as a result, recruitment had quickly risen.

"The average salary for a worker without a degree has risen to between VND2 million and VND2.5 million ($125) a month compared to VND1.6 million ($80) at the start of the year," she said.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs' Centre for Labour Market Forecasts said the demand for workers was rising in marketing, management, services food processing, garments and textiles.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Trinh, deputy director of Thanh Nien (Youth) Job Placement Centre, said the month before the Tet holiday would be a peak time for recruitment as employers were worried about getting enough workers to complete contracts.

Trinh said many businesses had struggled to maintain a full workforce although they had advertised positions for a long time.

She said this was because of the low salaries offered, not a lack of workers as the city had a high unemployment rate of 5.2 per cent.

"Workers can't afford to live in the city where the prices of many commodities including food and accommodation have skyrocketed," she said.

However, the Interserco consultant said employers had only been able to increase salaries by a few hundred thousand dong, which wasn't enough to hold on to all workers.

The development of industrial zones in other provinces and cities, as well as an insufficient supply of accommodation for workers in industrial zones and export processing zones were other reasons behind the labour shortage.

Truong Van Hao, head of Cavico Hydropower Construction Company's Human Resources Department, said there was a salary race among businesses to attract workers.

Hao said his company had raised salaries by up to 20 per cent, reaching VND4 million ($200) per worker.

However, he said other businesses would raise their salaries, pushing the level even higher.

He added the wage race had created an unstable employment market, as workers were constantly searching for positions that offered higher salaries.

"Besides raising salaries, companies should either build dormitories for workers or provide house-rental subsidies and build kindergartens for workers to strengthen their ties to their workplace," he said. — VNS

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Workers’ living conditions pose challenge

The need to improve living conditions of workers in industrial zones has posed a big challenge for policy makers and enterprises in Vietnam.

Research conducted by the Japanese Business Association in HCM City revealed at an Oct. 19 workshop showed that most enterprises in industrial zones have faced human resources problems.

At an enterprise with 3,300 workers in Bien Hoa area, southern Dong Nai province, up to 10 percent of workers are leaving their jobs each month because the cost of sending children to kindergarten in the area is too high. While housing expenses account for 20 percent of a worker's income, kindergarten fees have become a bigger burden, reaching up to 40 percent.

Other enterprises in the area have also experienced similar problems, with a lack of family houses and other social utilities for workers, including maternity and paediatric services for women.

A recent survey of the living environments in Vietnam 's industrial zones conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency showed that the quality and quantity of people who want to work in industrial areas have decreased. While many people do not want work in the industrial areas to start with, many more do not return after going on holiday, especially after the traditional Tet holiday.

Many workers simply think that a job in an industrial zone is just a temporary job before they return to their native land, said Nguyen Duc Loc from the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

The living conditions in industrial zones indicate the unstableness of human resources in those areas, said Loc.

"Workers need a living space rather than a place for living', said Loc, adding workers only commit to work long-term in industrial zones when they are provided with a house to live in.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, about 1.5 million workers are currently employed in Vietnam 's industrial and processing zones. However, their living condition in terms of housing, markets, schools, medical units and culture is not up to scratch.

During the workshop, participants agreed that workers need not only housing but also social and urban infrastructure which need the participation of the government, economic partners and especially the enterprises to resolve.

At the event, representatives from Japanese enterprises said that they need local workers who live near their places of work. A good living environment should be provided in order to increase the number of workers who are willing to settle in the vicinity.

Obstetrics and paediatric facilities along with kindergartens should be provided for those who wish to start families in the area.

"We expect that policies will be developed to improve living environments in line with demand and encourage the process of settlement in the area," said Toshio Kazama from the Japanese Business Association in Vietnam./.

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Public, rural hospitals suffer brain drain

A doctor at Ha Noi-based Central Children Hospital examines a patient. — VNS Photo Viet Thanh

HA NOI — A brain-drain of health workers from public to private hospitals and from rural mountain provinces to urban areas is creating a headache for Viet Nam's health system.

The Ministry of Health has released a report saying that although the number of health workers increased throughout Viet Nam year -on-year, it did not keep pace with population increases.

In 2008, Viet Nam had 40.5 health workers per 10,000 people. This was lower than that in 1986 when there were 43.1 health workers per 10,000 people.

The report said 50 per cent of health workers were working in urban areas, but only 27.7 per cent of the nation's population resided there.

Head of Ha Tinh Province's Health Department's Medical Profession office Vo Viet Quang said three doctors with masters degrees in surgery, oriental medicine and dental science left provincial hospitals last year.

Several other provincial doctors also moved to private hospitals in Ha Noi, Vung Tau and HCM City this year.

"They quit State-owned hospitals even though the provincial health department did not agree with their proposals," said Quang.

There are about 640 doctors in Ha Tinh province, about 200 fewer than stipulated by Ministry of Health regulations that each province muat have a ratio of seven doctors to 10,000 people.

Accordingly to this, each district should have at least 30 doctors, but Can Loc District Hospital, for example, has only one doctor who also performs surgery.

The shortage of surgeons led to "some unfortunate mistakes" at the hospital's obstetrics ward. This recently forced the Health Department to bring in obstetricians from a neighbouring hospital in Huong Khe District.

The Health Examination and Treatment Department said at present there were 141,148 health workers throughout Viet Nam specialising in examinations and treatment. However, the actual demand was for 188,182.

Recent surveys have also found that many medical techniques applied in countries around the world for many years were slow to be adopted in Viet Nam.

This was attributed to the shortage of specialists to run modern equipment.

Director of Binh Duong General Hospital Ngo Dung Nghia said there was rising demand for cardio-vascular treatment and advanced endoscopy on the large intestines and stomach, but the hospital did not have enough medical staff to provide these services.

About 50km away from HCM City, the hospital lacks about 80 doctors. Low pay is blamed for the shortage of young doctors.

To solve the shortages, the Ministry of Health has developed an ambitious plan to have 41 health workers, including eight doctors and two pharmacists, per 10,000 people by 2015.

This means more than 282,000 health workers will be needed by then, and Vietnamese universities will have to provide 5,800 doctors and 1,572 pharmacists more annually.

Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said other measures were needed to overcome the shortage.

This included increasing the quota of medical and pharmaceutical students at universities and creating special payment and treatment policies for health workers, especially those working in rural and mountain areas.

Vu Ba Toan, head of the Organisation and Administrative Work Bureau at the Quy Hoa Leprosy and Dermatology Hospital, has suggested raising occupational allowances to health workers - and making it legally binding for staff sent to receive continuing education to return.

He compared the sending of health workers to receive such training as a two-edged knife is most trained staff were willing to compensate training costs to their hospitals and look for higher paid jobs elsewhere. — VNS

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Police rescue 32 slave workers in Central Highlands farm

The workers live in hand-made tents in the Dak Nong farm

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Police in the central Quang Nam province said Monday they had rescued 32 slave workers from a Central Highlands farm.

They also brought the body of a worker, who died from malaria, back home.

The 33 workers, who came from Quang Nam’ Phuoc Chanh commune, were among 45 people hired by Do Ngoc Lan, 44, to plant acacia hybrid (a kind of thorn trees) at a farm in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong.

They were offered VND1.8-2.1 million (US$92-107) a month, but after they arrived at the farm, they had to work in three months without payment.

Their working and living conditions were terrible, according to police. One of them, Ho Van Chuong, had malaria but he was not treated.

Some of the workers fled the farm and reported the case to the local authorities.

Phuoc Son district’s police sent a working group to Dak Nong and rescued the workers.

Do Ngoc Lan was hired by Dak Lak Paper Material Factory to recruit workers for a project to plant trees for paper production. He was paid VND100,000 ($5.1) each time he recruited a worker.

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Police rescue 32 slave workers in Central Highlands farm

The workers live in hand-made tents in the Dak Nong farm

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Police in the central Quang Nam province said Monday they had rescued 32 slave workers from a Central Highlands farm.

They also brought the body of a worker, who died from malaria, back home.

The 33 workers, who came from Quang Nam’ Phuoc Chanh commune, were among 45 people hired by Do Ngoc Lan, 44, to plant acacia hybrid (a kind of thorn trees) at a farm in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong.

They were offered VND1.8-2.1 million (US$92-107) a month, but after they arrived at the farm, they had to work in three months without payment.

Their working and living conditions were terrible, according to police. One of them, Ho Van Chuong, had malaria but he was not treated.

Some of the workers fled the farm and reported the case to the local authorities.

Phuoc Son district’s police sent a working group to Dak Nong and rescued the workers.

Do Ngoc Lan was hired by Dak Lak Paper Material Factory to recruit workers for a project to plant trees for paper production. He was paid VND100,000 ($5.1) each time he recruited a worker.

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HCMC to require up to 80,000 workers

Ho Chi Minh City needs 80,000 workers from now until the end of the year, with 30,000 positions for part-time laborers, according to a senior official.

Tran Anh Tuan, deputy director of the HCMC Center for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labor Market Information, said manual laborers and workers trained in vocational schools would account for 40 and 30 percent of the demand, respectively.

University and college graduates would make up the remaining 30 percent of the demand, he added.

Mechanical, electronics and IT engineers, chemists, food processing technologists, civil engineers, sales and marketing personnel and workers with expertise in the garment and footwear industries as well as service sectors would be most in need in the coming months, Tuan said.

He said labor demand in garment, food processing and electronics sectors would be stable for the remaining months of the year, and positions would have an offer average monthly salary of more than VND2 million (US$104).

More than 222,400 people were newly employed in the first nine months of the year, accounting for nearly 83 percent of the city's target to create jobs for 270,000 this year, statistics showed.

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Workers lack HIV awareness: official

Workers at Tan Thuan Processing Zone in HCM City read leaflets on HIV/AIDS prevention. Workers and employers are still largely ignorant about the disease, officials say. — VNA/VNS Trang Duong

HCM CITY — Though HCM City has implemented many HIV-prevention programmes at workplaces, workers and employers still do not have much awareness about the disease, an AIDS Prevention Committee official said.

At a workshop last Friday, Nguyen Thi Hue, who is responsible for the implementation of programmes, said the programmes had been carried out since 2000.

These include HIV/AIDS prevention programmes for construction workers, employees of Nha Be Garment Company, and migrants in the districts of Tan Binh, Binh Tan, Nha Be, Hoc Mon, Binh Chanh, Thu Duc, and Cu Chi.

The Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been carrying out a two-year programme for workers at 12 companies.

Workers are taught how to prevent HIV infection and transmission and provided information on support programmes and care policies for people with HIV.

They receive free condoms, syringes, and anti-retroviral drugs and information about where they can get tested for HIV.

Drug users are provided methadone so that they can gradually kick the drug habit.

However, most programmes were implemented for a short while and were not well co-ordinated, leading to low effectiveness, especially among migrant workers, Hue admitted.

She called for setting up an agency to co-ordinate the various programmes.

Nguyen Ngoc Thach, head of the city Social Evils Prevention Division, said most migrant workers were ignorant of precautions required to prevent HIV/ AIDS while many employers do not have programmes to disseminate information about HIV/AIDS prevention.

In the first six months of this year 262 people died of the disease. — VNS

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Culture houses for workers elicit tepid response

Several "culture houses" built for their benefits have failed to attract workers' interest in Ho Chi Minh City, mainly because the concept has not been popularized well, Labor Union officials say.

The union has built and upgraded several such facilities for State officials and workers in recent years, but these are underutilized, they added.

Currently, 12 culture houses have been opened in the city's 6, 7, 11, 12, Tan Phu, Binh Thanh, Thu Duc, Binh Chanh, Nha Be, Binh Tan, Can Gio and Go Vap districts.

Four more are being built in districts 8, 9, Tan Binh and Cu Chi, said Nguyen Thanh Gia, head of the city Labor Union's finance office.

Most of these facilities cooperate with culture centers in their localities to open training classes for dancing, painting, photography, yoga, swimming, martial arts and badminton.

However, the number of participating State officials in general and workers in particular is very low because these activities do not match the workers' preferences.

Also, some of these buildings, like the ones in the districts of Tan Phu, Binh Chanh, Thu Duc and Can Gio, are located far from the workers' living quarters.

Nguyen Nhat Truong, who works in Thu Duc district's Linh Trung ward No2, said that he has never visited the labor culture house in Thu Duc district because it is too far from his house.

And the activities there are not what he is looking for, he added.

Meanwhile, the facilities in districts 7 and 11 are too small, limiting the ability to organize activities that the workers want, officials said.

They said that the shortage of qualified staff was also a factor in the failure of culture houses to attract workers' interest.

Nguyen Thi Anh Thu, chairwoman of the Labor Union in Cu Chi district, said it was difficult to employ staff for organizing interesting activities because the salary was too low at just VND1.6 million ($82) per month including allowances.

This should be increased to about VND3 million (US$150), she added.

Tran Thi Thanh Hien of Labour Union in Nha Be district added that the culture houses do not have funds to invest in activities or other equipment that can bring the workers in.

Thus, some of these buildings are leased out for wedding parties and other events to earn some money for their operation, she added.

However, Gia stressed that labor culture houses are meant for the entertainment of workers, and they should not focus on business activities.

Labor unions at districts should review and reorganize the operations of culture houses in their localities, he said.

Nguyen Huy Can, chairman of the HCMC Labor Union, said that the union will monitor operations of labor culture houses at the district level.

The unions at district-level will provide funds for the culture houses to operate, and if there is a shortage, the city's union stands ready to support them.

"The quality of operations is most important," he said, adding that these facilities should become a regular destination for laborers after their working hours.

Chau Thi Kim Bich Ngoc, deputy head of the city's Party Committee's public relations office, asked the labor culture houses to study the entertainment demand of workers and organize suitable activities.

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City culture houses elicit tepid response

Several "culture houses" built for their benefit have failed to attract workers' interest in HCM City, mainly because the concept has not been popularised well, Labour Union officials say.

The union has built and upgraded several such facilities for State officials and workers in recent years, but these are underutilised, they added.

Currently, 12 culture houses have been opened in the city's 6,7, 11, 12, Tan Phu, Binh Thanh, Thu Duc, Binh Chanh, Nha Be, Binh Tan, Can Gio and Go Vap districts.

Four more are being built in districts 8, 9, Tan Binh and Cu Chi, said Nguyen Thanh Gia, head of the city Labour Union's finance office.

Most of these facilities cooperate with culture centres in their localities to open training classes for dancing, painting, photography, yoga, swimming, martial arts and badminton.

However, the number of participating State officials in general and workers in particular is very low because these activities do not match the workers' preferences.

Also, some of these buildings, like the ones in the districts of Tan Phu, Binh Chanh, Thu Duc and Can Gio, are located far from the workers' living quarters.

Nguyen Nhat Truong, who works in Thu Duc district's Linh Trung ward No2, said that he has never visited the labour culture house in Thu Duc district because it is too far from his house.

And the activities there are not what he is looking for, he added.

Meanwhile, the facilities in districts 7 and 11 are too small, limiting the ability to organise activities that the workers want, officials said.

They said that the shortage of qualified staff was also a factor in the failure of culture houses to attract workers' interest.

Nguyen Thi Anh Thu, chairwoman of the Labour Union in Cu Chi district, said it was difficult to employ staff for ogranising interesting activities because the salary was too low at just 1.6 million VND (82 USD) per month including allowances.

This should be increased to about 3 million VND (150 USD), she added.

Tran Thi Thanh Hien of Labour Union in Nha Be district added that the culture houses do not have funds to invest in activities or other equipment that can bring the workers in.

Thus, some of these buildings are leased out for wedding parties and other events to earn some money for their operation, she added.

However, Gia stressed that labour culture houses aSre meant for the entertainment of workers, and they should not focus on business activities.

Labour unions at districts should review and reorganise the operations of culture houses in their localities, he said.

Nguyen Huy Can, chairman of the Labour Union of HCM City, said that the union will monitor operations of labour culture houses at the district level.

The unions at district-level will provide funds for the culture houses to operate, and if there is a shortage, the city's union stands ready to support them.

"The quality of operations is most important," he said, adding that these facilities should become a regular destination for labourers after their working hours.

Chau Thi Kim Bich Ngoc, deputy head of the city's Party Committee's public relations office, asked the labour culture houses to study the entertainment demand of workers and organise suitable activities./.

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City culture houses elicit tepid response

A cooking class at the HCM City Women's Culture House. The city is seeing a large number of culture houses being built and upgraded but they fail to attract State officials because the activities provided do not match the workers' preferences. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Phan

HCM CITY — Several "culture houses" built for their benefit have failed to attract workers' interest in HCM City, mainly because the concept has not been popularised well, Labour Union officials say.

The union has built and upgraded several such facilities for State officials and workers in recent years, but these are underutilised, they added.

Currently, 12 culture houses have been opened in the city's 6,7, 11, 12, Tan Phu, Binh Thanh, Thu Duc, Binh Chanh, Nha Be, Binh Tan, Can Gio and Go Vap districts.

Four more are being built in districts 8, 9, Tan Binh and Cu Chi, said Nguyen Thanh Gia, head of the city Labour Union's finance office.

Most of these facilities co-operate with culture centres in their localities to open training classes for dancing, painting, photography, yoga, swimming, kung fu and badminton.

However, the number of participating State officials in general and workers in particular is very low because these activities do not match the workers' preferences.

Also, some of these buildings, like the ones in the districts of Tan Phu, Binh Chanh, Thu Duc and Can Gio, are located far from the workers' living quarters.

Nguyen Nhat Truong, who works in Thu Duc District's Linh Trung Ward No2, said that he has never visited the labour culture house in Thu Duc District because it was too far from his house.

And the activities there are not what he is looking for, he added.

Whenever they get free time, he and his friends go out to drink, Truong said.

Meanwhile, the facilities in districts 7 and 11 are too small, limiting the ability to organise activities that the workers want, officials said.

They said that the shortage of qualified staff was also a factor in the failure of culture houses to attract workers' interest.

Nguyen Thi Anh Thu, chairwoman of the Labour Union in Cu Chi District, said it was difficult to employ staff for ogranising interesting activities because the salary was too low at just VND1.6 million (US$82) per month including allowances.

This should be increased to about VND3 million ($150), she added.

Tran Thi Thanh Hien of Labour Union in Nha Be District added that the culture houses did not have funds to invest in activities or other equipment that can bring the workers in.

Thus, some of these buildings were leased out for wedding parties and other events to earn some money for their operation, she added.

However, Gia stressed that labour culture houses were meant for the entertainment of workers, and they should not focus on business activities.

Labour unions at districts should review and reorganise the operations of culture houses in their localities, he said.

Nguyen Huy Can, chairman of the Labour Union of HCM City, said that the union will monitor operations of labour culture houses at the district level.

The unions at district-level will provide funds for the culture houses to operate, and if there is a shortage, the city's union stands ready to support them.

"The quality of operations is most important," he said, adding that these facilities should become a regular destination for labourers after their working hours.

Chau Thi Kim Bich Ngoc, deputy head of the city's Party Committee's public relations office, asked the labour culture houses to study the entertainment demand of workers and organise suitable activities. — VNS

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Labour exporters enjoy overseas opportunities

Labour exporters are being offered more opportunities as many overseas markets are receiving increasing numbers of Vietnamese workers and making changes in their policies to lessen the financial pressure on them.

Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said that well paying markets such as the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan choose Vietnamese workers first out of other 15 markets.

“Many RoK and Japanese employers prefer to hire Vietnamese workers due to their diligence, hard-work, creativity and eagerness to learn,” said Ngan.

She added that many employers feel more secure when hiring Vietnamese workers as their sense of responsibility has improved and the number of fled workers has dropped sharply.

Some markets have also introduced policies to ease the financial pressure on workers. Currently guest workers are exempted from income tax in Malaysia and do not pay deposits in Japan.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Doan Xuan Hung said that Vietnamese guest workers send up to 2 billion USD a year home.

In addition to licensed businesses, successful tenders, organisations and individuals investing overseas should be promoted. At present, Vietnam has sent only 3,060 guest workers in this manner, Hung said.

He emphasised that the African market is short of experts in healthcare, agriculture and education, in which Vietnam is strong. With a monthly salaries ranging from 5,000 USD to 10,000 USD, Africa is a huge potential market for Vietnam to speed up the export of specialists and highly-skilled workers.

National Assembly’s Deputy Chairman Uong Chu Luu said that in the near future, labour exports should be more specialised, to raise economic efficiency and the country’s image.

He emphasised that the African market is short of experts in healthcare, agriculture and education, in which Vietnam is strong. With a monthly salaries ranging from 5,000 USD to 10,000 USD, Africa is a huge potential market for Vietnam to speed up the export of specialists and highly-skilled workers.

According to the Overseas Labourers Management Department, over 500,000 Vietnamese are now working in 40 countries and territories all around the world./.

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HCMC launches Syringe Exchange program

Armed with sterile gloves, tongs, and toxic-waste containers, health workers pick up discarded syringes that lie scattered around Go Dua Cemetery

Photo: Tuoi Tre

This program is sponsored by the World Bank (WB), the Vietnamese government and other international organizations in Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City has launched the massive Syringe Exchange, with the Committee for AIDS Prevention estimating that around 2.5 million new syringes will be distributed to drug users this year.

HCMC is increasingly being littered by syringes, indicating an alarming rise in intravenous drug use.

Organizers believe the program will help contain the spread of HIV just like condom distribution programs targeted at sex workers.

Thu Duc, one of the main target districts, has taken the initiative with its Preventive Health Center especially focusing its efforts on Go Dua Cemetery, the good place for drug users.

Every Monday and Friday afternoons, health workers from the center, Minh Thu, “T.”, and “L.” set off to do a job very few dare.

Armed with sterile gloves, tongs, and toxic-waste containers, they regularly visit Go Dua. Theer, unperturbed by the accumulation of garbage and human waste around them, they carefully pick up discarded syringes that lie scattered around the place.

Voong, a local resident who is distressed by the situation, lamented: “Even the trees must be infected with HIV from having been stabbed repeatedly with syringes. I just hope people don’t accidentally step on an infected needle.”

Thien, a local boy, enjoys watching the team carry out their good deed which he finds highly unusual.

“We not only pick up discarded syringes, we also distribute sterile ones to drug users to reduce the risk of transmission of infectious diseases,” they told Tuoi Tre.

Son, a young recidivist who underwent a detoxification program in 2008, said he uses four or five syringes a week provided by health workers. Tien, another, uses 12-13, while a third man uses up to 30.

Nghi, whose family is aware of his addiction, receives the sterile syringes at home from the workers.

Hung, a young addict, says: “Although we realize the risks involved in sharing and reusing needles, we cannot afford to buy new ones. We believe this program can decrease the risk of our contracting HIV.”

Thu Duc Health Center is planning to set up 12 needle exchange points soon.

Distributing syringes is aimed at reducing the spread of blood-borne diseases and has been implemented in several countries since the 1970s, first to curb the spread of hepatitis and later as part of widespread efforts to contain the AIDS pandemic.

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Firms ignore social insurance obligations

An employee of the Vinatex Group is examined and treated under insurance at the group's Textile and Garment Hospital. A number of enterprises are choosing profits over paying worker benefits. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet

THANH HOA — Most enterprises in the central province of Thanh Hoa have failed to pay various types of insurance for their workers, according to the provincial Social Insurance Agency.

As many as 79 per cent of the province's enterprises had failed to make insurance payments for workers since the beginning of the year, said Do Hoa, manager of the collection division at Thanh Hoa Social Insurance.

Hoa said both small and large companies had been neglecting workers insurance payments, with big businesses such as Thanh Hoa Shipping Industry Company owing nearly VND2 billion (US$105,260) in workers insurance payments.

Other insurance laggards included the Viglacera Bim Son Joint-stock Company, which owes VND1.5 billion ($78,940), and the K2 Joint-stock Company, owing VND2.5 billion ($131,570), Hoa said.

Workers at enterprises that do not pay social insurance risk being not able to get sick pay, maternity and paternity leave or compensation after suffering workplace accidents.

Director of the K2 Joint-stock Company Pham Van Luc said the company had fallen behind on workers insurance payments due to a lack of funds to complete major projects.

"When the company begins any big project, it has to complete a number of procedures to borrow capital from banks," said Luc.

"We do not have enough time to carry out all these procedures because projects must be completed on time, so we temporarily use insurance money for the projects."

Luc added that his company would pay workers insurance as soon as possible, right after it receives profits from completed projects.

Thanh Hoa Social Insurance's Do Hoa said that by September, enterprises in the provinces had owed insurance worth a total of VND147 billion ($7.7 million).

"Every year the provincial Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Department fines hundreds of enterprises that violate labour regulations, however, the punishment is not strong enough," he said.

According to regulations, enterprises owing insurance can only be fined for the offence once a year, and the fine cannot exceed VND20 million (US$1,052).

In addition, many employers do not draft clear labour contracts and fail to provide accurate payrolls for their workers, making collection of insurance extremely difficult.

Last year the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs fined more than 50 enterprises, with the fines totalling VND117 million ($6,150), Hoa said.

"This year Thanh Hoa Social Insurance will sue enterprises that owe too much social insurance," he said.

However, Hoa said suing enterprises was the last resort as many cities and provinces, including Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Binh Duong and HCM City, found that launching legal action against firms committing these violations met many obstacles.

"Procedures to sue a firm are too complicated and include many stages, such as checking, inspection, administrative fines and launching a lawsuit is the last stage," he said.

When all these procedures are completed, courts may still take a long time to resolve lawsuits, especially if the enterprises involved in lawsuits risk becoming bankrupt.

Deputy chairman of the Thanh Hoa Labour Federation Nguyen Quoc Huy said that the provincial Social Insurance agency should focus more on raising awareness about social insurance among both employers and employees.

"They should hold talks between workers and enterprise leaders to clear up any misunderstandings about insurance," he said.

Huy said authorities managing social insurance should also strengthen inspections to discover violations in a timely manner and prevent enterprises from leaving their insurance debt for a long time.

The federation will also strengthen the work of enterprise trade unions and join hands with related bodies to report violations to relevant authorities.

"Judicial bodies should increase the level of punishment, or withdraw work permits from enterprises that violate regulations in order to ensure workers' rights," said Huy. — VNS

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Training project to ease social worker shortage

Children in northern Ha Nam receive Vitamin A. The Government has approved the National Programme for Children for 2011-15, which includes a project to improve the quality of staff working in child protection and other social services. — VNA/ VNS Photo Ninh Duc Phuong

HA NOI — The shortage of professional social workers has triggered the Government to begin training staff that specialise in protecting vulnerable children across the country.

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Trong Dam said social work contributes to social development and several countries around the world attach special attention to training social workers.

"Social work is still new in Viet Nam," said Dam. "Professional social worker training has only begun very recently."

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs are working on a project to train more social workers.

The VND464 billion (nearly US$25 million) project aims to help all social workers improve their management skills and increase the child protection programmes' efficiency.

The project also targets to increase 50 per cent of the social workers skills and collaborators at the commune and hamlet level. While there were 160,000 collaborators at hamlets and villages in 2007, the figure has dropped to about 7,000.

According to the ministry's report, the country does not have enough professional social workers who are able to uncover, intervene and support children with special circumstances or children who are vulnerable to exploitation.

The report says there are more than 12,000 social workers, but a majority of them do not work full time. There are currently about 7,000 collaborators and volunteers working in the child protection sector.

In accordance with the project, the ministry will ask the Government to grant social allowances to collaborators that are equivalent to 10 per cent of the country's minimum wage, which is VND730,000 a month.

The ministry estimates that there are more than 23.6 million children in the country, of which more than 4 million are living in special or impoverished circumstances. These children need help from the community and social workers.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved the National Programme on Children Protection for the 2011-2015 period. The programme aims to reduce the existing number of children living in special circumstances to less than 5.5 per cent of the total number of children.

A 10-year national programme on the development of social work was approved as well.

The programme aims to develop a legal framework for social work development, to increase professional social workers' knowledge and skills, to improve social services and increase public awareness about the profession.

According to the plan, 35,000 social workers would be trained and 25,000 Government staff members would be provided with social work training before 2020.

Dam said the country needs more than 10,000 social work professionals who have university degrees. — VNS

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Welfare system failing jobless

Jobless workers register for unemployment insurance in Ha Noi. Many workers who have unemployment insurance have failed to receive assistance after being laid off. — VNA/VNS Photo Huu Viet

HCM CITY — Many workers covered by unemployment insurance failed to receive allowances or assistance for vocational training after being laid-off, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs admitted.

Only 50,057 out of nearly 87,000 filing for unemployment benefits in the first half of the year got them, it said.

While all received allowances, only 108 got vocational training and nearly 35,000 were introduced to new jobs.

Under the insurance scheme, a laid-off worker gets a dole of 60 per cent of the last six months' average salary starting a year after the worker joins the scheme.

The ministry's Employment Department said more than 2,500 laid-off workers had their benefits temporarily cut because they failed to report their unemployment status once a month.

HCM City had the highest number of people filing for benefits in the first six months – 27,700.

By the end of July it had risen to 33,000 though only 24,000 are eligible for benefits, according to a report by the city Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Some 4,000 laid-off workers were introduced to new jobs while only 32 opted for vocational training courses, it said.

Provincial and city labour departments' job service centres could not get funds released for providing vocational training and introducing jobs because it was not clearly stipulated in the unemployment insurance policy, the ministry's Employment Department said.

So the ministry was drafting a supplementary circular for the purpose, it added.

Almost 6.4 million workers pay unemployment insurance in nearly 50 provinces and cities that have joined the scheme. — VNS

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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.

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