HCM City authorities recently checked the employment records of foreign workers at 3,733 organisations and detected nearly 3000 illegal foreign workers.

A Chinese doctor who works illegally in HCM City.

According to the HCM City Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs the city currently has 16,811 foreign employees, not including African manual workers (who are not under the department’s control). The department has granted work permits to 12,412 foreigners. In its recent inspection, the agency discovered nearly 3000 illegal foreign employees.

Huynh Tan Dung, the department’s chief inspector, said that so far this year the department has cooperated with police to conduct 800 labour inspections. Explaining that the agency seriously lacks inspectors, Dung said that they only checked big, prestigious companies. He said that the department would also inspect contractors, healthcare and education centres.

A labour inspector who wanted to remain anonymous said that labour inspectors recently only inspected the use of foreign labourers based on employers’ reports but they still found 264 companies violating the rules.

This inspector said that these companies always hide their employment of foreign workers. When their violations are discovered, they blamed ”complicated formalities” in getting work permits for foreign workers or said “we are fulfilling the formalities”.

The HCM City Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affair’s director Le Thanh Tam confirmed: “If foreigners have all requested documents, they will receive their work permits within seven days”.

According to the department, many employers use foreign workers who don’t meet conditions to work in Vietnam. After failing to giv work permits to these people they continue employing them. Some garment and textile companies don’t need highly-qualified foreign employees so they use foreign workers who have close relations with the foreign owners. In addition, the salary of foreign experts is very high and some of them who are able to get work permits still work illegally to avoid paying personal income tax.

VietNamNet/TN