Poor promotion and communication, lack of co-operation by local authorities, and excessive red tape have been blamed for problems in expanding the national labour export scheme . . .

Young people seek labour export opportunities at a career fair in the central province of Nghe An.

The innovative programme to encourage people to work abroad was introduced in April, but since then, only 300 of the 2,400 workers who have registered have actually taken up jobs overseas.

This is well below the 5,000 workers from these districts that the organisers planned to send this year.

The figures compare with an average of 60,000 to 70,000 workers still being sent abroad each year under the Government and private labour-export schemes that have been running in Viet Nam since 1980.

The poverty reduction labour-export programme was introduced on April 29 this year following Government Decision No 71.

It was initially aimed at decreasing the poverty rate in Viet Nam’s 62 poorest districts by raising household incomes.

Hoang Kim Ngoc, deputy director of the Overseas Labour Management Department, blames complicated procedures for the poor results this year.

She said this could be seen in the slow way Government loans (averaging VND75 million or $4,000) were being given to the poor workers selected for the scheme by labour export companies through the Social Policy Bank.

She said labour-export companies were handicapped by a lack of co-operation from local authorities.

Ngoc also said little encouragement was being given to poor workers to apply for the jobs.

She said the support money to the workers from the bank was being handed out very slowly to the companies because of complicated administrative procedures.

The companies need some of this money from the workers to pay for training, accommodation and travelling expenses.

If the companies cancel a contract, they have to pay compensation of about $400 to each labourer, Ngoc added.

“Administration procedures are applied ‘mechanically’ by local authorities,” Ngoc said.

For example, even sending official letters is slow - from districts to communes or between different levels of the bank.

Only official letters with a red stamp are accepted.

Another major difficulty in implementing the new poverty-based labour-export scheme is getting co-operation from local authorities.

Some even make things difficult for labour companies that have signed contracts with foreign partners.

“Creating favourable conditions to send labourers abroad is not only the responsibility of local authorities (under Government Decision 71) but an opportunity for districts,” Ngoc said.

Nguyen Thanh Hoa, deputy minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that a special communication campaign needed to be set up to make everyone aware of their roles in the scheme.

Hoa said people in poor areas were receiving too little information on the new labour-export programme - some did not even know about it. Next, travelling conditions for many of the poor workers are difficult.

The only way of sending letters about the scheme from district to commune is by motorbike taxi (xe om). Trips can cost up to VND700,000 ($39).

“If the programme was not being promoted by the Government, companies would prefer to invest in urban labour markets because they achieve results much more quickly and easily,” said Ngoc.

The Overseas Labour Management Department has submitted a request for more communications expenses to the Government.

This includes money for promoting the programme on commune loudspeakers, printing flyers and even tiny bonuses for local officials who persuade labourers to work abroad.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News