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LABOUR MIGRATION FROM VIETNAM TO THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA: POLICY CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES Dang Nguyen Anh* International migrafion has increased to the top of the global policy agenda As the scale, scope and complexity of migration has grown, states and other stakeholders have become critically aware of the challenges and opportunities presented by international migration There is now a common understanding that the economic, social and cultural benefits of international migrafion must be more effecfively realized, and that the issues of labor migrafion could be better addressed However, both labor sending and labor receiving countries often pursue own short-term aims The former are concerned with obtaining a fiexible, low cost labor whereas the latter are mainly aimed at generating jobs for an underutilized and low-skilled workforce and at getting the maximum possible inflow of foreign currencies (Abella, 1995) Many countries actively encourage labor export and actual government involvement in recruitment and deployment of workers, regulation and supervision of placement agencies Because of the breadth of the emerging issues and complexity of migrafion types within East Asia, the paper focuses only on labor migration and concentrates primarily on the situafion and policy challenges of migrant workers from Viet Nam to the Republic of Korea (ROK) In this regard, the paper employs a definition of international labor migrants generally as those who have been working outside their countries of origin for contracted work initially an-anged by the placement companies in Viet Nam It does not examine the problems related to Vietnamese migrant workers or married women in ' A.-i Prof, and Director, Instiliilc of Sociology' Hanoi Vietnam 60 A Quantitative Measurement Of Child Costs In Vietnam Dunns High Inflation Period ROK (which have been well documented by lOM/MRTC); neither the paper attempts to assemble statistical data on migrant workers originating from Viet Nam to ROK given the severe lack of accurate data on irregular migrafion The paper will begin with a background of labor migration from Vietnam to East Asia, followed by an analysis of the causes and impact of migration to ROK Then, policy and legal mechanisms regarding overseas deployment and labor migration will be discussed At the conclusion, the paper will present some recommendations and suggestions on the gaps in the existing measures and policy responses to better manage labor migration from Viet Nam to ROK Migration of workers from \'iet Nam Intemafional migration is not a new phenomenon in Viet Nam, but has been greatly occurring for decades Since the Doi Moi Renovation labor migration has emerged as the most significant aspect of visible changes in the country', requiring and generating policy responses Vietnam entered the intemational and Asian labor markets fairly late, compared with other Southeast Asian countries When neighboring countries such as ROK Singapore, Mala}sia were achieving high economic growth in the 1980s Vietnam was suffering severe poverty, unemployment and low growth Like other sending countries in the region, the primary means of understanding migration of workers from Vietnam is demographic and under-employment, given its relatively young workforce The country has been described as a labor surplus economy with its comparafive advantage of lowcost labors Despite high growth rates and remarkable achievements in poverty reduction during the 90s, and notwithstanding the growth of the private sector and its capacit) for job creation, unemployment has risen in Vietnam s\er\ year 0\'erall, it is esfimated that up to 25 million people, or 56 percent of the total workforce, are either unemployed or underemployed (World Bank 2009) Modernization of the agricultural sector has significantly reduced the sector's capacity to absorb labor, motivating rural labors to migrate Going abroad to work has been a survival way for people in mral areas in addressing unemployment, especially under the pressure of agricultural land reduction There is increasing number of people who want to migrate as contract workers In East Asia, labor shortage and ageing workforces are among many underiying factors that generate migrafion in the region Demand for and supply of foreign workers in many sectors that cannot be filled by nati\e workers Migration of both unskilled and skilled labors have increasingly been taking place in response to the demand for workers Socio-Economic Issue and manual labors in Taiwan (China), Japan, RepubUc of Korea Overall, the demandpull" factor of income differentials and the "supply-push" factor of excess labor supply interact to induce migration of workers from Vietnam Migrants tend to find ways, even illegal ones, to migrate and stay in foreign countries where they have better opportunities Receiving countries often tighten regulations to deter migration that even increases irregular migration.The lack of information and transparency in policies has pushed migrants into vulnerable situations where they can easily become irregular immigrants Table 1: Vietnamese contract workers under contract-based employment in some major destinations by year, 2000-2010((/«// workers) Destinations Africa Middle East South Korea Malaysia 1,497 7,316 239 34 14,315 3,249 3,910 23 1,094 20,110 1.190 19,965 408 9,166 4,336 38,227 750 362 14,567 938 7,267 24,605 1,276 6.872 37,941 5,246 5,604 26,704 6,184 10,788 12,153 Year Total Chinese Taipei 2000 31,500 8,099 2001 36.168 7.782 2002 46.122 13,191 2,202 2003 75,000 29,069 2,256 2004 67.447 37.144 2,752 4.779 2005 70,594 22,784 2,955 12,102 2006 78,855 14,127 5,360 10,577 2007 85,020 23,640 5,517 12,187 Japan Others 2008 86,990 31,631 6,142 18,141 7,810 11,113 2009 73,028 21.677 5,456 7,578 2.792 16,083 19,442 2010 85.546 28,499 4,913 8,628 11,741 10.888 20,877 Total 736,270 237,643 42,299 90,744 184,614 54,014 126,956 Source: MOLISA (2012) International labor emigration from Vietnam is extensively shaped and directed by the government which has followed other Asian migration players in actively promoting labor export with the multiple aims to ease domestic job situation, to increase the inflow 62 A Quantitative Measurement Of Child Costs In Vietnam Durins Hish Inflation Period of hard-currency remittances and intemational integration The country's labor export policy is marked by three waves (Dang 2000) The first and second waves were directed to Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union The third wave started in 1994, with East Asia and some Middle East countries being the main destinafions of Vietnamese workers Indeed, labor migration from Viet Nam will probably scale up in the future as trade links between Viet Nam and the East and Southeast Asian nations are fijily developed No less than 80,000 Vietnamese workers leave the country for jobs overseas each year There are now more than 500,000 Vietnamese workers under the definite time contracts working in over 40 nations and territories worldwide They work in about 30 different types of occupations and ranging from low to highly skilled laborers and professionals (MOLISA 2010) Unskilled workers still account for a large proportion of the total labor export and labor migrants concentrate mainly in construction, mechanics electronics, textiles, aquatic processing, shipping industry, healthcare, education, and agriculture (Dang, 2008) The above figures are however under-esfimated, as they not include a large number of irregular or undocumented migrants Many migrant workers flowed through irregular channels or individual arrangement The problems are reinforced when migrants usually not know the local language and are of^en unprotected by laws of their destinafions countries In emergence, they have very limited or no access to remedies and supportive social networks These workers are considered a burden for the host society despite their contribution to economic growth Regardless of high costs and risks associated with migration process, many believe that the hardship will be more than compensated by the anticipated gains through migration We know unfortunately very little about this as accurate figures and updated statistics on these hidden flows are difficult to obtain Motives and Consequences of Labor Migration to ROK The marked differences in wage levels between ROK and other labor markets woridwide become i strong factor of migration High demand for labor from impoverished and low income regions to areas with better economic opportunifies where the income to be gained from manufacturing and construction work is many fimes greater ROK is considered a relatively attractive destinafion which is not geographically far from Viet Nam and culturally friendly There is a fairiy well developed demand for migrant workers from Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines across many manufacturing and service sectors 63 Socio-Economic Issue There are four main types of migrants fi-om Vietnam to ROK: the first consists of labor migrants working as short-term contract workers under the EPS system for 2-3 years who account for about 60,000 workers; the second includes persons who arrived as trainees but overstay their visas and work illegally whose number is about 12,000 workers; the third group include Vietnamese students include people who hold governmental scholarships and full-fee paying private students (also called private students) They mainly go for colleges and universities for high education Their number is less than 6,000 persons; the last group includes young females married to Korean men with an esfimated number reaching 50.000 women These women migrate as a result of their inter-culture marriage and seek permanent settlement in ROK Given the different nature and motives of education or marriage migrations, the present paper will not include married women and students in the analysis It employs the data collected by a sample survey on Vietnamese migrant workers to and from ROK in 2010 The below figure allows us to invesfigate motives driving migration Informafion was provided by both returnees and absent migrants (N=779) As displayed in Figure 1, 'earn more', 'save money', and 'finding a better job' are the main reasons for migrafion The main motive of Vietnamese workers is overwhelmingly economic Figure 1: Reasons for migration To enjoy lite p ^ f l ^ ^ '' ^* Tofol!o^vcorrtparaest?,=?i efrfiBdom to what warned tVs\ Did _ ^.< To earn moie money ^ ^ • ^ • • ^ • ^ • i * To learn another language ^ ^ H ^ ^ ^ ™ liiiJ jbi-lluuLi P ^ ^ _ i'iS» _ "' i 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Sources: Survey on Migrant Workers to/from ROK (20!OJ Figure examines the frequency of contacts between migrants and their families in Viet Nam Often, migrants contact with their families more than once a month (23.0%) In addition 17% of households report that they communicate with their members more than once every three months The result may reflect the Vietnamese tradition of tight 64 A Quantitative Measurement Qf Child Costs In Vietnam Dunns High Inflation Period family relationship and the improvement of telecommunicafion such as telephone, mobile phone and internet, especially in mral Viet Nam A posifive impact for Viet Nam is that there was a large proportion of retumed migrants reported teaming new skills from working in ROK Among returnees, over 30 per cent brought with them advanced working skills Also, about 30 per cent of retumed migrants reported ability to handle a new language, and the other 30 per cent understood well the Korean culture (Figure 3) They can become efficient human resources for both local and ROK companies in Viet Nam Figure 2: Frequent contact between migrants and their families don't have contact with them anymore E H Less than once a year 9% • 3% More than once a year 0% More than once every six months 12 8% More than once every three months Monthly More than once a month Weekly 8-6% More than once a week Daily Moj^e than once a day I I I 1% IZZI 3% • 3% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% Sources: Survey on Migrant Workers to/from ROK (2010) Figure 3: Skills gained by migration Learn/improve vision,knowledge on culture and society Learn/improve working skills and styles Learn about new social issues Learn/improve life skills Learn/improve professional skills or trade ' f-— i I iO.07% E"" : n 30 % #15/1i : ' » ? i ^ l 14.78% t 111 51% L; 122.68% 30 % Learn a new language 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 65 Socio-Economic Issue Sources: Survey on Migrant Workers to/from ROK (2010) As above mentioned, migrafion can help relieve labor surplus and population pressure in the sending countnes Labor migrafion by creating a significant number of jobs annually, help reduce unemployment rate in Vietnam, particularly in rural areas About 40% of surveyed households with current and retum migrants) stated that migration reducesunemployment in the sense of preventing the likelihood that a migrant falls into unemployed status or creating job vacancies for the left-behinds (Figure 4) Figure 4: Impact of labor migration Slrenglhenmg the economy Investing in businesses 5% 23 5% Reducing poverty m 55 8% Sending money htjme Gaming skills and resources 37 3% Reducing unemployment c 20% « 60% 80% Policy Changes and Responses As afore-mentioned, the Vietnamese govemment has regarded labor deployment abroad as an important factor contributing to the national development Exporting labor has been facilitated in order to accelerate the inflow of foreign capital, as well as to reduce the pressure of job creation in the country The wide gap between Vietnam's and mtemational wage/income levels is a key pull factor for migration from Vietnam Unemployment is another factor Despite recently high growth rates, unemployment in Vietnam has been increasing every year There are about 1.3-1.5 million new labors enter the job market every year (Vietnam Trade Office, 2008) In the meantime the massive job shedding by the state sector, agricultural modernization, reduction of agricultural land, and the economic and financial crisis all add up to a large number of unemployment m Vietnam Since the year 2000 the government has announced that sending laborers to work abroad is one of Vietnam's major efforts to settle issues of employment Following the open-door models and Doi Moi introduced in 1986 national policies in Viemam were slowly relaxed with regard to intemafional migration The Govemment introduced a series of policies to institutionalize and regulate labor export Starting in 1992, state-owned companies with operating licenses were permitted to send workers to other countries, based on bilateral labor contracts In 1998, further measures were taken 66 A Quantitative Measurement Of Child Costs In Vietnam Durins Hish Inflation Period to expand and diversify labor export, when the Central Communist Executive Committee enacted Directive No 41CT/TW Reflecting changes in intemational and domestic labor markets, in 1999 the govemment approved a policy on overseas employment (Decree No.l52/1999/ND-CP) which specifies procedures and mechanisms to facilitate overseas employment of workers from the state and non-state/private sectors Laws regarding Vietnamese nationals working abroad under contracts (No 72/2006/QHll) were passed and became effective from July 2007; Decree No 126/2007/ND-CP in the same year was enacted to regulate, in detail, and guiding the implementation of the law and various other legal regulations related to migration of workers, have created a comprehensive legal framework aimed at facilitating sending contract-based workers to work abroad These legal documents aim to formalize the process of out-labor migration By defining the rights, and obligations of recmiting and other sending entities, the govemment ministries/agencies and the workers themselves, the 2007 Law enables local labor export agencies and placement agencies to expand to better meet the needs of their foreign partners Workers are required to take language, culture and vocational training before they are sent overseas For those who wish to go and work in ROK they must first pass the Korean language test before being listed online for recruitment by employers In general, legal documents for each laborer are often incomplete and not provide a strong basis for liquidation of employment contracts and settlement of workers' disputes when retuming, which affects the benefits of these workers Meanwhile, the prescribed sanctions that are applicable to enterprises' violations are generally not strict enough, the result typically being a warning or a fine ranging from VND 500 thousand to 40 million (25-2000 USD) These fines are extremely low in comparison to the profits eamed by these companies, and they not provide enough disincentives for placement companies It would be hard to apply the above Law to irregular and undocumented migrant workers who work abroad by their own means The question of implementing polices is a matter of concern There are a number of concems with placement agencies and their associated brokers which often overcharge high fees from migrant workers and their families Some workers become deeply indebted in even pre-departure stage, as they must borrow from private money lenders in order to pay overcharging fee and other associated costs.Placement agencies often lack responsibilities in informing workers about the real situation in receiving countries, assisting and compensating unwanted retumees The recruitment agents devote very little attention to the situation of the workers after they leave Viet Nam, making it very difficult for monitoring migrant workers Privatizing the recruitment agencies and gi\e wa\s for exploitative brokers 67 Socio-Economic Issue and traffickers to manipulate and take advantage people who wish to work abroad Because the management issues of the migrant workers in destination countries have already been documented (MOFA and lOM, 2011), the present paper will not discuss but acknowledge the relevance of these issues in managing migration of workers from Viet Nam to countries of destinafion, including ROK In addition, migrant workers going to ROK are not aware of the laws and cultures of the country They are likely to rim away al^er arrival in ROK or breach their work contract aiter the first year These labors continue to work in KOR without proper documents, becoming illegal migrants They are vulnerable to abusive unscrupulous middlemen and exploitative employers As a result, they are even vulnerable to trafficking, arrest and deportation Community-level communicafion campaigns in Viet Nam for awarenessraising and combating labor brokerage would be greatly useful for potential migrants who seek overseas employment Last but not least, the transfer of the laws and legal documents into concrete actions becomes great challenges for ROK and Viet Nam in reality The process will not only require policy enforcement, capacity building but also effective partnership of the two governments with other stakeholders such as trade union, NGOs migrant's associafions, employers, private sector etc in safeguarding the rights of migrant worker Concluding Remarks Current problems in managing and regulating migration activities suggest the necessary for better policies and programs to opfimize the possible positive impacts of migration Law system on migration should be improved Close management and tighten supervision from the government should be given to ensure the correct and high quality implementation of labor placement companies while sending workers abroad and to protect laborers in every stages of migration process The differentials in income and employment opportunities between among the Asian economies, including ROK and Viet Nam, have led to the movement of labor from low wage to high wage countries Rather than decreasing, international labor migration is likely to increase largely in the future, becoming a global phenomenon Around the world, it is an undeniable fact that migration cannot be stopped and migrant workers have become indispensable to many economies Migration is a complex issue and the economic, social and cultural benefits of migration must be more effectively realized The analysis suggests that the impacts of migration to ROK on the migrants themselves and their families at origin generally positive Strengthening legal and formal systems that can provide support to migrants would make migrants more producfive and better off in there new environment Poor management of migration movements and other related issues could cause serious damage, putting Vietnamese people in more vulnerable situation For these reasons the 68 A Quantitative Measurement Qf Child Costs In Vietnam Durins Hish Inflation Period govemment should pay more attention and strengthen its supervision of labor placement agencies and labor export programs Labor migrants need to be protected before, during and after migration Migrants from Vietnam still face difficulties in migration Many of these difficulties are the results of the current management system largely involved brokerage and the migrants' lack of information Because migration is multidimensional in nature, and migrants are not simple commodity but human beings, they need to be respected and protected by national laws and governments in both countries of origin and destination Last but not least, Vietnam is not a signatory of the 1990 Intemational Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families This furthers the impression that Vietnam remains a passive partner in migration, not wishing to endanger established markets for its surplus labor The preparing process to ratify the Convention would take time and requires the amendments and adaptation of current legal framework and law instmments in Vietnam Nonetheless, the ratifying of the Convention would provide a basis from which to address the violations of rights of Vietnamese workers abroad This seems a critical need, given the large numbers of Vietnamese working overseas and the continuing outflows of migrants from the country The report draws some ways by which policy could respond to the migration of workers from Viet Nam: Tightening government's monitoring and supervising of labor placement agencies' activities It is necessary to complete the formal and legal system on migration and strengthening law enforcement Specific policies to state clearly responsibilities of labor placement agencies should be developed Facilitating policies, programs and activities to support contract laborers Govemment local authorifies and civil society organizafion should participate in raising awareness through training and media, helping migrant workers to make right decisions on working abroad Credit and fimd support programs to provide loans for poor people to cover the cost of migration should be facilitated The migrants should be equipped with adequate information, knowledge, training and working eondifions abroad Promoting the cooperation of origin and destination countries, and the participation of various actors in the society to protect Vietnamese laborers The Vietnamese govemment should develop bilateral and mulfilateral agreements with the governments of desfination countries, including ROK to protect and regulate Vietnamese citizen's right and safety The Union, the Vietnamese diplomatic representative agencies, intemational and local NGOs in Vietnam should also corporate with local NGOs in destination countries to support and protect Vietnamese workers abroad 69 Socio-Economic Issue Paying high attention to migration motives and implications of migrant workers from Viet Nam The analysis of the size, migration to andfi-omROK has indicated that a closer cooperation between Viet Nam and ROK is required to better manage the labor migration between the two countries In this regard, Viet Nam and ROK Govemment policies toward labor exporting over time have strong impact on not only the number of people who migrate, but also the way migration have impact Govemment policies and regulation on intemational migration have been added as well as amended to cover emerged issues in migration Attracting migrant workers to return The government should have incentives and attracfive eondifions for the retum of workers, skilled laborers, trainees and professionals to maximizing the impact of migration through significantly contribution to the development of human resources in Vietnam Reacting to some specific development related to migration For example, suitable policy on family planning and population redistribution would reduce the pressure of migration Secure private property rights and symmetric business information should be a must Gender linked migrafion programs, acfivities and policies should also be considered as a key for better managing migrants development./ References Abella, Manolo "Policy and institufions for the orderly movement of labor abroad" in Abella M and Lonnroth K (eds) Orderly International Migration of Workers and Incentives to Stay: Options for Emigration Countries GenevaInternational Labor Office 1995 Commission for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs Vietnamese Community AbroadQuestions andAns-wer Hanoi: The Gioi Publisher, 2005 Dang Nguyen Anh Labor Export from Vietnam: Issues of Policy and Practice Working paper, ILO, Bangkok, 2008 Dang, Nguyen Anh Emigration and Emigration Pressures in a Transitional Vietnam APEC/JETRO Conference Proceedings Institute of Development Economies Japan 2000 MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and lOM (Imernational Organization for Migrafion) of Vietnamese Migration Abroad Hanoi 2011 lOM (Intemational Organization for Migration) Labor Migration in Asia' Trends, Challenges and Policy Responses in Countries of Origin GenevaIntemational Organizafion for Migration, 2003 MOLISA (Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs) Cumulated Data on Overseas Laborers by Countries of Dettination Hanoi: Department for Administration of Overseas Employed Labor Force, 2011 ... countries, including ROK to protect and regulate Vietnamese citizen's right and safety The Union, the Vietnamese diplomatic representative agencies, intemational and local NGOs in Vietnam should also... present paper will not discuss but acknowledge the relevance of these issues in managing migration of workers from Viet Nam to countries of destinafion, including ROK In addition, migrant workers... 1980s Vietnam was suffering severe poverty, unemployment and low growth Like other sending countries in the region, the primary means of understanding migration of workers from Vietnam is demographic
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