Deputy Minister Nguyen Ba Hoan had meetings and worked with the Heads of Delegations from Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea to discuss expanding human resource cooperation.
On the sidelines of the 28th ASEAN Labor Ministers' Meeting (ALMM) and the 13th ASEAN Labor Ministers' Meeting + 3 (ALMM + 3) recently held in Singapore, the delegation of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam, led by Deputy Minister Nguyen Ba Hoan, had meetings and worked with the heads of the delegations of Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea to discuss expanding human resource cooperation.
Promoting MOC signing under Japan's new employment law
At the meeting with Mr. Seiji Tanaka, Deputy Minister in charge of policy of the Ministry of Health , Labor and Welfare of Japan, Deputy Minister Nguyen Ba Hoan highly appreciated Japan's efforts in recent times and welcomed Japan's issuance of the Labor Training Program, bringing better opportunities for Vietnamese workers to work, and receiving companies sharing costs to help reduce the burden on workers.
Appreciating the labor cooperation efforts between the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Mr. Seiji Tanaka said: “Japan wishes to create conditions for Vietnamese people to study and work in Japan in a stable and long-term manner. Therefore, the Labor Training Program will create conditions for workers to be able to change their residence status more conveniently.”
According to Mr. Seiji Tanaka, Japan is ready to support Vietnam through ODA projects, specifically continuing to implement the labor market information project for migrant workers through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to increase transparency in the recruitment process, prevent intermediary service units from collecting illegal fees, the project is expected to be completed in 2025.
Also at the meeting, the two sides agreed to soon negotiate and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOC) under Japan's new Employment Law and continue cooperation in other areas such as occupational safety and health and vocational education - areas in which Japan has strengths.
Ready to supply more labor to work in Korea
Meeting with Deputy Minister of Labor and Employment of Korea Kim Ni Suk, Deputy Minister Nguyen Ba Hoan said that currently, Vietnam has about 84,000 workers working in Korea under the Employment Permit Program for Foreign Workers (EPS Program), the Technical and Professional Workers Program (E7 visa), the Nearshore Fishing Crew Program (E10 visa) and the Seasonal Workers Program (C4 and E8 visas).
In addition, the two sides also have many cooperation activities in the fields of occupational safety and hygiene, vocational education. However, the number of workers sent by localities to work through seasonal labor programs is not commensurate with the expectations of the two governments.
Deputy Minister Kim Ni Suk shared that the Vietnam - Korea relationship has a very special position, Vietnamese workers are generally highly appreciated and trusted by Korean employers.
“With the current trend of population aging, Korea needs to receive more foreign workers. The criteria for selecting the receiving country will depend on two factors: the needs and proposals of businesses and the reduction in the rate of illegal workers living in Korea,” Mr. Kim Ni Suk suggested.
He said that if the problems of illegal labor can be resolved, the Korean side is willing to expand the conversion of E9 visas to E7 for Vietnamese workers. Mr. Kim Ni Suk emphasized that Korea always supports promoting bilateral cooperation with Vietnam as well as through cooperation with ASEAN countries within the framework of ASEAN +3.
At the meeting, the two sides agreed to actively coordinate between the two agencies to resolve outstanding issues and promote effective cooperation between the two sides in the coming time.
Proposing Thailand to accept more Vietnamese workers in many industries
Meeting with Thai Minister of Labor Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Deputy Minister Nguyen Ba Hoan congratulated Thailand on taking on the role of Vice Chairman of the ASEAN Labor Ministers' Meeting for the 2024-2026 term, and highly appreciated the Thai Ministry of Labor's active role in coordinating ASEAN activities in areas such as social insurance, child labor prevention, and support for workers in the informal sector.
The Deputy Minister suggested that the two sides should soon promote the signing of a cooperation agreement and expand the occupational groups receiving Vietnamese workers from the two construction and fishing industries to all 25 occupations as currently applied to Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
Supporting this proposal, the Thai Minister of Labor hopes that the two sides will soon agree to promote the completion of the negotiation process towards signing a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of labor in general and an agreement on sending Vietnamese workers to work in Thailand, in December 2024.
Proposal for Singapore to expand human resource cooperation
Meeting and exchanging with Singapore's Minister of Human Resources and Second Minister of Trade and Industry Tan See Leng, Deputy Minister Nguyen Ba Hoan congratulated Minister Tan See Leng on successfully chairing the 28th ASEAN Labour Ministers' Meeting and related meetings, and taking on the role of Chair of the ASEAN Labour Ministers' Meeting for the 2025-2026 term.
The Deputy Minister expressed Vietnam's wish to promote continued cooperation with Singapore through the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on Labor Cooperation and Human Resources Development, Exchange of Innovative Talents (ITX Program) and the Cooperation Agreement between the General Department of Vocational Education of Vietnam and the Institute of Technical Education of Singapore.
Regarding the Memorandum of Understanding on the implementation of the ITX Program, the Deputy Minister said that although there are still some problems in receiving Singaporean workers into Vietnam, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs will coordinate with relevant agencies and report to the Government to implement the Program in a way that creates more favorable conditions for candidates.
Thanking the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs for its efforts to effectively implement the Memorandums of Understanding on Cooperation between the two Ministries, Minister Tan See Leng suggested that each side designate a contact point to discuss related issues and develop a specific implementation roadmap for the Memorandum of Understanding on Labor Cooperation and Human Resources Development.
He expressed his hope that human resource development could become a pillar of cooperation in the Vietnam - Singapore Economic Connectivity Initiative (CMM).
Currently, Singapore and Vietnam have implemented many special cooperation activities through Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) projects, in which cooperation in human resource development will be an important component of cooperation between the two countries.
Mr. Tan See Leng hopes that Vietnam will support the successful implementation of the ITX Program as expected.
With the ITE program, the Minister promised to connect with the Singapore Ministry of Education to promote cooperation programs and organize training for source lecturers for Vietnam, aiming to expand the program's impact to more vocational education lecturers in the future.
Source: https://dansinh.dantri.com.vn/nhan-luc/khong-ngung-mo-rong-hop-tac-lao-dong-voi-nhat-han-thai-lan-va-singapore-20241103141509318.htm
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