53% of Foreigners Working without Permits in Vietnam: Ministry

Up to 53% of foreign laborers are working in Vietnam without licenses, said the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) at a conference on January 25.

 

By end-2010, Vietnam had nearly 57,000 foreign workers, of whom only 47.05% have working permits, according to the MoLISA.

 

Most of non-licensed workers who are Chinese and Taiwanese are manual employees, it added.

 

In fact, the number of foreign workers has dramatically risen since the Vietnamese government decided in April 2008 to drop the limitation of 3% on foreign staff in local business, an official from the ministry said, warning that the increase would be a threat to local employment. 

 

The MoLISA is completing a decree on management of foreign workers, under which illegal foreign workers will be expelled from the country.

 

The decree would create good conditions for foreign workers with high levels of ability to work in Vietnam, and manage other foreigners better, the ministry noted. (Youth, Pioneer)