Middle East Market: Still Attractive for Vietnamese Workers

After a lot of uncertainties, many labour exporters have recently shifted their focus to the Middle East market, opening up more opportunities for Vietnamese workers. Some experts said that the labour market in the Middle East is likely to rebound.

 

In fact, the Middle East is an oil-rich area with a small population, so it is one of the areas that attract the most foreign workers in the world. Unlike other emerging markets in Asia and Eastern Europe, the labour market in the Middle East is not capable of providing either unskilled or skilled labour to serve its economic development process. Many countries in the Middle East are facing labour shortage, especially in the Gulf Cooperation Community. Business activities are inefficient because the supply of labour fails to meet demand. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC – including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates) receive tens of millions of workers from around the world working in all fields. The labour market here is not facing unemployment problems; it is facing labour shortage.

 

The number of Vietnamese employees working in foreign countries has significantly increased in recent years. On average, Vietnam has annually exported over 60,000 workers since 2001. However, the figures fall short of the potential of the market.

 

According to experts, the Middle East is regarded as an “easy” market, so it is quite suitable for Vietnamese workers. This market has a great demand for not very highly skilled workers. In addition, the cost for sending workers to the Middle East is much lower than that of Australia, Japan, Canada, South Korea and the US. The income of foreign workers in the Middle East is not as high as in such countries, but is not too low compared to other countries. More importantly, the Middle East countries employ labour of all kinds, from managers, highly-skilled, low-skilled workers working in a wide range of fields like services, production, construction and housework. The income depends on their professional skills and job type. So it is easy for the Vietnamese to find jobs suitable to their abilities. Especially, in some countries, employees don’t have to pay payroll tax. They even receive fringe benefits such as living cost assistance and one-way flight ticket price.

 

Nevertheless, many Vietnamese labour exporters fear that this market may still bear potential risks. Vietnamese labour exporters still lack employment information. On the other hand, in some countries with high labour demand, Vietnam has not yet established an embassy or labour representative office, so it cannot directly help labour exporters find their partners and suitable jobs, so it is more difficult to ensure safety if there are any problems.

 

Besides, markets in Middle Eastern countries are complicated, some plagued by regular disputes and violence, which make workers face instability. Meanwhile, there is not yet any specific regime to ensure life safety as well as property of workers against employers.

 

Another problem is that the quality of training in Vietnamese vocational schools does not meet practical requirements and is weak in many aspects. Vietnamese workers have limitations in health and foreign language, which leads to lower income than those from Indonesia and the Philippines. Thus, to enhance competitiveness and economic efficiency, it is essential to have highly-skilled workers.

 

In terms of belief and habits, most local people are Muslim, and social rules are very strict, which require employees to adapt and comply.

 

To ensure the safety for Vietnamese workers, Overseas Labour Management Department requires labour enterprises to direct their representatives in the Middle East, warning of places with potential risk of protests, and evacuating workers to safe places when riots happen.