Close cooperation to protect migrant workers (23/7)
23/07/2013 - 17 Lượt xem
The Vietnam General
Confederation of Labor (VGCL) cooperated with the ILO to organize this
event. In particular, the event saw the participation of trade union
leaders from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, the Republic of Korea, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Viet Nam.
According to the ILO, among 105
million international migrant workers in the world, about 30 million
workers came from the Asia-Pacific region and about 14 million workers
came from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.
ILO Viet Nam Director Gyorgy Sziraczki said that: “Migrant workers
significantly contribute to the economies of labor import countries and
the remittances sent home contribute to promote economic development of
their home country. However, they often receive little protection and
rights.”
| According to the Viet Nam Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, about 80,000 Vietnamese workers are sent abroad every year. About 500,000 workers are legally working abroad in more than 40 countries. They are expected to send home a remittance of US$1.8-2 billion in 2013. |
In a globalized economy,
international labor migration is an inevitable phenomenon. However,
migrant workers are abused and unfairly treated. Therefore, trade unions
that fight for human rights need to implement the most positive
measures in order to ensure safe migration for labors.
VGCL Deputy Chairman Nguyen Hoa
Binh said that: “Vietnam has an abundant and young labor force but has
not yet created enough jobs for them. Therefore, sending workers abroad
is seen as one of national strategies. Vietnam has fairly well done this
work over the past years and will continue to promote the
implementation of this strategy. This requires efforts of Vietnam in
general and trade unions in particular in the protection of human
rights.
According to the estimation, the
number of migrant workers crossing borders in order to look for jobs
would increase in the coming decades due to the changes in population
structure and large differences in terms of income per capita and wages.
The establishment of the ASEAN Community in 2015 would further support
international migration.
ILO Senior Specialist on
Workers’ Activities Pong-Sul Ahn said that protecting the rights of
migrant workers is the best way to protect the rights of domestic
workers and avoid competition between international migrant workers and
domestic workers. Therefore, trade unions need to cooperate to exchange
information and support the protection of human rights.
International labor migration
needs to be managed in accordance with policies recorded by
international conventions and national laws. The rights of migrant
workers need to be protected regardless of their status./.
Source: VEN
Source: VEN
