Hopes for better working conditions for migrant workers

How does the IOM assess the issue of social security, accommodation and stable employment for workers at foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs)?

Foreign investment has remained a driving force for socioeconomic development and stability in Vietnam. According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam is projected to hit $38 billion in 2023, while the processing and manufacturing sectors remain the biggest drivers of economic growth thanks to the relatively cheap labour costs.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the risks in the current system, particularly for low-skilled migrant workers who form a significant portion of the labour force in IZs and FIEs. A 2022 IOM-VCCI study found that migrant workers are among the most vulnerable during prolonged lockdowns, particularly those without regular contracts who are ineligible for social security.

Also, migrant workers are participating much less in social insurance than before due to low wages and high living costs, leaving them vulnerable should they be laid off. It is estimated that only 17.5 per cent of the population has social insurance, and 68.5 per cent of all employment is informal.

Millions of workers who spent all their savings during lockdown had no choice but to return to their home communities in late 2021- early 2022, overwhelming their local authorities' capacity to assist them.

Accommodation costs are reported to take up about 20 per cent of a migrant worker’s average monthly income. The rising cost of living in IZs compared to the slowly increasing wages of worker’s has been cited as one of the reasons behind the slow return of migrant workers to the factories earlier this year.

We also saw how companies with resources to improve their accommodation facilities were better placed to adapt during the pandemic and follow government guidelines to continue production. In other words, foreign enterprises with production partners in Vietnam should look into providing stable accommodation and jobs with social security to retain Vietnamese workers.

The IOM-VCCI study identified three key challenges facing workers, especially low-skilled and internal migrant workers, and those are inadequate accommodation, economic struggles leading to non-participation in or withdrawal from social insurance schemes, and the risk of being replaced by other lower-skilled workers or machines, or dismissed during an economic downturn.

The study recommends that state agencies and FIEs ensure adequate living and working conditions and skills development for low-skilled workers, especially internal migrant workers. The government should continue the enforcement of regulations on housing, social insurance, and training for internal migrant workers.

Social policies should also pay attention to the left-behind parents of migrants, most of them elderly, and such policies need to be made based on evidence and data on migration, which needs to be collected and analysed more.

What are the limitations or difficulties that need to be overcome?

Besides promoting access to essential services for workers, skills training is crucial to meet demand for skilled labour at FIEs.

There are also discussions on lowering the retirement age and providing support for social housing to low-income workers, which requires significant resources to implement effectively.

A holistic and coordinated response from government, business, and society is required to address the challenges facing workers, but should eventually improve the quality of the labour force and strengthen Vietnam’s position as an attractive investment destination.

What support does the IOM offer to workers for digital skills' development in the face of the extensive digital transformation that Vietnam is going through?

Vietnam is striving to expand its vocational training and improve its vocational education to be one of the top countries in the region by 2030. To support this plan, the IOM, in partnership with Microsoft and the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, the General Directorate of Vocational Training, has developed and promoted the e-learning platform congdanso.edu.vn.

After nearly two years, the e-learning platform has benefitted over 13,000 Vietnamese learners, especially internal migrant workers, and a little over half of those are women. In recent research by the ILO, 70 per cent of jobs in Vietnam are potentially at risk of automation, with female workers and low-skilled workers being the most affected.

The e-learning platform aims to help low-skilled workers learn essential skills such as IT, job interview, and entrepreneurship skills through 22 online courses, helping their employment chances in a digital working environment while increasing their resilience to change.

The platform is currently being promoted to workers including migrants workers at IZs in Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Quang Nam and Thai Nguyen, and we hope to be able to expand it more in the future.

What role does the IOM play in influencing policies to improve working conditions for migrant workers?

Addressing the exploitation of migrant workers requires a coordinated and systemic approach. The IOM has recently taken significant steps to promote supply chain accountability across sectors to increase migrant worker protection.

The IOM works directly with the government, employers, labour recruiters, migrant workers, and civil society in Vietnam to provide support across a range of supply chain interventions related to the ethical recruitment and migration of workers.

This includes migrant-centred human and labour rights risk assessments, advisory and technical support to strengthen policies and management systems, action-oriented training, and customised tools and multi-stakeholder engagement to foster greater collaboration.

The IOM will continue to support the government of Vietnam to address migration to ensure that no one is left behind in the process of achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

We will lend a hand to create more platforms to promote the voices of all migrants, to raise awareness of safe migration, and to make sure that Vietnamese who want to go abroad and those who have returned, or are already overseas, need to be aware of their rights, the services that are available and how they can benefit from them.