Latest Vietnamese recruitment agency rank released

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The evaluation was made by the Vietnam Association of Manpower Supply (VAMAS) on the basis of the Code of Conduct (CoC-VN) for recruitment agencies which was introduced in 2010 with the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO) through the GMS TRIANGLE project funded by the Australian government.

The CoC-VN is a voluntary self-regulation tool that aims to improve compliance with Vietnamese legislation and international standards, promote better business management and protect migrant workers from exploitative situations.

The ranking includes four categories – excellent (A1 and A2), good (B1 and B2), satisfactory (C1 and C2) and not satisfactory (D1 and D2). Over half of the rated agencies belonged to group A2 and nearly one fifth received B1 status.

According to VAMAS president Nguyen Luong Trao, the evaluation was not just about data, assessment and rating but “more about persuading and supporting companies to improve work ethics and comply with ILO standards on international labour migration”.

In this second year of ranking, the number of recruitment agencies opening up for evaluation more than doubled to 47 from 20 in the first year.

They account for more than one fourth (27 per cent) of all agencies that exist in the country and cover half of the total number of contract-based overseas workers. The number of participating agencies is expected to reach 70 in the third year.

“The monitoring, evaluation and publication of CoC-VN compliance need to be done on a yearly basis and gradually expanded to all recruitment agencies,” said VAMAS president.

Six out of 20 companies rated in the first year climbed up in rankings in the second year by showing improvements whereas five others took a step back due to violations.

Vice Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Nguyen Thanh Hoa, affirmed the Ministry’s commitment in supporting VAMAS’s efforts to expand the size of evaluation and make it an annual activity.

“It’s a good way to promote fair competition, prevent abusive practices in the recruitment processes, improve the quality of company services, and thus bringing companies to a new height,” he added.

Promoting self-regulation is one important point of ILO agenda on improving recruitment as it supplements government regulations and monitoring of recruitment agencies, especially in the context labour migration is forecast to increase with deeper regional economic integration.

As a result of the introduction of the ASEAN Economic Community at the end of 2015, the flows of Vietnamese workers migrating abroad for employment are forecast to increase.

“This requires better protection of migrant workers and improved services of recruitment agencies. So self-regulations tools like CoC-VN offer a win-win solution to both companies and workers,” said ILO Vietnam director Gyorgy Sziraczki.

“Labour migration should no longer be seen as only a way to reduce poverty but Vietnam should look more into the quality of recruitment services and the protection of workers to reap the full benefits of international migration,” he added.

According to Australian Ambassador Hugh Borrowman, the functioning of an effective labour market does not involve only employees, employers, and public employment agencies these days. Private recruitment agencies have come to play an important role in matching employees and employers.

“The Australian government is proud to be the supporter of this important undertaking through our funding to the ILO GMS TRIANGLE Project to contribute to the effective and well-functioning labour market where everyone can benefit in a fair and equal way,” he said.

Currently Vietnam has more than 170 recruitment agencies, sending approximately 80,000 workers annually to more than 40 countries and territories across the world.