Laws of Vietnam

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No.96/CP of December 7, 1993 stipulating the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No.07/CP of January 20, 1995 detailing a number of articles of the Labor Code on the sending of Vietnamese laborers to work abroad for given terms;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department for Management of Labor Cooperation with Foreign Countries,

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To promulgate together with this Decision the Regulation provisionally stipulating a number of measures to prevent and handle violations in the field of sending laborers and experts to work abroad.

Article 2.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its signing.

Article 3.- The director of the Ministry’s Office, the director of the Department for Management of Labor Cooperation with Foreign Countries, the heads of the units attached to the Ministry, directors of enterprises that send their laborers and experts to work abroad for given terms shall have to implement this Decision.

Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs
NGUYEN THI HANG

In order to enhance the management and protection of the legitimate interest of laborers sent to work abroad and enterprises sending them (hereinafter referred to as enterprises and laborers) as well as the Vietnamese labor’s prestige on the international market; after consulting the concerned ministries and branches and the Vietnam Labor Confederation, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs hereby promulgates the Regulation provisionally stipulating a number of measures to prevent and handle violations in the field of sending laborers and experts to work abroad for given terms, as follows:

Chapter I

RECRUITMENT, TRAINING, EDUCATION AND MANAGEMENT OF LABORERS AND THE FINANCIAL REGIME

Article 1.- Recruitment, training and oriented education of laborers (including those to be sent abroad to work as apprentices) and experts before their departure:

1. When recruiting laborers, enterprises must publicize the number of laborers to be recruited, criteria, sex, age, recruitment time and job(s) to be undertaken by the laborers, working place(s), contract term, working and living conditions, wages, medical insurance, social insurance and obligations of the laborers. Enterprises shall directly recruit laborers according to the prescribed number and quality of laborers, who must have good virtue and good health according to the signed labor supply contracts.

2. Enterprises shall coordinate with the receiving organizations in organizing the training and oriented education under the uniform program set by the Department for Management of Labor Cooperation with Foreign Countries in terms of content and time duration (at least one month). Particularly for experts, the training shall be carried out under the programs set by their managing ministries. The training and oriented education of laborers and experts must be carefully organized. At the end of each training course, an examination must be organized to evaluate the trainees’ study result and sense of observing the internal rules. Laborers who are not provided with training or oriented education or who failed to achieve the required study result shall not be sent to work abroad.

Article 2.- Enterprises must sign contracts for working abroad for given terms with laborers or with experts according to the forms set by the managing ministries, which clearly state the responsibilities of enterprises, laborers and experts to perform the signed contracts and liabilities to compensate for damage due to breaches of contracts by either of the two sides.

Article 3.- Financial regime

Enterprises shall have to publish on newspapers and post up at their offices the money amounts to be paid by laborers and experts; then collect them directly from laborers and experts, not through intermediary economic organizations or individuals.

Article 4.- Management of laborers working abroad:

1. Enterprises shall have to closely coordinate with laborer-receiving organizations in managing and educating laborers, handling problems arising from labor relations abroad.

2. Any enterprise that sends 500 laborers or more, or sends less than 500 laborers to new and complicated places, shall have to appoint its official(s) to manage such laborers.

3. Enterprises’ officials appointed to manage laborers abroad must have good virtue, professional qualifications and know foreign languages, so as to be able to fulfill their assigned tasks, and have the responsibility to monitor and supervise the performance of the signed contracts; settle labor disputes and arising matters related to the laborers till the labor contracts are completed and the laborers and experts are sent home.

4. Enterprises shall have to notify their officials to be sent to manage laborers to the Department for Management of Labor Cooperation with Foreign Countries under the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and Vietnamese representations in the labor-receiving countries. Labor managing officials in a host foreign country shall submit to the direction and State management by the Vietnamese representation in such country.

5. Enterprises shall have to promptly send written reports on arising problems related to laborers and experts working abroad, which fall beyond their competence, to the managing agency(ies) for the latter’s direction; and at the same time to the Vietnamese representation in the host country and the Department for Management of Labor Cooperation with Foreign Countries under the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

Chapter II

RESPONSIBILITIES OF ENTERPRISES, LABORERS, EXPERTS AND MANAGING AGENCIES

Article 5.- Responsibilities of enterprises

1. To strictly comply with the contracts already signed with laborer and expert receiving organizations; clearly explain clauses in contracts signed with receiving organizations, which are related to laborers and experts.

2. To carry out well the two-way information between the enterprises and the Vietnamese representations abroad on the labor market and the laborers’ working and living situation.

3. To properly perform their management responsibilities according to regulations; to compile books for monitoring laborers and experts working abroad. In cases where laborers and experts discontinue their contracts, the concerned enterprises shall still have to solve all arising relevant matters till such laborers and experts return to Vietnam and shall be entitled to get expenses already paid to settle consequences of the breaches of contracts by the laborers’ and experts’.

Article 6.- Responsibilities of laborers and experts:

1. Before being sent to work abroad, to attend training and oriented education courses and pass the examinations at the end of such courses.

2. To abide by law, regulations and internal rules of the receiving agencies or organizations or foreign enterprises stated in the signed contracts.

3. Not to participate in illegal activities, meetings or strikes.

4. To sign and fully perform contracts for working abroad with Vietnamese enterprises, and labor contracts with labor and expert employers; to work at the right places as stated in the contracts. Not to arbitrarily leave to work at other places. Upon the expiry of contracts, if they wish to extend such contracts, they must obtain consents of the sending enterprises and receiving organizations. If no extension is given, they shall have to return home.

Article 7.- Responsibilities of managing agencies

To direct enterprises in organizing the management over processes from recruitment, training, oriented education, financial revenues and expenditures as prescribed; the signing of contracts and management of laborers and experts working abroad; settlement of arising problems. For complicated cases, they shall have to coordinate with the Department for Management of Labor Cooperation with Foreign Countries under the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and other functional agencies in settling them, thus leaving no cases unsettled for long and causing consequences.

Chapter III

HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS

Article 8.- For enterprises:

1. Violation acts include:

- Signing contracts that fail to contain all prescribed contents; failing to register the performance of contracts before organizing recruitment of laborers; recruiting laborers through an intermediary; failing to publicize the number, criteria, sex, age, occupation, wage and obligations of laborers and experts to be recruited;

- Sending laborers, who have not been trained according to regulations of the Department for Management of Labor Cooperation with Foreign Countries, or experts, who have not been trained according to regulations of the managing ministries, to work abroad;

- Before sending laborers, failing to sign or improperly signing contracts for working abroad with such laborers;

- Collecting money in contravention of regulations, or collecting money through an intermediary;

- Letting 5% or more of the total number of laborers and experts sent under each contract arbitrarily leave to work at other places;

- Letting disputes occur without settling them promptly, thus causing bad consequences;

2. Violation-handling forms:

Depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations, violating enterprises shall be handled as follows:

- Warning and public notification.

- Suspension of their sending of laborers and experts to work abroad for one year from the date the suspension decision is issued;

- Withdrawal of operation licenses.

Article 9.- For laborers and experts:

1. Violation acts include:

- Breaching contracts already signed with Vietnamese enterprises and receiving agencies or organizations or labor and expert employers;

- Going on strike in contravention of the law of the host countries;

- Organizing, inducing or compelling other people to breach contracts or participate in illegal strikes.

2. Violation-handling forms:

Depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations, violators shall be handled as follows:

- They shall be compelled to return home and bear all expenses therefor and shall not be refunded their deposits. The concerned enterprises shall notify the localities and families of such laborers and experts of their violations.

- If they cause damage to enterprises, they shall have to compensate therefor as prescribed by law.

- They shall not be re-recruited for working abroad.

- If they fail to return to Vietnam upon the expiry of contracts, they shall not be entitled to regimes and policies according to the current regulations.

Chapter IV

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 10.- The ministries, branches and People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to direct their enterprises to implement this Regulation.

Article 11.- Enterprises shall have to implement and disseminate this Regulation among laborers before sending them to work abroad.

Article 12.- The Department for Management of Labor Cooperation with Foreign Countries under the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall guide and inspect the implementation of this Regulation. Upon detecting violations of this Regulation, it shall have to promptly handle them or report them to responsible agencies for handling

Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs
NGUYEN THI HANG