On the sidelines of the 28th ASEAN Labour Ministers' Meeting (ALMM) and the 13th ASEAN Labour Ministers' Meeting + 3 (ALMM + 3) recently held in Singapore, the delegation of the Ministry of Labour - Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) of Vietnam, led by Deputy Minister Nguyen Ba Hoan, had meetings with the heads of the delegations of Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore to discuss expanding human resource cooperation.

Promoting the signing of Memorandum of Cooperation under Japan's new Law on Employment

At the meeting with Mr. Seiji Tanaka, Deputy Minister in charge of policy of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, Deputy Minister Nguyen Ba Hoan highly appreciated Japan's efforts in recent times and welcomed Japan's issuance of the Labour Training Program, bringing better opportunities for Vietnamese employees to work, and receiving companies sharing costs to help reduce the burden on employees.

Vietnamese workers sit for a foreign language exam before going abroad. — Photo laodong.vn

Highly appreciating the labour cooperation efforts between the Ministry of Labour - Invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, Mr. Seiji Tanaka said: "Japan wants to create conditions for Vietnamese labourers to study and work in Japan in a stable and long-term manner. Therefore, the Labour Training Program will create conditions for employees to be able to change their residence status more conveniently". According to Mr. Seiji Tanaka, Japan is ready to support Vietnam through ODA projects, specifically the continued implementation of the labour market information project for migrant employees through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to increase transparency in the recruitment process, prevent intermediary service units from collecting illegal fees, the project is expected to be completed in 2025.

At the meeting, the two sides agreed to negotiate and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOC) under Japan's new Employment Law and continue to cooperate in other areas such as occupational safety and hygiene and vocational education - areas in which Japan has strengths

Vietnam is ready to supply more employees to work in Korea

Meeting with Deputy Minister of Labour and Employment of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Kim Ni Suk, Deputy Minister Nguyen Ba Hoan said that Vietnam currently has about 84,000 employees working in ROK under the Employment Permit Program for Foreign Employees (Program EPS), Technical and Professional Employee Program (E7 visa), Nearshore Fishing Crew Program (E10 visa) and Seasonal Employee Program (C4 and E8 visa). In addition, the two sides also have many cooperation activities in the fields of occupational safety and hygiene, and vocational education. However, the number of employees sent by localities to work through seasonal labour programs is not commensurate with the expectations of the two Governments. Deputy Minister Kim Ni Suk shared that the Vietnam - ROK relationship has an extraordinary position, Vietnamese employees are generally highly appreciated and trusted by ROK’s employers.

"With the current population aging trend, ROK needs to receive many foreign employees. The criteria for selecting the receiving country will depend on two factors: the demands and proposals of businesses and the reduction in the rate of illegal employees living in Korea," Mr. Kim Ni Suk proposed. He said that if the issues of illegal labour can be resolved, the ROK side is willing to expand the conversion of E9 visas to E7 for Vietnamese employees. Mr. Kim Ni Suk emphasized that the ROK always supports promoting bilateral cooperation with Vietnam as well as through cooperation with ASEAN countries within the framework of ASEAN +3. At the meeting, the two sides agreed to coordinate between the two agencies to resolve outstanding issues actively, promoting effective cooperation between the two sides in the coming time.

Proposing Thailand to accept more Vietnamese employees in many occupations

Meeting with Thai Minister of Labour Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Deputy Minister Nguyen Ba Hoan congratulated Thailand on taking on the role of Vice Chairman of the ASEAN Labour Ministers' Meeting for the 2024-2026 term, highly appreciating the Thai Ministry of Labour's active role in coordinating ASEAN activities in areas such as social insurance, child labour prevention, support for employees in the informal sector, etc. The Deputy Minister suggested that the two sides should promote the signing of a Cooperation Agreement as soon as possible and expand the occupational groups receiving Vietnamese employees from the two construction and fishing industries to all 25 occupations as currently applied to Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.

Supporting this proposal, the Thai Minister of Labour hopes that the two sides will agree to promote the completion of the negotiation process towards signing a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of labour in general and an agreement on sending Vietnamese employees to work in Thailand, in December 2024.

Proposal for Singapore to expand human resource cooperation

Meeting and exchanging with the Minister of Human Resources and Second Minister of Trade and Industry of Singapore Mr. Tan See Leng, Deputy Minister Nguyen Ba Hoan congratulated Minister Tan See Leng on successfully chairing the 28th ASEAN Labour Ministers' Meeting and related meetings, taking on the role of Chair of the ASEAN Labour Ministers' Meeting for the 2025-2026 term.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Ba Hoan expressed Vietnam's desire to promote continued cooperation with Singapore through the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on Labour Cooperation and Human Resource Development, Exchange of Innovative Talents (ITX Program) and the Cooperation Agreement between the Directorate of Vocational Education of Vietnam and the Institute of Technical Education of Singapore. Regarding the MOU on the ITX Program, the Deputy Minister said that although there are still some issues in receiving Singaporean employees into Vietnam, the Ministry of Labour - Invalids and Social Affairs will coordinate with relevant agencies and report to the Government to implement the Program in a way that creates more favorable conditions for candidates.

Thanking the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour - Invalids and Social Affairs for its efforts to effectively implement the MOU on cooperation between the two Ministries, Minister Tan See Leng suggested that each side designate a contact point to discuss related issues and develop a specific implementation roadmap for the MOU on Labour Cooperation and Human Resources Development, hoping that human resources development can become a pillar of cooperation in the Vietnam - Singapore Economic Connectivity Initiative (CMM).

Currently, Singapore and Vietnam have implemented many special cooperation activities through the Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) projects, in which cooperation on human resources development will be an important component of cooperation between the two countries. Mr. Tan See Leng hopes that Vietnam will support the successful implementation of the ITX Program. With the ITE program, the Minister promised to connect with the Singapore Ministry of Education to promote the cooperation program and organize training for source teachers for Vietnam, in order to expand the impact of the program to more vocational education teachers in the future.