Seasonal work in Korea

Deputy Director of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Le Nguyen Huyen Trang said that implementing Resolution 59/NQ-CP dated April 27, 2022 of the Government on continuing to pilot sending seasonal workers to Korea in the form of cooperation between localities of the two countries, the department has just advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue Official Dispatch No. 1659/UBND-KGVX dated April 9, 2024 to implement the above content. This is considered a new and effective direction in contributing to job creation and poverty reduction for local workers.

The Provincial Employment Service Center provides vocational skills training for workers going to work in Korea under contract - Photo: TU LINH

Over the years, Quang Tri has been one of the localities that has done well in sending workers to work abroad under contracts. In 2023, the whole province had 2,800 workers working abroad under contracts, including 800 workers in Taiwan; 1,511 workers in Japan; 473 workers in Korea; and 16 workers in other markets. In 2024, the province will continue to send workers to work abroad under contracts.

Currently, the province is paying great attention to implementing Resolution 59/NQ-CP dated April 27, 2022 of the Government. This pilot is carried out on the basis of a cooperation program between the Vietnamese locality and the Korean locality in a non-profit form. Implementing the direction of the Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee, the participation of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Provincial Police and the Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has guided the People's Committees of districts, towns, cities and related units on the necessary steps to proceed to discuss and sign agreements, and implement the contents of the agreements.

In order to organize the pilot activities well, ensure the legitimate rights and interests of employees, prevent contract violations and illegal residence, localities need to organize direct selection of employees according to regulations, aged 30 - 55, long-term residents in the locality signing the agreement; have full civil capacity; have no criminal record and are not banned from leaving the country or temporarily suspended from leaving the country according to the provisions of law; have good health to work abroad; are working in the fields of agriculture, fisheries...

Along with that, organize Korean language training, orientation education for workers before departure; publicly and transparently announce costs related to Korean language training, health check-ups, administrative procedures for workers, and support costs from local budgets.

At the same time, take measures to ensure that employees properly perform their contracts, in accordance with the actual situation in the locality and domestic laws; agree with the receiving party on measures to limit the selection of employees whose relatives are residing and working illegally in Korea to limit the situation of employees leaving their contracts to work outside.

Currently, the demand for seasonal work in Korea is very high due to the superiority of this program. However, many workers still do not fully understand the content of the program, so they encounter many difficulties and are even deceived when they want to go to Korea for short-term work. Many organizations and individuals do not have a license to send workers to work abroad but still announce recruitment with attractive conditions such as quick exit, low travel costs, and successful registration...

In Quang Tri, although this situation has not yet occurred, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has proactively issued recommendations to help workers better understand the matter: this program is implemented in a non-profit form, not assigning businesses to send workers to work abroad in any form. Therefore, workers need to find out information and only register to participate in this program through local authorities such as the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Employment Service Center; do not register to participate with any other intermediary organizations or individuals.

According to Ms. Le Nguyen Huyen Trang, one of the most difficult problems of the program is that some Vietnamese workers escape after arriving in Korea. According to Korean regulations, every year, the selection and dispatch of seasonal workers from foreign localities will be considered to stop if the rate of seasonal workers abandoning their contracts in the previous year is higher than 10% and the acceptance of workers from countries where the total rate of seasonal workers abandoning their contracts exceeds 50%.

The escape of workers leaves many consequences, affecting the reputation of international cooperation with Korea and it is very likely that the Korean side will stop accepting more workers; narrowing the job opportunities of thousands of workers, creating confusion and a bad precedent for workers working in Korea.

Therefore, before signing an agreement to send seasonal workers to work with Korean localities, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs recommends that the People's Committees of districts, towns and cities consider researching and developing optimal solutions to prevent workers from running away when going to work seasonally in Korea.

Doing this well will help the province avoid falling into the situation where the number of illegal workers residing in Korea is high and the rate of workers whose contracts have expired and do not return home on time. At that time, the Korean side will temporarily stop recruiting workers to work in Korea for Quang Tri, which will affect the work of sending workers to work abroad under contracts in the province under other programs.

“Seasonal work in Korea is a new direction for Quang Tri workers. However, localities should pay special attention to developing the most optimal plan to implement this content,” Ms. Huyen Trang emphasized.

Tu Linh

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/lam-viec-thoi-vu-o-han-quoc-huong-di-moi-cho-lao-dong-quang-tri-186392.htm