ASEAN labour ministers and their counterparts from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK) agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fields within their remit during a meeting in Vientiane, Laos, on May 16.

The ninth ASEAN Plus Three Labour Ministers’ Meeting took place as part of the 24th ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Meeting.

The officials shared their viewpoints and proposed measures for supporting the transition from informal to formal employment.

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They hailed efforts to promote labour cooperation between ASEAN and the three partner countries as a whole as well as between ASEAN and each of them individually, especially in workforce training, labour relations and occupational safety.

The ministers agreed to enhance ASEAN+3 cooperation so as to promote vocational training quality, develop human resources, and build up the information system for the labour market, ultimately narrowing the development gap among the regional countries.

Vietnamese Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung told the Vietnam News Agency that the regional ministers issued a joint statement on the transition from employment information to formal employment towards decent work promotion in ASEAN. It is like a commitment to creating jobs for ASEAN workers, including Vietnamese.

At present, more than 60 percent of Vietnam’s workforces are informal labourers. If the country succeeds in complying with the statement, it can provide jobs for another 6 million people by 2020, he said.

However, it is important to boost mutual sharing, support and interaction among the ASEAN member countries, Dung added.

Source: VNA