The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) will persuade and create conditions for Vietnamese guest workers involved in recent strikes in Jordan to stay and work legally while dealing with law-breakers, according to a MOLISA official.

MOLISA Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Hoa made the commitment at a press briefing in Hanoi on March 4 following the news that more than 200 Vietnamese guest workers had gone on strike in Jordan for being over-exploited, discriminated against and receiving lower pay than stipulated in their contracts.

Mr Hoa attributed the case to the employers’ wage calculations. Accordingly, Vietnamese workers get full pay under signed contracts for the first three months and whether their wages are either high or low depends on product quantity from the fourth month upward. However, Vietnamese guest workers described the calculations as unreasonable and 261 workers had been out on strike. After Jordanian employers gave then an explanation, 85 workers had returned to work.

Mr Hoa said that the relevant Jordanian agencies launched a probe into the cause of the February 19 clash between 85 Vietnamese workers, who had returned to work, and the 176 workers on strike and between the police and Vietnamese workers.

“We do not rule out the possibility that Vietnamese workers may attack on-duty Jordan officials, forcing them to fight back,” said Mr Hoa.

Following the incident, the Vietnamese Embassy in Cairo had sent Deputy Consul General Tran Viet Tu to fly to Jordan to investigate the situation with the aim of protecting the legitimate rights of Vietnamese workers.

In a letter to MOLISA, Mr Tu said that Jordan had shown goodwill towards settling the case and encouraged the workers back to work. In addition, the employers had agreed to increase employees’ net wages to between US$210-230/month.

According to Mr Hoa, MOLISA will explore the situation and create conditions for the workers to stay and work there in a lawful manner. It will meet the request by those who wish to return to Vietnam and will deal with the law-breakers.

At the press briefing, reporters expressed concern about the high death rate among Vietnamese guest workers in Malaysia, reaching 107 in 2007.

In reply, Mr Hoa said that one of the causes had been poor management of medical check-ups for the workers before departing.

“MOLISA will coordinate with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to seek measures to reduce the death rate in foreign countries, including Malaysia,” said Mr Hoa.

Currently, approximately 130,000 Vietnamese workers are working in Malaysia.

Source: VOV