Vietnam supervises recruitment of over 3,600 Chinese workers by Chinese contractor
State inspectors in southern Tra Vinh Province have requested that the Chinese contractor of a local thermal power project elaborate on its plans for the recruitment of over 3,600 Chinese workers by 2017, said Duong Quang Ngoc, deputy director of the provincial Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.
The department’s Inspectorate has coordinated with the management unit for the Duyen Hai Thermal Power Plant III Project in inspecting the project contractor’s plan for the recruitment of foreign workers to ensure that they are employed only when Vietnamese candidates fail to meet the qualifications required for each job title, Ngoc said.
The inspection was made after Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper published an article on July 7, questioning the local government’s approval of the plan, under which thousands of Chinese workers will be recruited for the project.
The article came after the provincial People’s Committee approved the plan based on the department’s proposal that was made after the contractor reported that no Vietnamese candidates met the required qualifications.
The Inspectorate now requests that the contractor, China Chengda Engineering Co., Ltd., report on its construction schedule and the plan for its use of workers for 2014 and each year to follow.
This plan must provide all details on the estimated number of employees to be recruited and their specific skills and qualifications.
When such recruitment plan is made available, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs will examine it and if it meets applicable regulations, the department will approve and broadly publicize it nationwide through mass media, not only within the province as previously done by the contractor.
The department will also assign staff to supervise the process of recruitment under the approved plan to ensure that the recruitment of foreign workers is lawful.
Under the current recruitment plan of the contractor, the company will recruit 1,513 workers from now until the year’s end, and 2,162 others by 2017, including 1,528 technical workers.