VIETNAM CONSIDERING EXPORT WORKER PROGRAM FOR UNITED

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000240 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, CA/FPP, CA/VO/EAP AND DRL MITTELHOUSER COMMERCE FOR 4431/MAC/AP/OPB/VLC/HPPHO LABOR FOR CARTER, LI HOMELAND SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB ECON CVIS PGOV ETRD EIND EINV VM SUBJECT: VIETNAM CONSIDERING EXPORT WORKER PROGRAM FOR UNITED STATES SENSITIVE - DO NOT POST ON INTERNET REF: 2005 HANOI 801 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Econoff and ConsChief met with officials at the Ministry of Labor Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) to discuss recent news reports that the Government of Vietnam (GVN) was beginning a new program to export laborers to the United States. The reports quoted MOLISA officials as stating that workers would pay USD 5,000 to USD 7,000 to Vietnamese export labor companies for contracts, and making claims about visas, green card eligibility, and U.S. Embassy approval of firms. After Emboffs disputed the claims and noted that the Embassy had not approved the activities of any firms, the officials acknowledged that the press reports were wrong. Officials said the proposal, which still has not been approved by the Prime Minister, would be focusing on higher-end labor which would be profitable for workers. Early in 2006, Post stopped issuing these kinds of visas because of concerns about such contracts involving H2A visas where seasonal agricultural workers paying such fees would lose money on the venture and have an incentive to remain in the United States illegally. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) EconOff and ConsChief met with MOLISA International Cooperation Director Tran Phi Tuoc and Bureau of Overseas Labor Deputy Director Nguyen Ngoc Quynh on February 1 to discuss recent news reports of the GVN beginning a new program to export laborers to the United States. Recent television and print news reports have stated that Vietnam is beginning a program in February to send workers, including welders and nurses, to the United States. Workers would pay UD 5,000 to USD 7,000 in fees to Vietnamese export labor companies for their contracts, would be able to obtain visas to remain in the United States for three years and would then be eligible for green cards, the reports stated. The reports quoted, on camera, Nguyen Thanh Hoa, Director of the Bureau of Overseas Labor, who also said two export labor firms were "approved" by the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi. Post requested a meeting with Hoa, but was denied and met with Quynh, his deputy, instead. ¶3. (SBU) In the meeting, EconOff and ConsChief noted that the 
reports were factually incorrect, that the Embassy had not approved the activities of any firms. They then asked for information about the new program. The officials acknowledged that the press reports were wrong, saying there was no "program" per se to send workers to the United States. They indicated, however, that the Ministry has submitted a proposal to the Prime Minister allowing export labor firms to send workers to the United States, as every new market needed such approval. Quynh emphasized that MOLISA had not yet given permits to any firms to send workers to the United States. He added that the initiative followed a pair of visits to the United States by MOLISA Vice Minister Nguyen Nguyen Luong Trao and himself in 2006, when they had met with a range of officials at the Department of Labor and the Department of Homeland Security. Quynh stated the GVN wished only to allow the operation of these contracts in a way that was "100 percent legal" in the United States and protected worker rights. They also stated that, in line with Vietnamese law, they would only give permits to firms to conduct export labor activities in the United States after they examined contracts between U.S. employers and Vietnamese labor exporting firms and between the labor exporting firms and the employees themselves. Quynh added firms would not send large numbers of workers to the United States at first, as the GVN wished to see firms gain experience with the market. Background: Exorbitant Fees Create Incentive to Overstay -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) According to Vietnamese law, firms can charge a maximum of one month's salary for workers that go to a foreign country for a year. Limits are lower for workers that go for shorter periods of time, Quynh said. He admitted, however, other fees could also be applied, such as those for medical examinations and training, fees which often resulted in workers paying substantially more than one month's salary. Human rights groups have criticized the government of Vietnam for failing to regulate export labor firms. Despite the legal limit, these firms have been known to extract from workers a range of surcharges, all beyond the basic contract fee, adding up to thousands of dollars in some cases. Workers in the most egregious cases spend most of their time abroad trying to pay off the debts they have incurred to these firms, providing them with strong HANOI 00000240 002 OF 002 incentives to work and hide illegally in the informal economy of their host countries and overstay their visas. Vietnam passed a new export labor law in November to address some of these issues, but has still not issued the implementing regulations. The International Labor Organization, which had worked to improve the law, was generally disappointed with the new law's language, stating more worker protections and sanctions against exploitative firms should have been included. ¶5. (SBU) The MOLISA officials did note that there were a few Vietnamese workers in the United States now -- those that had received visas from ConGen Ho Chi Minh City in 2006 to work via the U.S. labor importing firm Global Horizons, Inc. (GHI),before it stopped issuing visas to these workers (reftel). The GVN does not regulate individuals who are able to obtain work contracts without a Vietnamese export labor firm being involved, Quynh said. (Note: Post stopped issuing the visas related to GHI after a Post investigation revealed that the workers were paying large contract fees to the firm to assist with six-month H2A (for seasonal agricultural workers) visas with no guarantee of renewal. As such, workers would have an incentive to remain in the United States illegally. End note.) GVN to Focus On Sending Skilled Labor -------------- ¶6. (SBU) ConsChief emphasized that it was important for MOLISA to understand that if it wished to maximize the returns on a program like this one, then it would be advisable to focus on jobs at the higher-wage and higher-skills end of the spectrum. The fees that workers were paying in the GHI cases were too high to be economically feasible for temporary unskilled laborers such as agricultural workers, he said. Instead, Vietnam should focus on sending, for example, information technology specialists. The officials said that the GVN's efforts were focused on these exact workers. ConsChief asked the officials to keep the Embassy informed of the progress of the issue. Econoff also urged the officials to continue working with the International Labor Organization and others to ensure that the implementing regulations for last year's export labor law provide workers with strong protections against exploitative export labor firms. The officials said they would comply. ¶7. (SBU) Comment: The discrepancies between the statements of the officials quoted in the media and the statements made to Emboffs during the MOLISA meeting create credibility issues. Cons and Econ will continue monitoring the issue of labor exports, working to ensure that new visa applicants are not paying exorbitant fees and thus carrying with them an incentive to overstay their visas in the United States. Post will also continue to monitor the drafting of the export labor law implementing regulations. End Comment. MARINE