International Labor Migration from Vietnam to ASEAN Receiving Countries - Current Issues and Challenges

Tóm tắt

Internal migration has been the subject of attention and research in Vietnam for several decades now, but it is only recently that the country’s international labor migration has come in for scrutiny, either in theoretical or field studies, and that the active and increasing role played by international labor migration in the national development has been recently recognized and appreciated as Vietnam has been one of the largest labor-sending countries in ASEAN. The actual flows in the case of Vietnam will be much larger if undocumented flows are accounted for. The paper discusses the problems faced by Vietnamese migrant workers in their countries of destination, as well as the problems they face in Vietnam in the process of migration and upon their return. The paper describes the needs, challenges and vulnerabilities of Vietnamese international migrant workers (IMWs), with an emphasis on the violations and abuses of their human rights within global and ASEAN contexts from gender and human rights perspectives, as well as the benefits and the opportunities for IMWs in terms of their financial situation, their contribution, and professional and personal development. The paper argues that the country needs to shift from supplying cheap low-skilled manpower to more regionally and globally competitive and skilled manpower.