Foreign worker outcry

Hard labour: foreign expertise may soon be in short supply in Vietnamese work places

Firms which rely on foreign expertise are upset the release of the long-anticipated amendments to Decree 105, which provides regulations on recruitment of foreign nationals in Vietnam, has not removed the 3 per cent cap on foreign employees.
In accordance to the Decree 93/2005/ND-CP dated on July 13, stipulating amendments and additions to the Decree 105, which took effect in late 2003, Vietnamese enterprises are only allowed to employ a foreign national if the number does not exceed 3 per cent of their total workforce, while they can employ at least one expatriate if they have less than 30 employees.
However, an enterprise can recruit more foreign nationals than permitted provided it gets written approval from the chairperson of the Provincial or Municipal People’s Committee, where the enterprise is headquartered.
An enterprise is exempt from this limitation under Decree 93 if the permitted number of foreign workers is clearly stated by the Vietnamese authorised body on the licence of the enterprise.
An anonymous representative of an English training centre in Hanoi, where 40-50 per cent of the workforce are expatriates, criticised the amendments and additions made in Decree 93 because she said the 3 per cent limit was still a headache for any enterprise which, due to its business focus, must employ a substantial number of foreign workers.
“It is really energy and time consuming to ask for and obtain approval in writing from a People’s Committee. In addition, the limitation of foreign nationals working in any enterprises is absolutely absurd in the context of open investment climate and world economic integration,” said the representative.
Kenn Crompton, personnel manager of RMIT Vietnam shared similar concerns because of the number of foreign workers employed by RMIT Vietnam - the first foreign-invested university in Vietnam - exceeds 50 per cent.
“Although we understand why the Vietnamese government want to control the rate of working expatriates in the country, some enterprises should be considered ‘exceptional’ given their requirements for foreign workers rather than Vietnamese,” he said.
“Human resource development in Vietnam will be better if the government allows skilled and experienced foreigners to work with Vietnamese so the latter could share and learn expertise and experience,” he said.
According to the Decree 93, organisations, which are not subject to the 3 per cent limitation, are foreign contractors, representative offices of foreign economic, commercial, financial, banking and insurance companies, health care, cultural, educational and sporting establishments, foreign project offices, foreign law firms, socio-political organisations, businesses affiliated with State administrative bodies and co-operatives.
However, those organisations must obtain approval of Provincial and Municipal People’s Committee before employing foreign workers.