At least 70 Chinese labourers have been working illegally at Lee & Man Việt Nam, located in the southern province of Hậu Giang’s Châu Thành District industrial zone, the Management Board of the province’s Industrial Zones reported on Sunday. — Photo baodatviet.vn

HẬU GIANG – At least 70 Chinese labourers have been working illegally at Lee & Man Việt Nam, located in the southern province of Hậu Giang’s Châu Thành District industrial zone, the Management Board of the province’s Industrial Zones reported on Sunday.

The board said Lee & Man Việt Nam, under China’s Lee &Man Paper Manufacturing Limited, employed 168 foreign labourers but 70 weren’t registered to work in Viet Nam.

Chinese labourers were working illegally at Lee & Man Việt Nam, Nguyễn Ngọc Điện, deputy chief of Management Board of Hậu Giang southern province’s Industrial Zones told Pháp luật TP HCM ( HCM City Law) newspaper.   

The Chinese arrived in Việt Nam on tourist visas but in fact worked for Lee & Man Việt Nam.

According to Điện, the Management Board reported the situation to Hậu Giang Province People’s Committee and proposed a solution.

“We are authorised to license foreign workers engaged in industrial zones managed by Hậu Giang Province Industrial Zone’s Management Board,” Điện said.  

“However, there are shortcomings in that we provide licences without inspections. Therefore, we asked the provincial People’s Committee to give direction for tackling the problem, as well as re-building regulations between relevant offices”.

Earlier in August, Hậu Giang Province’s Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs inspected and discovered 145 Chinese working at Lee & Man Việt Nam, of which 40 were working without a licence, according to Pháp Luật TP HCM newspaper.   

The department informed the provincial People’s Committee, and co-ordinated with relevant offices and provincial police to investigate further.

A Hậu Giang Province People’s Committee spokesman refused to answer reporters’ questions on measure to deal with the illegal Chinese labourers, but admitted that the Committee knew about the problem. —VNS