Working as seasonally employed agricultural labourers working in the South Korea brings high incomes to poor Vietnamese workers. — Photo baochinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs has sent letters to city and provincial People’s Committees to guide signing and implementing agreements with South Korean localities on sending Vietnamese workers there for seasonal work.

The jobs are mainly in farming.

Employees will be provided with a meal a day and accommodation as per the signed agreements and regulations set by South Korea.

After three months of working, each employee will have an average income of VNĐ80-100 million (US$3,500-4,300) after subtracting expenses.

The agreements on sending Vietnamese labourers to South Korea will be only signed by heads of People’s committee after consulting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).

The agreements must contain the scope of co-operation, executive agencies, selection criteria, the responsibilities of the parties and implementation time.

The agreements must also specify benefits for employees such as working time, leave, salary, insurance, the cost of training and retraining, and expenses for passports and visas.

Regarding recruitment, the MOLISA will prioritise ethnic minorities, poor households, households that have lost agricultural land and relatives of people who contributed to the national revolution in the past.

The cost support will comply with current regulations on job creation and assistance for sending workers abroad under contracts.

Municipal and provincial authorities will decide measures of depositing, guaranteeing the performance of contracts, signing commitments with individuals and workers' families.

The authorities must agree with the receiving party on measures to restrict recruitment of employees whose relatives are living and working illegally in South Korea to ensure employees comply with contracts and return home when the contracts are terminated.

According to figures released by the MOLISA, as of mid-December 2019, six provinces and cities had signed co-operation agreements with South Korean localities and sent workers to the country, including Đà Nẵng City and Đồng Tháp, Thái Bình, Hà Nam, Bình Thuận and Hà Tĩnh provinces.

Đồng Nai, Hậu Giang, Kon Tum, Bình Định and Hà Giang provinces are in negotiations to send workers to South Korea, while Thừa Thiên-Huế, Đắk Lắk, Cà Mau, Nam Định and Cao Bằng are seeking opportunities to send workers there as well.

According to reports from localities, 847 Vietnamese labourers have been sent to do seasonal work in South Korea since mid-December last year.

Selection and training were based on demands of Korean partners, Vietnamese authorities informed people and worked with Korean partners to select employees.

Currently, the demand for seasonal agricultural workers in Korea is very high.

To meet that need, from December 24, 2019, Korea began granting visas for seasonal workers with a working term of five months. — VNS