APEC to set up labour mobility framework

“Labour mobility has become an urgent issue for not only APEC but also the global economy, especially in the context of digitalisation and the on-going fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0),” he told the Vietnam News Agency on the sidelines of the APEC Study Centres Consortium (ASCC) Conference in Hanoi on May 12 as part of the APEC 2017 Second Senior Officials Meeting (SOM2) and related meeting. 

This revolution is affecting a number of occupations and groups of unskilled and low skill labourers, he said. 

The establishment of the APEC Labour Mobility Framework will help member economies identify opportunities and challenges from labour mobility, thus putting forth suitable policies to make the best of the process.

Speaking at an APEC workshop on skills education & training and social protection on the same day, Deputy Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep stated that there will be a strong labour mobility in the APEC region with the booming of Industry 4.0.

Many traditional occupations will disappear to be replaced by many new ones (in the areas of digitalisation, programming and data protection), he said, adding that there will be many more requirements for skills and qualifications of the workforce for employment.

According to Prof. Michael Ka Yiu Fung from CUHK Business School of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, labour mobility is important for not only Hong Kong but also other economies as it benefits both senders and receivers. 

Countries which send guest workers get experience and technology from recipient countries, which in turn have enough labourers to serve their development, he said.

Sharing views with the Hong Kong expert, Michael T. Kumung, First Assistant Secretary of Macro Planning Division under the Department of National Planning and Monitoring of Papua New Guinea, emphasised the need for APEC economies to enhance cooperation in this field, with focus on training workers.

For Vietnam in particular, as the country has sent workers to many other countries, it needs to improve the quality of human resources by equipping them with necessary skills.