They do not know how many children in their localities have been sent by their families to work in big cities like HCM City and Hanoi, the ministry said.

HCM City’s Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Department reports that 90 percent of children working in the city-based food production units and stalls and the textile and garment industry come from other provinces.

According to the Department for Child Protection, nearly 27,000 children work in hazardous conditions in the city. A study by the Research Centre for Women Labour and Gender on 300 children in eight provinces last year showed that children work eight or nine hours a day in some sectors, including textile and footwear, and even 12 hours before the Lunar New Year and during peak seasons. But their salaries are very low, at just VND509,000 a month on average.