Policy dialogue protects female guest worker rights
Experts made proposals to protect Vietnamese female guest workers’ legitimate rights, at a seminar in Hanoi on December 17.
Delegates from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and UN Entity for Gender Equality, the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) examined the situation of Vietnamese female workers abroad, and current support policies for them.
They suggested that greater attention should be paid to these women as they are more vulnerable to and at higher risk of abuse, especially those working as housemaids, nurses and orderlies.
There should be policies to facilitate and improve women’s awareness in budgeting and saving, they said.
The Vietnamese State and firms have made efforts to build and implement legal regulations to protect the legitimate rights of guest workers, especially female employees. Many businesses have sent female managers abroad to deal with issues relating to female guest workers.
Vietnam has issued a law on guest workers under contract, which specifies sufficient regulations to protect guest worker rights. However, gender equality has yet to be ensured, and labour managers abroad still lack experience, said the participants.
To protect the legitimate rights of female workers, participants agreed more specific policies are needed, adding that the revision of the Law on Vietnamese Guest Workers should take gender into consideration.
The Department of Overseas Labour (DOLAB) under the MoLISA and the UN Women have been conducting a joint project to empower female guest workers since December 2009.