International Labour Organization Proposal to Support Legislative Reform on Labour Migration in Viet Nam

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) has commenced a revision of the Law on Contract-based Vietnamese Overseas Workers (Law 72) and has requested the International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) technical support. As outlined in the US Department of State 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report, to address the root causes of debt bondage and vulnerability to human trafficking in Viet Nam, all worker-paid recruitment fees and predatory recruitment practices for workers migrating abroad should be abolished. The Law 72 review is an opportunity to influence the revised law and address deficits in the current version, which allows worker-paid recruitment fees and favours administrative action over criminal sanctions in the regulation of recruitment agencies. This action will address the poor migration management and poor regulation which contributed to Viet Nam’s downgrade to the Tier 2 Watch List. The outcome of ILO’s proposed activities is an improved regulatory labour migration framework through reform of Law 72 decreases migrant workers vulnerability to human trafficking including forced labour and debt bondage through coordinated consultation, technical and advocacy input provided to revision of Law 72, and awareness-building activities conducted to increase understanding of international labor migration standards among key stakeholders.

Project symbol

VNM/19/04/GFM

Admin unit

CO-Hanoi

Start date

01/03/2020

End date

31/12/2021

Total allocation

568474

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

568474

Development Partners

Global Fund to End Modern Slavery (GFEMS)

Country/Countries

Viet Nam

Outcomes

Outcome 7: Adequate and effective protection at work for all