Launching Workshop: Research results on measuring SDG indicator 10.7.1 on recruitment costs of Vietnamese workers working abroad and assessing data gaps in international migration in Viet Nam

The press release call for public attention to reports jointly produced by ILO and the General Statistics Office of Viet Nam. These include (1) report on measuring SDG indicator 10.7.1 on recruitment costs of Vietnamese workers working abroad; and (2) report on data gaps in international migration in Viet Nam.

Press release | Hanoi, Viet Nam | 22 December 2022
HANOI, Viet Nam (ILO News) - ILO/Safe and Fair programme joined hands with the General Statistics Office of Viet Nam to organize a national workshop to disseminate the research results on measuring SDG indicator 10.7.1 on recruitment costs of Vietnamese workers working abroad and assessing data gaps in international migration in Viet Nam. This is part of the ILO efforts to enhance evidence and promote evidence-based decision-making for better protection of the rights of migrant workers especially women who may be more vulnerable to multiple forms of violence and discrimination.

Bringing representatives from line ministries and agencies, provincial authorities, media agencies as well as international development partners, the launching workshop aimed to share key findings of both reports and obtain initial reflection from participants on the importance of data and the opportunities for using the data to inform public policies and decisions on international labour migration. This is crucial for Viet Nam where more than 100,000 contract-based Vietnamese workers migrate for work abroad every year, a third of which are women.

Being a co-chair of the workshop, Ms Nguyen Thi Huong, the General Director of the General Statistics Office called on the stronger commitment of line ministries and agencies, and international and national partners to further enhance consistency and comprehensiveness in labour migration data. This is critical to contribute to achieving SDGs and enhancing national alignment with international standards on labour migration statistics.

Speaking at the launching workshop, Ms Kristina Buende, Chargée d'Affaires of EU Delegation recognized the significant milestone achieved under the EU-funded Safe and Fair programme in collecting sex-disaggregated data of labour migration. According to Ms Buende, women’s migration experience differs from men; however, their concerns are often subsumed in the intentions of one-size-fits-all – which means that when saying migrant workers, it is often assumed both men and women migrants. While this may be formal equality, it does not lead to substantive equality and denies decent work to women.

In her opening remarks, Ms Ingrid Christensen, Country Director, ILO Viet Nam Office emphasised the need to ensure that recruitment is fair, that jobs offer decent working conditions, that there are effective complaint mechanisms when things go wrong, and that there are effective systems for return and reintegration. The fact that Vietnamese migrants had to use around 7.4 months of their first-month salary to cover recruitment costs for getting their first job abroad contradicts international standards on labour migration which indicate that “No recruitment fees or related costs should be charged to, or otherwise borne by, workers or jobseekers”.

During the last three years, with support from the ILO under the framework of the programme Safe and Fair: Realizing women migrant workers’ rights and opportunities in the ASEAN region, the ILO has collaborated with GSO to integrate labour migration data into the Labour Force Survey and undertake data collection and analysis over two years 2020 and 2021. In addition, an analysis of data gaps and recommendations in the area of international labour migration was also undertaken.

For further media information please contact:

Pichit Phromkade
Communications Officer
Email: phromkade@ilo.org