Estrala, a large recruitment company based in HCMC, is unlikely to meet its recruitment target for this year. “It is the same for many businesses,” Nguyen The Dai, its deputy CEO, said.
Vietnamese workers seen in a factory in Japan. Photo by Read/An Phuong |
For a long time now big companies like Estrala have been partnering with local government agencies to recruit guest workers for Japan, which allows them to lower costs.
But in recent years many newly established intermediary firms, most of them without labor export licenses, have been ramping up recruitment by paying high fees to brokers.
“We cannot keep increasing our broker commission because eventually the workers will have to pay the amount,” Dai said.
Duong Thi Thu Cuc, CEO of Saigon Intergo, said recruitment firms like hers now have to “buy” candidates from the intermediary firms for up to VND30 million (US$1,200) per person.
Companies with no expertise in labor recruitment are cornering the market, she lamented.
The government has acknowledged the issue.
While the number of Vietnamese workers going abroad has increased overall, major recruitment firms are sending fewer of them compared to previous years, Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Ba Hoan said recently.
Illegal intermediaries promise workers a speedy process and high salaries, only to sell them to traditional recruitment firms, he said.
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Workers prepare to leave for Japan. Photo by Read/An Phuong |
Japan has long been a top destination for Vietnamese guest workers. In the first 10 months 48% of 130,600 overseas workers headed for Japan, official data shows.
Vietnam ranks 15th in the number of interns and workers Japan takes in annually.
There are now 520,000 Vietnamese living and working in Japan, eight times higher than a decade ago, with an average income of $1,200-1,500 a month.
Hoan said there is still big demand for Vietnamese workers in Japan, whose companies even send recruitment personnel to Vietnam.
But they have been struggling to find candidates recently and are so turning their focus to the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Pham Viet Vuong, director of a Japanese language center for workers, said certain factors are contributing to a decline in the number of workers going for Japan.
The weakening yen and Japan’s increasing inflation have made workers feel less enticed to work there as the cash they send home is not as valuable as before, he said.
Increasing costs in Vietnam is also a factor.
A decade ago a Vietnamese worker in Japan was able to send back enough money to buy land or build a house, but now their remittances are barely enough to pay mortgage on an apartment, Vuong said.
“The Japanese currency is weakening while travel costs remain high.”
Many workers who initially chose Japan now prefer European countries since they see long-term potential there, he added.
Dai called for stronger action by the government to stop unlicensed recruiting, saying this would protect workers and ensure Japan remains an attractive destination for them.
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