Vietnam - Domestic workers protected

As a draft decree recognising domestic work awaits Government approval, the issue continues to draw attention.

Dang Duc San, head of the Legislation Department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said the draft aimed to protect people such as maids and nannies who were making a living doing domestic work.

San said that if approved, the draft would help address a booming sector that relied on verbal contracts with little or no labour rights.

It would force families hiring domestic helpers to sign labour contracts guaranteeing the legitimate interests of labourers as regulated under the Labour Code.

Sang said the draft had been submitted to the Government for opinions before being presented to the National Assembly for discussion and approval next month.

Housewife Bui Mai Phuong, 30, has many years experience at employing domestic helpers. She changed helpers seven times in the past year due to differences in lifestyles and lack of communication between her family and nannies.

As the two sides did not sign any labour contracts, most of the workers abandoned the job on their own free will, said Phuong.

"I think the draft will be feasible if it is compiled in accordance with reality," she said, "But who will protect us when domestic helpers break labour contracts?" she asked.

A survey conducted by Family Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism found both employers and employees ignored a regulation in the current Labour Code which said people hired for domestic work may make verbal or written contracts.

The regulation also states that the contracts must be committed to paper if domestic helpers were hired to watch over property.

Nearly 60 per cent of questioned domestic workers said they and their employers did not sign anything and almost 70 per cent of the rest worked under verbal contracts.

The survey said about 60 per cent of domestic helpers worked as nannies, another 20 per cent took care of the elderly and the rest did house work.

"Most of them are low skilled workers and short of professional skills," said deputy director of Family Department Hoa Huu Van, "Domestic work has not yet been perceived as real work."

Nguyen Manh Thang from the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour's Workers and Trade Union Institute said discrimination against servants was high and people tended to ignore labour contracts signed by domestic helpers.

If the draft is approved, signatories will have to obey rules in the revised Labour Code.

These state that household helpers must have the same basic labour rights as other employed people - the same minimum salary rate, reasonable working hours and rest periods, payments for extra working hours, health insurance and social insurance cards.

However, Dr Nguyen Van Manh, head of the Institute of State and Law, said the draft would be difficult to implement if it set down minimum salaries if employers and employees verbally agreed about different pay for different types of domestic work.

He also questioned the application of eight working hours to domestic work and paying extra money for work outside these hours.

Asked about the issue, Vo Hoang Hao, 50, said it would be very difficult to do so because her family already spends about VND5 million (US$238) per month on wages, food, electricity and water for their helper. The current minimum wage is VND1.55 million ($71) for each worker per month.

"I don't know what the helper does when I am at work, so it is not feasible to apply eight working hours," she said.

Full-time National Assembly deputy Tran Thi Quoc Khanh said it was not easy to impose working hours for domestic work.

San from the Legislation Department said domestic helpers were vulnerable to abuse, so the draft decree would set out to protect helpers.

"The draft will ask employers to allow their helpers to attend short training courses," San said.

Source: VNS

Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.