May 2, 2012

Vietnam - Fact and fiction about Vietnamese students keeping toilet door in Singapore


VietNamNet Bridge – President of the Hanoi University of Foreign Trade Hoang Van Chau met local press to clarify the story about Vietnamese students who have to work as toilet doormen in Singapore.


The sensational news that excellent students of the Hanoi Foreign Trade University have to push wheelchairs for disabled and help undress passengers to relieve themselves has stirred up the public. In thoughts of many people, it’s terrible that students of a reputable school like the foreign trade university have to do the manual works.

Could you please explain the information about the Hanoi Foreign Trade University’s students having to take manual jobs in Singapore?

This is the internship and working program in Singapore which aims to bring practical knowledge to students and helps them work as real employees. The Hanoi University of Foreign Trade has signed a contract with Interisland, a Singaporean human resource firm on sending students to Singapore to follow the above said program.

The Singaporean government only accepts the students of three schools for the program – the Hanoi Foreign Trade University, University of Technology and RMIT. Students of other schools still keep out of the program.

What do the students have to do and what are their interests in the contract?

The students have to serve at the airport and assist the sale at a fashion company which sells products of well-known brands. The Singaporean side pays the air tickets, pays salary (no less than 450 Singaporean dollars a month), 50 dollars in food allowances and 70 dollars for travel. Besides, Vietnamese students get free accommodations and enjoy insurance policies.

What would you explain the complaints of the students about the living and working conditions, as well as the unsuitable works the students have to take?

The complaints are just the information appeared on students’ Facebook, blogs. or the conservation exchanged by students on Internet. The complaints of some students have been quoted by local newspapers, while readers do not have the information from different sides to have a more comprehensive outlook on the issue.

On Facebook, a student wrote that she has to “push WC.” In this case, “WC” is the abbreviation for wheel chair. Meanwhile, this has been interpreted by some people as “toilets”. As a result, a local newspaper reported that students of the Hanoi Foreign Trade University have to work as the toilet doormen.

In reality, some students have to work in shifts or take heavy works. Some students do not have fluent foreign language skills, which made them misunderstand when listening to foreigners. It’s true that students got the 50 dollars in allowance late. The unhygienic pots and pans, slow Internet access can be explained by the fact that the provisions are not mentioned in the contract. And students all know about this.

In foreign countries, Internet is not free like many places in Vietnam, while Internet fee is very high. The Singaporean side has shown goodwill by allowing Internet access, while it’s workers who have to arrange for Internet access themselves.

It might true that some students were asked to help undress passengers. The passengers could be disabled, and it would be reasonable if the airport staff is asked to help.

I think that some students from well off families, who do not have housework when staying with parents, now cannot bear the hard pressure of the works. Some students might think that they are the students of the most reputable schools in Vietnam and they could only enroll in the school if they got very good results in the university entrance exams; therefore, the work does not fit them.

Source: Tien phong



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