Vietnam doubles efforts to fulfill labor export to Czech Republic

Dao Cong Hai, deputy head of the bureau, said the decision was only meant to be temporary to give officials more time to finish issuing documents like visas to the group of workers already approved to be sent abroad.

Laborers who have passed selection tests and completed training just have to wait for brokerage businesses to complete necessary documents for the export process, Hai said.

More than 3,000 people are waiting for interviews to get entry visas into the Czech Republic, according to figures from 34 businesses specializing in exporting labor to the market.

The businesses are calling on Czech counterparts and diplomatic agencies to expedite the process, as they have been facing public pressure and heavy scrutiny due to fake recruiters using their names to enlist workers in nationwide scams.

With high salaries and good working conditions, the Czech Republic is becoming an attractive labor market for Vietnamese workers, said Hai.

A Vietnamese worker in the Czech Republic can save about US$500 a month after spending on food, accommodation and insurance fees.

Overseas laborers in the Czech Republic usually work a five-day, 40-hour week and are permitted four weeks of paid vacation and 12 additional paid public holidays every year.

The small nation, whose population numbers around 10.3 million, needs 120,000 overseas laborers each year to work in many sectors including mechanics, electronics and textiles.

Around 6,000 Vietnamese currently are working in the Czech Republic.

The market will also serve as a bridge for Vietnamese workers to enter other markets in the region such as Central and Western Europe, said Vuong Thua Phong, Vietnamese ambassador to the Czech Republic.

More than 470,000 Vietnamese nationals are presently working in 40 countries and territories around the world.

The country aims to export 85,000 additional laborers this year, according to the Overseas Labor Management Bureau.

Reported by Manh Duong