Broken dream of changing life
To have money to go abroad to work, many families had to sell all their assets so that their husband or wife could get a job abroad. However, when they returned home disillusioned, they had no assets or means of production, and many families' lives fell into a deadlock...
In October 2023, Mr. Giang A Lu (born in 1995) and his wife, Ms. Lau Thi Si (born in 1996), in Hang Khua village, Sin Chai commune, Tua Chua district, Dien Bien province, registered to work abroad under a fixed-term contract in Russia. According to information from the recruiting unit (Long Hung International Joint Stock Company and Vinaco International Human Resources Cooperation Joint Stock Company), the work they will do in Russia is in the field of industrial sewing (seamstress, technician, cutter, etc.).
The working regime of the employee as committed by the recruiting unit is 8 - 10 hours/day (including overtime). In addition, there are 3 - 4 days off per month; meals, accommodation, shopping and going out are provided. The salary for unskilled workers in the first 3 months is from 12 - 13 million VND per month, and in the following months from 23 - 35 million VND.
Believing in a good job with high benefits, Mr. Lu and his wife sold many assets to get money to go to work abroad. According to Mr. Lu, the cost to go to Russia to work abroad is about 50 million VND per person, of which 15 million VND must be deposited in advance, the remaining amount will be deducted gradually after going to Russia to work.
However, after 7 months in Russia, the actual work, salary, and rest regime are completely different from the recruitment commitment. In fact, the working hours last up to 16 hours/day; only one day off per month at the end of the month. In addition, food and accommodation are also deducted by about 4 million VND/person/month. In particular, the salary of Mr. Lu and his wife from October 2023 to March 2024 is not more than 6 million VND/person/month, even some months are only 600 thousand VND...
Dozens of workers had to go home.
Similar to the case of Mr. Lu and his wife, Mr. Giang A Mua (born in 1989) in Hang Khua village, Sin Chai commune was also recruited to work abroad in Russia. However, after arriving in Russia, his job was not as advertised. Working hours were from 8am to midnight; some days he had to work overtime until 3-4am and was not allowed to go out. The salary was also not paid as previously committed by the recruiting unit. Frustrated by the working conditions and wages not being paid as per the contract, Giang A Mua had to call his relatives to borrow money and then flee back to his country.
“When we intended to return home, the business owner in Russia did not keep us, but they said that anyone returning home would need 70 million VND to complete the procedures. After researching on social networks, we joined the Vietnamese community group in Russia and were introduced to apply for passports at the embassy. After that, I called my relatives to borrow money to complete the procedures and buy bus and plane tickets, totaling 30 million VND to return home,” Giang A Mua added.
According to the investigation of Lao Dong Newspaper reporters, from the end of 2023 to now, in Tua Chua district, Dien Bien province, there have been 25 cases of workers registering to go to Russia through the consultancy of Long Hung International Joint Stock Company and Vinaco International Human Resources Cooperation Joint Stock Company. Of these, 19 people have completed the procedures to go to Russia. However, up to now, 16/19 people have had to return home. In order to return home, these people had to ask for help from their families and relatives. Many workers, because they were not paid their salaries, did not have money to buy plane tickets and had to ask their family members to sell their assets, borrow money from relatives to send money to Russia to return home soon.
Speaking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Hoang Quyet Dinh - Deputy Head of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA) of Tua Chua district - said that, as a State management agency, the DOLISA has twice organized dialogues and worked with relevant parties, but the issue has not been resolved. Most recently, on September 6, 2024, at the scheduled meeting, the recruitment consulting unit was not present. "To resolve this issue, we need to have full documents from relevant parties, so we are continuing to request the two recruitment consulting units to provide additional legal evidence to prove the violations of relevant parties. From there, we will have a basis to request the competent authorities to intervene and handle the matter according to regulations," said Mr. Hoang Quyet Dinh.
