Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam’s labour export activities are showing signsof recovery from COVID-19.

Vietnamese labourers who have been working in Malaysia have been told they canreturn to work, but not until the end of August.

And moves are being made to allow workers to return to both the Republic of Koreaand Taiwan (China) in the near future.

The Department of Overseas Labour under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids andSocial Affairs (MOLISA) has said the Malaysian Government officially announcedto end the valid restricted movement order.

In a recent meeting, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc assigned the ministry makearrangements to send labourers to countries which are safe and in need ofworkers.

Nguyen Gia Liem, the department’s deputy director, said the three marketsreceived more than 90 percent of the total of Vietnamese labourers in foreigncountries.

Employers in the RoK and Taiwan wanted Vietnamese labourers to come back toresume their production as soon as possible. The Human Resource DevelopmentServices of Korea last month organised the Korean language proficiency tests inHanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, showing that this market would be soonre-openned.

Liem said the labour demand in Japan was also very high, especially in sectorsof agriculture, taking care of the elderly and food processing. The twocountries have been under negotiations to resume their labour market hopefullyby the end of this month or the beginning of August.

Pham Do Nhat Tan, vice chairman of Vietnam Association of Manpower Supply(VAMAS), said the labour export market has seen signs of recovery. It wasexpected that Japan would soon re-open. Local firms operating in the sectorshould prepare workers to meet the demand as soon as the country resumes themarket.

In addition, the Government should negotiate with Japan to have flexiblesolutions to bring workers to safe areas without COVID-19, he said.

In mid-June, Hoang Long CMS Company brought 29 workers to Taiwan following anorder of Kymco Group for its electronic motorbike assembly factory.

Nghiem Quoc Hung, the company’s chairman cum general director, said labourers wereprovided with accommodation and isolated for 14 days before starting work.

Vu Thanh Hai, director of international investment and service company,Interserco, also said they have started to complete procedures for labourers tomove to Taiwan this month. Workers in production sectors would be givenpriorities. Some Taiwanese companies have already arranged quarantine areas forVietnamese labourers.

Vietnam aims to send 130,000 labourers to work overseas this year. However, thecountry has so far only sent 33,500 people to foreign markets in the first halfof the year due to the pandemic, reducing 40 percent from the same period lastyear. In May only, local businesses sent just 126 workers abroad.

In the last six months, more than 5,000 Vietnamese labourers in overseasmarkets returned home because of COVID-19./.