Bridge – Gyorgy Sziraczki, the International Labour Organisation’s senior economist, told Tuoi Tre that Vietnam should not be dependent on migrant workers and need to have a long-term vision in labour export.

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The ILO economist confirmed that Southeast Asia has surprised the world in its pace of economic recovery. He said:

Another interesting point is that Southeast Asia doesn’t suffer from large-scale unemployment. Non-official jobs have increased strongly after the crisis, with over 60 percent in the region being non-official jobs. It means that many workers don’t enjoy social welfare.

Notably, the recent world economic crisis didn’t hit the poor the most, but rather those who have just escaped from poverty thanks to fast economic growth rate and who work at industrial and export processing zones. The recent crisis suddenly made many people become jobless and they felt into poverty again.

Labour productivity is another surprise in Southeast Asia. Singapore and Malaysia face serious problems in labour productivity reduction. Vietnam still maintains rising labour productivity, but it is still low in comparison with India and China.

Should Southeast Asian governments pay attention to creating jobs at home or promoting labour export?

I think both. They should better manage and avoid dependence on labour exportation while creating more jobs and improving education systems. They can’t choose one of the two; they must do both. It is important to seek balance.

Do you think that this crisis made Southeast Asian governments change their approach to labour issues?

After the crisis, many Southeast Asian leaders suddenly realized that they have to look to the long-run. Malaysia has just introduced its new economic model, which prioritizes labour productivity, living standards and investment in education and training.

The Malaysian Prime Minister asserted that, to move from an average income to high income country, you can’t maintain big income gaps. That’s a new and interesting view. The Singaporean Finance Minister last year said that, in crisis, the top priority is maintaining jobs and job quality after the crisis. They opened new education centres, improved productivity and spent a lot of money on those two tasks.

The Vietnamese Prime Minister also noted that human resources and infrastructure are Vietnam’s two priorities. I think that these are correct. Investors in Vietnam not only pay attention to labour costs, but they also raise questions about favourable conditions for export, power supply, roads, etc. Some Southeast Asian countries don’t do these jobs very well, including Vietnam.

In short, I’m impressed by a quickly recovering Southeast Asia and their changing policies. Nobody should miss this opportunity, otherwise they will be outrun by the others.

What do you think about labour cooperation in the region? 

That’s the trend of migration. Migrant workers are a fact and will rise in the region. Some ASEAN countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos have fast population growth. These countries annually have many more young people who need jobs. The challenge for these countries is not only creating jobs, but also creating good jobs.

However, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand have elderly populations. They need workers, so it is important to manage migrants in a way that labour importation, exporting countries and the families of migrant workers benefit.

But how can migrant labour be better managed?

We must send skilled and well-educated workers overseas. Such people will be able to learn more and send more money back home. Another thing is recognizing the skills and ability of workers among ASEAN countries. Overseas workers must be treated similarly to native workers.

Do you think that labour export is the sound way in the long run?

I think it plays a certain role in a country’s development because it brings about overseas remittances to the country and income for worker families, plus it helps reduce job pressure. However, dependence on migrant workers also causes risks.

It is easy for governments to export labor, but there are some dangers: reducing the pressure on governments and businesses to improve the national economy, productivity, creativeness and renovation. In addition, they will lose talented people because they must export well-trained workers.

For labour importing countries, they will depend on low-cost foreign workers and will not have the motivation to raise labour productivity to invest in new products or to discover new markets. Large-scale dependence doesn’t benefit national development.