Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Hai Binh made the statement in Hanoi on March 17 in response to reporters’ queries about 40 Vietnamese workers sending a letter to the embassy to ask for helping them out of deprived living conditions and hazardous working environment.
On March 15, the embassy’s labour management department received a petition of Vietnamese workers in Japan, which said upon arriving in Japan, they are forced to work in hazardous environment and live in unhealthy conditions.
The department later held a working session with representatives of the company which brought in these workers to Japan and asked for checking if it charged the workers too high to stay in the country.
It also requested the company partner with the embassy to inspect the living and working conditions of the Vietnamese workers, and settle issues relating their interests in line with Japanese law.
If the employer is yet to meet above requirements, the embassy will ask Japanese authorities to interfere, Binh stated.
About Vietnam’s response to Malaysia’s arrest of 42 Vietnamese fishermen and confiscation of their fishing equipment and assets, Binh said after learning about the news, the Vietnamese embassy in Malaysia worked with the host agencies to verify the information and take measures to protect legitimate rights of the arrestees.
Regarding a case involving a Vietnamese woman who hopped out of car and called for help in the Chinese city of Guilin, Binh said the Foreign Ministry directed the Vietnamese Consul General in Nanning to work with Chinese agencies to verify her identity and provide her with necessary protection.
According to the Vietnamese Consul General in Nanning, the woman named Hoang Thi Hieu and two others, who are suspected to be human traffickers, illegally entered China through Lao Cai – Van Nam border area on March 9.
They are currently detained at Guilin police station.
The investigation is ongoing. The Vietnamese Consul General in Nanning is collaborating with Guangxi authorities to guarantee legitimate rights of Vietnamese citizens, he stated./.
VNA/VNP
