RoK warns about termination of guest worker program The Republic of Korea (RoK) guest-worker program is a very flexible and convenient way for Vietnam’s work forces to increase their technical skills and boost their pay, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA). However, the RoK government has warned about the possibility of ending the program at the end of this year due to failure of workers to adhere to the rules and voluntary return to the homeland when their work permits expire. Citing statistics from the RoK Ministry of Justice, Deputy Head Tong Hai Nam from MoLISA’s Overseas Labour Management Department (OLMD) said there are now 26,340 illegal Vietnamese guest workers in the country. On the one hand, the high rate of noncompliance is the result of workers thinking only of their personal self-interest and not the best interest of the country, said Nam. He said many Korean businesses encourage Vietnamese workers to overstay their Visa because they like the lower costs of salaries and wages paid to guest workers relative to domestic workers. However, the failure to adhere to the rules is disruptive to mainstream social and business environment and adversely affects governmental policy on how to treat Vietnamese workers as many citizens of the RoK perceive this as destabilizing. This has now spilled over to the detriment of multicultural relations as more and more residents of the RoK feel negatively about Vietnamese guest workers and as a result has created political pressure to end the program.   Specifically, for the past three years running, the RoK has only signed annual labour cooperation agreements related to the guest worker program instead of signing long-term agreements as was the case previously. In addition, since 2011, the RoK has not conducted any Employment Permit System (EPS)-Tests of Proficiency certifying guest workers in the Korean language, a requirement to obtain skilled jobs. As part of the effort to rectify the situation, the Vietnam government recently issued resolution 62/NQ-CP, which provides that illegal Vietnamese workers abroad will not face any penalties if they voluntarily return home between September 1 and December 31 this year. A prior decree (No 95/2013/ND-CP), had provided that illegal workers either returning of their own accord or those deported by a foreign government would be fined VND80 million to VND100 million (US$3,520-4,400), and be banned from working overseas for two to five years. Earlier, the RoK implemented a similar program abating penalties and/or incarceration for those who illegally overstayed their visa if they voluntary leave the country. Illegal guest workers who do so would be permitted to return after two years. Otherwise Vietnamese guest workers apprehended by law enforcement will be fined up to US$9,000, deported and banned from re-entry into the RoK for work purposes for a period of ten years. The RoK government has now announced that if the ratio of Vietnamese illegal workers doesn’t fall below 28% by the end of the year, the guest worker program will be terminated. Given that the ratio of illegal Vietnamese workers in the RoK in the first five months this year was 44.4%, 40.38% last year, and 44.15% in 2013— it appears most likely the program will terminate at the end of the year, Nam said. A similar situation exists in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Nam as the Emirates GateWays Security Service (EGSS) Company in the UAE unilaterally terminated labour contracts for all Vietnamese guest workers for violations of the guest worker program rules. VOV