16:51' 28/04/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam does not lack laws to deal with strikes, but it lacks a mechanism to implement the laws effectively.
Illegal strikes are still taking place in many industrial zones and export processing zones in southern cities and provinces, and are making Vietnam’s investment environment less attractive in the eyes of foreign investors.
Alain Cany, Chairman of EuroCham, has recently expressed his concern over the illegal strikes that have taken place at some foreign invested enterprises (footwear, garment, furniture).
He said that EuroCham has been receiving more and more reports from its members about illegal strikes. These are strikes that do not follow the procedures stipulated by the amended Labour Code. Most of the strikes have occurred because labourers want higher pay in the face of the higher inflation.
EuroCham well understands that labourers have the right to go on strike and shares the concerns about inflation, but it has called on local authorities to take action to make the regulations on strikes stipulated by the Labour Code respected, Mr Cany said.
A lot of foreign investors are worried that the number of strikes will increase in accordance with the inflation rates.
According to state management agencies, labourers have gone on strike recently because they have complaints about wages, extra working hours and other unsatisfactory treatment.
In fact, the strike mushrooming began at the end of 2006, and since then, state management agencies have been considering drawing up necessary measures to cool the strikes down.
In an effort to clean the investment environment and ease worries of foreign investors, the government promulgated Decree No 11 on compensation for employers for damages caused by illegal strikes.
Under the decree, employers have the right to ask trade unions or representatives of labourers to compensate them for damages caused by illegal strikes. The employers have the right to initiate legal proceedings at district courts where strikes occur if the representatives of labourers refuse to make negotiations.
However, experts have pointed out that the decree can only help a little in dealing with illegal strikes. They stressed that it is necessary for labourers and employers to sign collective agreements, as the labour laws just provide the frame for all types of enterprises.
Meanwhile, according to the Vietnam Labour Union, collective agreements have not been used popularly (70% of state owned enterprises, over 10% of foreign invested enterprises, and less than 5% of private enterprises).
An official of the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, said that Vietnam does not lack laws to settle strikes, just a mechanism to bring the laws into full play.
Monday, 28 April 2008
Ha Giang to hunt down human traffickers
21:42' 28/04/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – An increase in kidnapping cases involving children and women in the northern province of Ha Giang has caused concern among the local police force.
The victims were being sent to China, where they were sold or forced to work.
Children take part in a drawing contest during a campaign to fight child trafficking.
According to a provincial border post, the kidnappers stake out their intended victims. In one case, the criminals waited until the right time to abduct an ethnic minority woman who was working on a field alone and far from her home. She was taken away by kidnappers armed with a gun and knives without any chance to escape.
The kidnapping gangs include Chinese and local people. Chinese criminals were responsible for kidnapping and taking victims away, while their Vietnamese accomplices were assigned with searching for victims and keeping them under surveillance.
Late last year, two Mong ethnic minority people were brought to court after being charged with tricking a local woman into being sold to a Chinese man.
Ly Phay Sinh, 26 and Ly Mi Sung, 22, were only detained by officers at Lung Cu border post, in Dong Van District, when a trafficking victim informed authorities about the identities of the men.
Sinh said he had helped trick Giang Thi V. into being abducted across the border to China where she would have to work as a prostitute.
Vulnerable area
Nong Minh Thach, deputy head of Lung Cu border post, said slash and burn farming had forced many local people in the region, where 80% of the population belonged to Mong ethnic group, to work far from home.
"If women are kidnapped, it’s because they are working in areas near the border where there are few passers-by," said Thach.
So it’s difficult for Vietnamese police to investigate and find out who the kidnappers are as well as who has been kidnapped.
Women who have escaped and returned to Vietnam tell some shocking stories.
Many are forced to work hard on farms during the day, while at night they must have sex with the men who have bought them.
The extent of the problem is reflected in some cases where the victims of kidnapping and human trafficking were the relatives or family members of the criminals.
Ha Giang Province’s Border Post uncovered 25 cases of women being trafficked last year.
Children abducted
Colonel Dang Quang Huy, from the political work office of Ha Giang Province’s Border Post, said children were being kidnapped as well.
"Kidnapped children are passed over the border and sold to Chinese families that have a decent income but have few or no children," said Huy.
"Each child costs from between VND20mil to VND30mil, however the price depends on the agility and intelligence of the child."
"Traffickers sell women, who are usually aged from 17 to 30, for about VND20mil each, depending on if the buyer wants a wife or a labourer," said Huy.
Poverty, poor education and little ability for self-protection were also leading to an increase in kidnapping cases, he said.
Since 2000, Ha Giang Province’s border army has been informed about 40 cases of child kidnapping.
These victims were mainly boys who were kidnapped in communes located near border gates in Dong Van, Yen Minh and Meo Vac districts.
A local police officer said criminals were ruthless enough to release a one-year-old child in a remote forest after they discovered the victim was a girl.
According to local police, criminals took advantage of local people’s trust. They would persuade their victims to let them come inside their homes, and waiting for the best opportunity, would kidnap children and threaten to kill family members if their activities were uncovered.
Last December, two masked kidnappers broke into the house of Ho Mia Dia, in Seo Lung Village of Lung Cu District, while she was alone with her one-month-age son.
The kidnappers forcibly took the child from his mother and escaped quickly. Although local police were alerted immediately, the kidnappers fled with their victim to China.
VietNamNet Bridge – An increase in kidnapping cases involving children and women in the northern province of Ha Giang has caused concern among the local police force.
The victims were being sent to China, where they were sold or forced to work.
Children take part in a drawing contest during a campaign to fight child trafficking.
According to a provincial border post, the kidnappers stake out their intended victims. In one case, the criminals waited until the right time to abduct an ethnic minority woman who was working on a field alone and far from her home. She was taken away by kidnappers armed with a gun and knives without any chance to escape.
The kidnapping gangs include Chinese and local people. Chinese criminals were responsible for kidnapping and taking victims away, while their Vietnamese accomplices were assigned with searching for victims and keeping them under surveillance.
Late last year, two Mong ethnic minority people were brought to court after being charged with tricking a local woman into being sold to a Chinese man.
Ly Phay Sinh, 26 and Ly Mi Sung, 22, were only detained by officers at Lung Cu border post, in Dong Van District, when a trafficking victim informed authorities about the identities of the men.
Sinh said he had helped trick Giang Thi V. into being abducted across the border to China where she would have to work as a prostitute.
Vulnerable area
Nong Minh Thach, deputy head of Lung Cu border post, said slash and burn farming had forced many local people in the region, where 80% of the population belonged to Mong ethnic group, to work far from home.
"If women are kidnapped, it’s because they are working in areas near the border where there are few passers-by," said Thach.
So it’s difficult for Vietnamese police to investigate and find out who the kidnappers are as well as who has been kidnapped.
Women who have escaped and returned to Vietnam tell some shocking stories.
Many are forced to work hard on farms during the day, while at night they must have sex with the men who have bought them.
The extent of the problem is reflected in some cases where the victims of kidnapping and human trafficking were the relatives or family members of the criminals.
Ha Giang Province’s Border Post uncovered 25 cases of women being trafficked last year.
Children abducted
Colonel Dang Quang Huy, from the political work office of Ha Giang Province’s Border Post, said children were being kidnapped as well.
"Kidnapped children are passed over the border and sold to Chinese families that have a decent income but have few or no children," said Huy.
"Each child costs from between VND20mil to VND30mil, however the price depends on the agility and intelligence of the child."
"Traffickers sell women, who are usually aged from 17 to 30, for about VND20mil each, depending on if the buyer wants a wife or a labourer," said Huy.
Poverty, poor education and little ability for self-protection were also leading to an increase in kidnapping cases, he said.
Since 2000, Ha Giang Province’s border army has been informed about 40 cases of child kidnapping.
These victims were mainly boys who were kidnapped in communes located near border gates in Dong Van, Yen Minh and Meo Vac districts.
A local police officer said criminals were ruthless enough to release a one-year-old child in a remote forest after they discovered the victim was a girl.
According to local police, criminals took advantage of local people’s trust. They would persuade their victims to let them come inside their homes, and waiting for the best opportunity, would kidnap children and threaten to kill family members if their activities were uncovered.
Last December, two masked kidnappers broke into the house of Ho Mia Dia, in Seo Lung Village of Lung Cu District, while she was alone with her one-month-age son.
The kidnappers forcibly took the child from his mother and escaped quickly. Although local police were alerted immediately, the kidnappers fled with their victim to China.
Too many people, not enough jobs
12:41' 28/04/2008 (GMT+7)
A rapidly growing population is outpacing efforts to create employment
Rapid population has affected the country's capacity to generate jobs in the 2006-10 period, according to Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thanh Hoa.
About 1.6mil go in search of a job every year. Meanwhile, the nation's population is growing by more than a million annually.
The population has been increasing annually by more than 1%, and more than 1mil people annually reach a working age, Hoa told representatives at a national conference held last week in Da Nang City. The conference looked at implementing an employment programme and the Law on Vietnamese people working overseas under contract.
Hoa said the national target programme on employment aimed to secure jobs for about 49.5mil of people by 2010 and create new jobs for 8mil people in the 2006-10 period. The rate of unemployment was expected to reduce by 5% by 2010.
In 2006 and 2007, the Government approved an additional fund of VND485bil ($US30.3mil) for a national employment fund allocated to 64 cities and provinces nation-wide and social and political organisations. In that period, more than 160,000 labourers were sent to work abroad.
At the conference, representatives from localities, enterprises and employment service centres asked relevant sectors to complete policies and regulations on labour and employment, revising articles from the Labour Code and from the Law on Minimum Salary. The representatives also said that it was necessary to develop a Law on Employment.
Participants also discussed ways to develop the domestic labour market and expand the foreign market, while strengthening check-ups and management of projects under the national target programme.
According to Minister of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, the country's economy has developed in more than 20 years of doi moi (renewal), but is not yet stable and is only minimally competitive. The unemployment rate in urban areas was still high at 5.10% in 2006.
The country's population is expected to reach 89mil by 2010. With the working population increasing at a speed of 2.4-2.5% each year, there are about 1.6mil people in need of employment annually.
A rapidly growing population is outpacing efforts to create employment
Rapid population has affected the country's capacity to generate jobs in the 2006-10 period, according to Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thanh Hoa.
About 1.6mil go in search of a job every year. Meanwhile, the nation's population is growing by more than a million annually.
The population has been increasing annually by more than 1%, and more than 1mil people annually reach a working age, Hoa told representatives at a national conference held last week in Da Nang City. The conference looked at implementing an employment programme and the Law on Vietnamese people working overseas under contract.
Hoa said the national target programme on employment aimed to secure jobs for about 49.5mil of people by 2010 and create new jobs for 8mil people in the 2006-10 period. The rate of unemployment was expected to reduce by 5% by 2010.
In 2006 and 2007, the Government approved an additional fund of VND485bil ($US30.3mil) for a national employment fund allocated to 64 cities and provinces nation-wide and social and political organisations. In that period, more than 160,000 labourers were sent to work abroad.
At the conference, representatives from localities, enterprises and employment service centres asked relevant sectors to complete policies and regulations on labour and employment, revising articles from the Labour Code and from the Law on Minimum Salary. The representatives also said that it was necessary to develop a Law on Employment.
Participants also discussed ways to develop the domestic labour market and expand the foreign market, while strengthening check-ups and management of projects under the national target programme.
According to Minister of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, the country's economy has developed in more than 20 years of doi moi (renewal), but is not yet stable and is only minimally competitive. The unemployment rate in urban areas was still high at 5.10% in 2006.
The country's population is expected to reach 89mil by 2010. With the working population increasing at a speed of 2.4-2.5% each year, there are about 1.6mil people in need of employment annually.
City launches multipronged plan to fight inflation
16:54' 28/04/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – The city government has initiated several measures to curb inflation and keep prices in check on essential goods.
Among the measures is a request to companies to boost factory production, lower the cost of raw material inputs, and reduce the hoarding of essential goods.
The trade sector has asked Vissan, the country's largest producer of processed meat products, to keep prices stable until June.
Trade officials said the company had enough meat imports to meet increasing demand for processed foods until the end of the year.
The city's food companies have been urged to regularly stockpile around 2,000 tonnes of rice to ensure food security.
The city's Union of Trading Co-operatives, its supermarkets and trading centres have arranged to cut prices on commodities to ensure that prices remain lower than the market price.
The city will also not increase fees for hospitals and public transport such as buses and ferries.
The city will also earmark VND1tril (US$62.5mil) from the local budget to help enterprises boost production and market products to reduce the price of daily essentials by 5-10%.
Recent price hikes
In the last few days, the price of essential consumer goods, such as paper and cement, has increased sharply.
The price of paper has soared to more than VND17mil a tonne, a record level.
The construction industry is now facing a hike in cement prices. For example, the price of a 50-kilo bag of Ha Tien cement rose by 20% to VND67,000.
Despite the price hike, a cement shortage remains because of the construction boom in recent months.
Phan Thi Kim Hoa, marketing manager of Ha Tien 1 Cement Company, blamed the recent hike on the increase in cost of materials, transport fees and building materials.
Prices of daily essentials such as rice, meat and milk have risen, leading to financial hardship for low-income residents and the poor.
VietNamNet Bridge – The city government has initiated several measures to curb inflation and keep prices in check on essential goods.
Among the measures is a request to companies to boost factory production, lower the cost of raw material inputs, and reduce the hoarding of essential goods.
The trade sector has asked Vissan, the country's largest producer of processed meat products, to keep prices stable until June.
Trade officials said the company had enough meat imports to meet increasing demand for processed foods until the end of the year.
The city's food companies have been urged to regularly stockpile around 2,000 tonnes of rice to ensure food security.
The city's Union of Trading Co-operatives, its supermarkets and trading centres have arranged to cut prices on commodities to ensure that prices remain lower than the market price.
The city will also not increase fees for hospitals and public transport such as buses and ferries.
The city will also earmark VND1tril (US$62.5mil) from the local budget to help enterprises boost production and market products to reduce the price of daily essentials by 5-10%.
Recent price hikes
In the last few days, the price of essential consumer goods, such as paper and cement, has increased sharply.
The price of paper has soared to more than VND17mil a tonne, a record level.
The construction industry is now facing a hike in cement prices. For example, the price of a 50-kilo bag of Ha Tien cement rose by 20% to VND67,000.
Despite the price hike, a cement shortage remains because of the construction boom in recent months.
Phan Thi Kim Hoa, marketing manager of Ha Tien 1 Cement Company, blamed the recent hike on the increase in cost of materials, transport fees and building materials.
Prices of daily essentials such as rice, meat and milk have risen, leading to financial hardship for low-income residents and the poor.
Nation gets on board global campaign to defeat malaria
16:33' 28/04/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – A campaign to prevent and treat malaria were launched throughout Vietnam on Friday.
The campaign was part of the World Health Organisation's first global day - Friday, April 25, - to publicise the dangers of mosquito-borne scourge.
The day's theme was "Malaria - a disease without borders" and its purpose was to provide "education and understanding of malaria."
In Vietnam, the focus is the dissemination of information about malaria and enhanced monitoring in the high-risk Central Highlands, central provinces, the southeast and some northern highland provinces.
Mosquito nets will be provided free to 11mil people in mosquito-prone regions and repellent sprayed. Central Quang Tri Province's Preventive Medicine Centre reports that not many inhabitants use mosquito nets although more than two have been distributed free to each household.
Only about 30% of inhabitants sleep under mosquito nets in some communes.
Nets for drugs
Some people even swap their free mosquito nets for drugs," said northern highland Lai Chau Province Health Department director Do Cong Huan.
The director said resistance to anti-malaria drugs was on the rise throughout country and the public healthcare network covered only 80% of remote Vietnam.
More than 32% of Vietnamese, or 20mil people, live with the disease.
The director warned of a potential malaria epidemic with the arrival of the wet season. Vietnam will spend VND145bil - more than US$9.06mil - to prevent and treat, malaria this year, says National Entomology Institute director Nguyen Manh Hung.
The money will be used to reduce the mortality and infection rate by at least 5% against last year.
This means deaths from malaria are expected to fall below 0.02 per 100,000 people and infection below 0.8 per 100,000 people.
Almost 72,000 Vietnamese were infected with malaria last year and 20 died.
The number of fatalities was almost 90% less than in 2000.
VietNamNet Bridge – A campaign to prevent and treat malaria were launched throughout Vietnam on Friday.
The campaign was part of the World Health Organisation's first global day - Friday, April 25, - to publicise the dangers of mosquito-borne scourge.
The day's theme was "Malaria - a disease without borders" and its purpose was to provide "education and understanding of malaria."
In Vietnam, the focus is the dissemination of information about malaria and enhanced monitoring in the high-risk Central Highlands, central provinces, the southeast and some northern highland provinces.
Mosquito nets will be provided free to 11mil people in mosquito-prone regions and repellent sprayed. Central Quang Tri Province's Preventive Medicine Centre reports that not many inhabitants use mosquito nets although more than two have been distributed free to each household.
Only about 30% of inhabitants sleep under mosquito nets in some communes.
Nets for drugs
Some people even swap their free mosquito nets for drugs," said northern highland Lai Chau Province Health Department director Do Cong Huan.
The director said resistance to anti-malaria drugs was on the rise throughout country and the public healthcare network covered only 80% of remote Vietnam.
More than 32% of Vietnamese, or 20mil people, live with the disease.
The director warned of a potential malaria epidemic with the arrival of the wet season. Vietnam will spend VND145bil - more than US$9.06mil - to prevent and treat, malaria this year, says National Entomology Institute director Nguyen Manh Hung.
The money will be used to reduce the mortality and infection rate by at least 5% against last year.
This means deaths from malaria are expected to fall below 0.02 per 100,000 people and infection below 0.8 per 100,000 people.
Almost 72,000 Vietnamese were infected with malaria last year and 20 died.
The number of fatalities was almost 90% less than in 2000.
Wages leave many factory workers in poverty
21:53' 28/04/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – The Government is being urged to adjust the poverty line to support many workers who are struggling to make ends meet in industrial zones along the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.
Workers process seafood for export at Tra Noc Industrial Zone in Can Tho Province. A new poverty-line standard should be issued to help these workers have a better living standard.
Having worked for one and a half years at the Ty Xuan Company producing leather shoes in Hoa Phu Industrial Zone in Vinh Long Province, Nguyen Thi Phuc has recently had her wages boosted from VND710,000 (US$44) to VND860,000 ($53) per month. But even with this raise, Phuc says supporting herself and her young family is a daily struggle.
Every month, she has to hand over VND300,000 ($18) for her boarding house and VND300,000 for her child to attend a private kindergarten. "The remaining VND260,000 ($16) doesn’t cover food for the month, and inflation has meant prices have gone up a lot recently."
To make enough money to survive, Phuc has to work overtime at VND6,000 ($0.37) per hour. "Most of the time we just eat rice and vegetables. I can only afford some meat or fish once a week," she said.
Phuc’s story is a familiar one among workers in the industrial zones, areas known as the cornerstones to the nation’s economic development.
According to Nguyen Thanh De, a worker in Tra Noc 1 Industrial Zone in Can Tho Province, his monthly income of VND1.4mil ($87) only just covers basic essentials. There’s no way he can save anything.
President of the Trade Union of industrial zones in Vinh Long Province Nguyen Thanh Nhan agrees. "A lot of male workers told me that because they can’t save money, they dare not plan to get married."
Bread and board
Part of the problem is the cost of renting accommodation. In Hoa Phu Industrial Zone, Vinh Long Province, no companies provide their workers with accommodation and about 60% of workers IZ have to live in boarding houses. Prices range from VND280,000 to VND360,000 ($16-$22) per room, or VND60,000 to VND80,000 (up to $5) per bed. This is a considerable burden on their wages.
In 2006, the Trade Union in Can Tho City put forward a project to build 1,000 apartments for low-income workers in the city. Under the plan, workers would pay rent monthly, and after 10 years could be owner of the apartment. But in March 2008, the city’s People’s Committee issued a document stating that due to a limited budget, the proposal had to be scrapped.
Social services
Underlying the problems faced by factory workers is the fact that their incomes do not fall below the poverty line, rendering them unable to claim social services.
Workers’ standard of living should be taken into account based on practical conditions, vice director of Rach Mieu Bridge Company in Ben Tre Province Ha Ngoc Nam says. "Businesses should not be responsible for raising wages if they are adhering to Government policies on the minimum wage. There should be a poverty line applied to workers."
Vice President of the Trade Union office in Ben Tre Province, Tran Trung Hao, agrees. "Workers in IZs have a hard life. According to the current criteria, workers are not classed as living below the poverty line. So in the past ten years, the Fund for the Poor has never helped workers improve their temporary housing. Despite rising inflation, the average monthly income for workers in IZs is only VND1.3mil to VND1.4mil (up to $87)."
The importance of calculating the poverty line according to practical conditions is vital to helping those most in need. The fundamental reason for this is in rural areas, farmers may be poor but they still have a house and the cost of living expenses is a lot cheaper. In contrast, workers in urban areas have to pay for their own accommodation and the prices of daily essentials are substantially higher.
According to statistics provided by the Department of Economic and Social Policies from the Ministry of Trade Union in Can Tho Province, 97.85% of workers in Can Tho Industrial Zone said workers should be provided with accommodation. Nearly 90% said firms needed to do this if they wanted to keep hold of their employees for the long term.
VietNamNet Bridge – The Government is being urged to adjust the poverty line to support many workers who are struggling to make ends meet in industrial zones along the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.
Workers process seafood for export at Tra Noc Industrial Zone in Can Tho Province. A new poverty-line standard should be issued to help these workers have a better living standard.
Having worked for one and a half years at the Ty Xuan Company producing leather shoes in Hoa Phu Industrial Zone in Vinh Long Province, Nguyen Thi Phuc has recently had her wages boosted from VND710,000 (US$44) to VND860,000 ($53) per month. But even with this raise, Phuc says supporting herself and her young family is a daily struggle.
Every month, she has to hand over VND300,000 ($18) for her boarding house and VND300,000 for her child to attend a private kindergarten. "The remaining VND260,000 ($16) doesn’t cover food for the month, and inflation has meant prices have gone up a lot recently."
To make enough money to survive, Phuc has to work overtime at VND6,000 ($0.37) per hour. "Most of the time we just eat rice and vegetables. I can only afford some meat or fish once a week," she said.
Phuc’s story is a familiar one among workers in the industrial zones, areas known as the cornerstones to the nation’s economic development.
According to Nguyen Thanh De, a worker in Tra Noc 1 Industrial Zone in Can Tho Province, his monthly income of VND1.4mil ($87) only just covers basic essentials. There’s no way he can save anything.
President of the Trade Union of industrial zones in Vinh Long Province Nguyen Thanh Nhan agrees. "A lot of male workers told me that because they can’t save money, they dare not plan to get married."
Bread and board
Part of the problem is the cost of renting accommodation. In Hoa Phu Industrial Zone, Vinh Long Province, no companies provide their workers with accommodation and about 60% of workers IZ have to live in boarding houses. Prices range from VND280,000 to VND360,000 ($16-$22) per room, or VND60,000 to VND80,000 (up to $5) per bed. This is a considerable burden on their wages.
In 2006, the Trade Union in Can Tho City put forward a project to build 1,000 apartments for low-income workers in the city. Under the plan, workers would pay rent monthly, and after 10 years could be owner of the apartment. But in March 2008, the city’s People’s Committee issued a document stating that due to a limited budget, the proposal had to be scrapped.
Social services
Underlying the problems faced by factory workers is the fact that their incomes do not fall below the poverty line, rendering them unable to claim social services.
Workers’ standard of living should be taken into account based on practical conditions, vice director of Rach Mieu Bridge Company in Ben Tre Province Ha Ngoc Nam says. "Businesses should not be responsible for raising wages if they are adhering to Government policies on the minimum wage. There should be a poverty line applied to workers."
Vice President of the Trade Union office in Ben Tre Province, Tran Trung Hao, agrees. "Workers in IZs have a hard life. According to the current criteria, workers are not classed as living below the poverty line. So in the past ten years, the Fund for the Poor has never helped workers improve their temporary housing. Despite rising inflation, the average monthly income for workers in IZs is only VND1.3mil to VND1.4mil (up to $87)."
The importance of calculating the poverty line according to practical conditions is vital to helping those most in need. The fundamental reason for this is in rural areas, farmers may be poor but they still have a house and the cost of living expenses is a lot cheaper. In contrast, workers in urban areas have to pay for their own accommodation and the prices of daily essentials are substantially higher.
According to statistics provided by the Department of Economic and Social Policies from the Ministry of Trade Union in Can Tho Province, 97.85% of workers in Can Tho Industrial Zone said workers should be provided with accommodation. Nearly 90% said firms needed to do this if they wanted to keep hold of their employees for the long term.
Sunday, 27 April 2008
Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s review made debut
22:33' 27/04/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) Central Committee and the Hanoi Buddhist Institute introduced the first issue of “Khuong Viet” Review to the public at a press conference in Hanoi on April 26.
Most Venerable Thich Thanh Tu, Permanent Vice President of the VBS Central Committee and editor-in-chief of “Khuong Viet” Review, told the press that the first issue of Khuong Viet Review was published on the occasion of the 6th National Congress of the VBS.
The quarterly review was named after Buddhist monk Khuong Viet (933-1011), who was a brilliant politician, diplomat, and national security advisor of the country in the 10th century.
With the principle of studying and making knowledge and cultural value of Buddhism popular, the review will provide readers with Buddha’s teachings and information about religious activities of the VBS Central Committee and local VBS committees as well as historic and cultural relics
VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) Central Committee and the Hanoi Buddhist Institute introduced the first issue of “Khuong Viet” Review to the public at a press conference in Hanoi on April 26.
Most Venerable Thich Thanh Tu, Permanent Vice President of the VBS Central Committee and editor-in-chief of “Khuong Viet” Review, told the press that the first issue of Khuong Viet Review was published on the occasion of the 6th National Congress of the VBS.
The quarterly review was named after Buddhist monk Khuong Viet (933-1011), who was a brilliant politician, diplomat, and national security advisor of the country in the 10th century.
With the principle of studying and making knowledge and cultural value of Buddhism popular, the review will provide readers with Buddha’s teachings and information about religious activities of the VBS Central Committee and local VBS committees as well as historic and cultural relics
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