Hanoi (VNA) - Hundreds ofelectronics manufacturers in Vietnam are having difficulty recruitinglabourers, said an official from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and SocialAffairs (MOLISA).

Despite forecasts about automation technologiesreplacing manual labour, manual labourers are still in high demand atelectronics manufacturers in Vietnam, especially those with skills andqualifications.

The number of electronics companies in Vietnamhas risen drastically in the past decade, from 307 in 2006 to 1,165 in 2015 (up16.3 percent per year), said Dr Chu Thi Lan, director of the Centre of ResearchWorks on Working Environment and Conditions under MOLISA’s Institute of LabourScience and Social Affairs.

The number of electronics labourers has alsorisen drastically, from about 142,800 in 2009 to 453,200 in 2016, she said at arecent conference on securing jobs for workers at electronics companies inVietnam.

“However, about 70 percent of these workerspossess no qualifications for their jobs, and 80 percent of the companies arefacing a severe shortage of skilled labourers,” Lan added.

New technologies are one of the factors leadingto the shortage, said Dr Dao Quang Vinh, director ofthe Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs.

“They require workers to adapt to big changes,increase competition, reduce manufacturing cost and build demand for morehigh-quality labourers,” he said.

Meanwhile, since the majority of Vietnameselabourers came from rural areas and did not receive any formal training fortechnological jobs, they lack flexibility in adapting to technological changes,said Dr Vu Quang Tho, director of MOLISA’s Institute for Workers – TradeUnions.

The harsh working conditions at manufacturingfactories also lead some workers to quit their jobs, Tho added.

Nguyen Tien Tung, MOLISA’s chief inspector, saidthat wrong doings were discovered in 216 electronic companies in 2017nationwide.

“All of these companies required their staff towork overtime, and 60 percent of them violated the regulations on overtimepay,” he said.

Twenty-seven enterprises made serious violationsof the Labour Code and were fined 1.4 billion VND (61,600 USD), Tung added.Most of them did not ensure workers’ rights, he said.

To improve the situation, Dr Chu Thi Lan saidelectronics companies should shake up their practices, strictly comply withlabour regulations, maintain labour standards and offer incentives to recruitlabourers.

“They should absolutely avoid forced labour andchild labour, and avoid firing workers over 35 years old,” she said.

Dr Dao Quang Vinh said that workers shouldreceive training and re-training every time their companies acquire newtechnologies. “They should be aware of the change and prepared to gain newskills to meet new requirements,” he said.

The State should have policies that ensure jobstability and on-the-job training for electronics workers, he added.

“In case they are not able to adapt totechnological changes, these workers should be informed about other employmentopportunities,” he said.-VNA