Assistance to Vietnamese guest workers returning from Libya The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) in collaboration with Vietnamese business enterprises are providing aid to workers returning from Libya and helping them terminate their contracts. About 300 out of 1,750 Vietnamese guest workers have safely returned home and have been receiving assistance from relevant governmental agencies since the last workers left the North African country one month ago due to the escalating violence. Pham Viet Huong, Deputy Head of MOLISA's Department for Overseas Labour Management (DOLM), granted an interview to a VOV reporter on the issue.   Pham Viet Huong VOV: Could you talk about contract liquidity for labourers from Libya? Mr. Huong: The MOLM has cooperated with relevant agencies and businesses to safely bring workers home. Currently, all Vietnamese guest workers have returned from Libya, and we are requesting businesses to terminate their labour contracts and adequately compensate them. The MoLISA Overseas Labour Support Fund has granted financial support to guest workers via labour exporters. According to regulations, labourers who had worked in Libya for less than 12 months will get back 50% of their brokerage fee charged by labour export enterprises, while those working for more than 12 months are entitled to a lesser amount depending on the length of their employment. VOV: How could guest workers receive aid when they had to return home before their labour contract expires due to force majeure or other objective reasons? Mr. Huong: Following the Prime Minister’s instructions, the MoLISA made a decision in August 2014 to provide VND1-5 million in support of returned guest workers. Particularly, the amount of aid for poor workers could be as high as VND7.5 million each. The DOLM has asked labour exporters to make a list of needy guest workers so the Department can provide assistance to them. So far, the Overseas Labour Support Fund has temporarily provided nearly VND4 billion in aid for 11 businesses and urged them to consolidate labour contract for returned workers. The Fund also covered travel costs (around VND4 billion in total) for guest workers returning from Libya. VOV: Apart from aid, is there any other form of support in resending these guest workers to other countries? Mr. Huong: The MoLISA has offered many incentive policies for local guest workers. If returned workers want to work abroad again, they will enjoy lower brokerage fee. At present, more than 300 workers have been recruited to work in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. In fact, Libya has better weather conditions and offers higher income for guest workers compared to Middle Eastern countries. Local labour exporters continue to create the best possible conditions for workers who want to work abroad. SoNa company, for example, recently won a contract to send more than 1,000 workers to Saudi Arabia. VOV: Thank you. VOV