Vietnam is a country with a high population and population density in the world. It ranks 14th in the world, with an average population of nearly 85.2 million people in 2007 and an average population density of 257 persons per square kilometre, much higher than that in the world (47 persons per square kilometre), which means an intensive labour force. The working population of 44.17 million people in 2007 held up 51.85% of the total population, with 9% working in the state sector, 89.4% in the non-state sector and 1.6% in the foreign-invested sector. Regarding the economic field, currently 54.6% of the workforce is in the agroforestry and fishery industry, 19.6% in the industry and construction sector, and 25.9% in the services industry.
In the 1990-2007 period, there was an increase of 14.8 million people in the working population, equalling an average increase of 870 thousand people per year. Vietnam has approximately 1.3 to 1.5 billion people entering the workforce each year.
Vietnam's workforce is characterised as being young, highly disciplined, hard-working, quick learners, adaptable, and committed to work, giving it a competitive advantage over other nations. The labour force qualifications have been continuously improved, with 60% being secondary-school and high-school graduates. The portion of the workforce provided with vocational training rose gradually, from 21% in 2003 to 22.5% in 2004, to 24% in 2005, and to nearly 30% in 2007. The South East and the Red River Delta emerge as the regions with the highest portion of labour training (more than 30%). This figure, however, is much lower than that of developed countries. In addition to the quality of the workforce and the number of trained labourers, a health condition is also another shortcoming of Vietnamese labour.
Low labour costs also give Vietnam a competitive advantage over other nations. According to an official survey on labour, wages, and productivity in all types of enterprises conducted at the end of 2005, the average salary of a university graduate with higher qualifications is 2.49 million VND; a college graduate is 1.79 million VND; an advanced vocationally trained worker is 1.43 billion VND; an intermediately vocationally trained worker is 1.34 million VND; an elementary vocationally trained worker is 1.32 million VND; and an untrained worker is 1.03 million VND. Regarding job titles, the salary is 4.33 million VND, 1.51 million VND, and 1.42 million VND for managerial posts in state enterprises; 3.07 million VND, 1.42 million VND, and 1.16 million VND for those in non-state enterprises; and 12.00 million VND, 2.23 million VND, and 1.39 million VND for those in foreign-invested enterprises, with an average increase of 10% each year in salaries.
Employment-related disputes hardly occur in Vietnam, as there have been about 1000 strikes over the last 15 years since the issuance of the Labour Law, most of which stemmed from a failure to commit to salary, perks, and bonuses. The protection of labour rights is a great concern in Vietnam.
Comments
Post a Comment