VietNamNet Bridge – Thousands of foreign labourers are working in Vietnam without work permits. Most of them are unskilled workers who work for foreign contractors, particularly Chinese.
The number of Chinese workers dwarfs populations of local labourers at some projects, such as Tan Rai bauxite mine in Bao Loc, Lam Dong province in the Central Highlands, the Quang Ninh thermo-power plant in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh, the Hai Phong Coal-fueled Power Plant in Hai Phong city, and the Ca Mau Gas – Power – Fertiliser project. At these places, there are from 700 to over 2,000 Chinese workers.
Foreign workers flooding construction sites
There are no official statistics about unskilled foreign workers in Vietnam, but it is estimated there are tens of thousands, and the number is seemingly on the rise.
The two big thermo-power plants that are about to be completed in the north, the Quang Ninh and Hai Phong, have over 2,000 foreign workers each, most of whom are Chinese.
In these construction sites, Chinese workers do various jobs, from cleaning up to digging, installing turbines and others. The Chinese contractors use nearly no Vietnamese workers.
Meanwhile, in the central region, Chinese workers who came to Vietnam with Chinese contractors began to appear several weeks ago in Nong Son, the central province of Quang Nam.
“New villages” in northern construction sites
We paid a visit to the construction site of the thermo-power plant being built by the Quang Ninh Thermo Power Joint Stock Company, considered the headquarters of Chinese workers in Quang Ninh province.
A few kilometres from Bai Chay Bridge in Ha Long city, we saw groups of Chinese workers on the street. More Chinese workers were seen near Bang Market in Hoanh Bo district, 8km from Ha Long city.
Going across the Bang River, we saw the Quang Ninh thermo-power plant. The most impressive things there were not the two towering smokestacks of the plant, but rows of houses of Chinese workers nearly 1km long on the river bank. These are temporary houses roofed with green iron sheets and they surround Quang Ninh thermo-power plant.
Each row of houses includes six rooms of 40sq.m each. Each room hosts more than 20 Chinese workers. The whole row shares a toilet. Visiting a room, we saw bunk beds and groups of workers playing cards.
The “new village” is not always open to visitors. At the gate of the construction site were some guards in camouflage combat clothes, equipped with walkie-talkies. Talking with them in Vietnamese, they didn’t understand, because they are Chinese.
Vu Thanh Hai, the chief of the Planning and Materials of the Quang Ninh Thermo-power Plant, said the above rows of houses sometimes host nearly 4,000 Chinese workers. At the time we came, there were around 2,200 people.
“Because the work is nearly complete, the number of Chinese workers has decreased,” said Hai.
However, Hai said that most of Chinese workers come to Vietnam as travelers and they don’t have work permits.
A young Chinese worker said that he is a welder and he earns around 1,600 yuans (VND3 million) per month. Another said Chinese workers are paid between VND3-6 million ($170-350) per month.
At the Hai Phong Thermo-power JS Company in Ngu Lao commune, Thuy Nguyen district, skilled Chinese workers stay in two-storey houses. Meanwhile, unskilled ones lived in hired, temporary houses.
At the construction site of the Hai Phong Coal-fueled Thermo-power Plant, any visitor can realise that it is a construction site of Chinese. All boards and slogans are in Chinese. All roads there are named in Chinese.
In the central province of Quang Nam, many Chinese workers have appeared in Nong Son district in the past several weeks. They came here to build a thermo-power plant in this district.
Standing at the foot of the Nong Son Bridge, we saw many prefabricated houses, surrounded by iron fences.
“These are the houses of workers, all of them come from Guangxi,” said the chief of the organisational department of the Nong Son Coal and Electricity JS Company, the project developer.
At the construction site, we were received by a translator named Ngo Tri Tue. She said that all staff there are Chinese and from Guangxi province.
Chinese sign boards appear every place. A group of Chinese workers were bending iron bars to prepare for building the foundation of the power plant. Some others were working with stone drilling machines. In the late afternoon, Chinese workers gathered near trays of rice and boiled spinach.
A Chinese engineer, Vi Quoc Thang, said that there are around 100 Chinese workers and engineers at the site. “This number will rise to about 500 people in June, when the project comes to the installation phase,” translator Tue interpreted for another Chinese engineer.
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| Most Chinese working at the Nong Son thermo-power plant in the central province of Quang Nam are unskilled labourers. |
Foreign workers flooding construction sites
There are no official statistics about unskilled foreign workers in Vietnam, but it is estimated there are tens of thousands, and the number is seemingly on the rise.
The two big thermo-power plants that are about to be completed in the north, the Quang Ninh and Hai Phong, have over 2,000 foreign workers each, most of whom are Chinese.
In these construction sites, Chinese workers do various jobs, from cleaning up to digging, installing turbines and others. The Chinese contractors use nearly no Vietnamese workers.
Meanwhile, in the central region, Chinese workers who came to Vietnam with Chinese contractors began to appear several weeks ago in Nong Son, the central province of Quang Nam.
“New villages” in northern construction sites
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| The Oriental Road, named by China’s Oriental Electrification Group, the contractor of the Hai Phong Thermo Power Plant. |
A few kilometres from Bai Chay Bridge in Ha Long city, we saw groups of Chinese workers on the street. More Chinese workers were seen near Bang Market in Hoanh Bo district, 8km from Ha Long city.
Going across the Bang River, we saw the Quang Ninh thermo-power plant. The most impressive things there were not the two towering smokestacks of the plant, but rows of houses of Chinese workers nearly 1km long on the river bank. These are temporary houses roofed with green iron sheets and they surround Quang Ninh thermo-power plant.
Each row of houses includes six rooms of 40sq.m each. Each room hosts more than 20 Chinese workers. The whole row shares a toilet. Visiting a room, we saw bunk beds and groups of workers playing cards.
The “new village” is not always open to visitors. At the gate of the construction site were some guards in camouflage combat clothes, equipped with walkie-talkies. Talking with them in Vietnamese, they didn’t understand, because they are Chinese.
Vu Thanh Hai, the chief of the Planning and Materials of the Quang Ninh Thermo-power Plant, said the above rows of houses sometimes host nearly 4,000 Chinese workers. At the time we came, there were around 2,200 people.
“Because the work is nearly complete, the number of Chinese workers has decreased,” said Hai.
However, Hai said that most of Chinese workers come to Vietnam as travelers and they don’t have work permits.
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| Chinese workers at the Quang Ninh thermo-power plant. |
At the Hai Phong Thermo-power JS Company in Ngu Lao commune, Thuy Nguyen district, skilled Chinese workers stay in two-storey houses. Meanwhile, unskilled ones lived in hired, temporary houses.
At the construction site of the Hai Phong Coal-fueled Thermo-power Plant, any visitor can realise that it is a construction site of Chinese. All boards and slogans are in Chinese. All roads there are named in Chinese.
In the central province of Quang Nam, many Chinese workers have appeared in Nong Son district in the past several weeks. They came here to build a thermo-power plant in this district.
Standing at the foot of the Nong Son Bridge, we saw many prefabricated houses, surrounded by iron fences.
“These are the houses of workers, all of them come from Guangxi,” said the chief of the organisational department of the Nong Son Coal and Electricity JS Company, the project developer.
 |
| Chinese workers at the Nong Son thermo-power plant. |
Chinese sign boards appear every place. A group of Chinese workers were bending iron bars to prepare for building the foundation of the power plant. Some others were working with stone drilling machines. In the late afternoon, Chinese workers gathered near trays of rice and boiled spinach.
A Chinese engineer, Vi Quoc Thang, said that there are around 100 Chinese workers and engineers at the site. “This number will rise to about 500 people in June, when the project comes to the installation phase,” translator Tue interpreted for another Chinese engineer.