The Ministry of Home Affairs of Vietnam and its Canadian counterpart have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on ethical labor mobility and protection of Vietnamese migrant workers in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada.
The MoU establishes a worker-centric approach, prioritizing the protection of employees. Under the agreement, Vietnamese workers are guaranteed equal treatment in labor relations, including wages, working conditions, and welfare benefits in accordance with the laws of Saskatchewan and Canada.
A key provision of the agreement stipulates that Vietnamese workers bound for Saskatchewan are not required to pay recruitment costs, administrative fees, service fees to recruitment agencies, or airfare from Vietnam to their workplace. These expenses will be covered by the employers in Saskatchewan. Workers are only responsible for costs related to their personal documentation and visa application fees.
Consequently, the pre-departure costs for Vietnamese laborers are significantly minimized. This serves as a vital foundation for promoting fair, transparent, and ethical recruitment while safeguarding the legal rights and interests of workers.
According to the MoU, Saskatchewan currently has a demand for approximately 30,000 skilled workers in sectors such as construction, mechanics, mining, electronics, hospitality, high-tech agriculture, and several other trades.
The Saskatchewan side also expressed a strong commitment to cooperating in vocational and language training for Vietnamese workers prior to their departure. This training will ensure their skills meet Canadian-recognized standards and the specific requirements of host enterprises.
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Vu Chien Thang stated that the signing of this MoU establishes a formal cooperation framework between the two parties. He noted that this move helps realize Vietnam's policy of proactive international integration while expanding and diversifying overseas labor markets in a safe, transparent, efficient, and sustainable manner.
On the Canadian side, Ms. Richelle Bourgoin, Deputy Minister of Trade and Export Development for Saskatchewan, highly valued the potential of Vietnamese labor in addressing the local skilled labor shortage.
She emphasized that Saskatchewan maintains some of the strictest foreign worker protection laws in North America. She further committed to providing maximum support regarding skill recognition procedures, training, and resettlement services to ensure Vietnamese workers can settle in and work with peace of mind.
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