Ho Chi Minh City – The International Organization for Migration (IOM), Mission in Viet Nam, hosted a consultation workshop “Enhancing Business Capacity on Responsible Business Practices and Labour Migration in Viet Nam”.  The virtual workshop welcomed the participation of 35 representatives from the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), Diplomatic Missions, UN Agencies, industry and business associations, international and Vietnamese companies.

The discussion aimed at gathering feedback of stakeholders to inform the development of the eLearning module under the project “Enhancing Business Capacity to Address Forced Labour and Human Trafficking Risks in International Supply Chain” funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and implemented by IOM.

In her opening remarks, Ms. Mihyung Park, Chief of Mission, IOM Viet Nam, emphasized the importance of enhancing the capacity of businesses to uphold the rights of Vietnamese migrant workers, in line with Viet Nam’s commitments under relevant international frameworks, the European Union Free Trade Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and national laws.

During the workshop, representatives of business associations also shared about progress, opportunities and challenges in advancing responsible business practices in Viet Nam. Mr. Nguyen Le Nhat Thanh, Deputy Head of Bureau for Employers’ Activities, VCCI Ho Chi Minh City emphasized that “Companies in Vietnam have recently adopted changes toward responsible business practices. However, this transformation has not been fully implemented and many businesses are still facing challenges in doing business responsibly. Therefore, the support of VCCI HCM and domestic and international organizations for businesses is extremely necessary for them to improve their responsible business practices in Viet Nam.”

“Responsible business practices bring numerous benefits to both employers and employees, opening up many opportunities for companies to reach new customers and markets. More efforts and activities are needed to engage companies to learn about responsible business practices. VGCL is committed to actively participating in and supporting the development of IOM’s eLearning module,” said representing the perspective of workers, Mr. Le Dinh Quang, Deputy Head of Policy and Regulations Department, VGCL.

IOM Viet Nam presented the outline of the eLearning module to enhance the capacity of Vietnamese businesses to prevent and mitigate the risk of forced labour and human trafficking in operations and supply chains. The proposed module includes four main topics:

• Introduction to responsible business practices
• Understanding forced labour and human trafficking
• Vulnerabilities of migrant workers­­­
• Business action to identify and address the risks of forced labour and human trafficking

In the closing remarks, IOM invited contributions from industry and business associations, international and Vietnamese companies to provide feedback and join the pilot phase of the eLearning module.

For further information, please contact Ms. Anastasia Vynnychenko, Project Officer at IOM Viet Nam at avynnychenko@iom.int or Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Hien, Project Assistant, at mhiennguyen@iom.int.