Vietnamese female workers employed at an electronics factory in Malaysia
A Continuous Decline
Vietnam officially opened the Malaysian labor export market in April 2002. Within just eight months, as many as 21,240 workers were sent to Malaysia. In 2003, the number continued to rise sharply, reaching 38,227 workers.
Because the focus was placed too heavily on poverty reduction goals, many enterprises rushed to send workers to Malaysia while neglecting worker selection and training, job quality, and the management and protection of workers. As a result, cases of worker abuse, unpaid wages, and salaries not being paid as promised occurred repeatedly, yet enterprises often failed to intervene and protect workers in a timely manner.
In particular, the SARS outbreak in Malaysia in mid-2003 forced thousands of workers to return home before completing their contracts, leading to numerous labor disputes and collective complaints that negatively affected public confidence.
As a consequence, after two years of mass deployment, the number of Vietnamese workers sent to Malaysia fell to only 18,800 in 2004. Despite considerable efforts to attract workers back to the market, the number continued to decline, dropping to 7,810 workers in 2008 and further falling to just 2,792 workers in 2009.
Wages Too Low
Under current regulations of the Department of Overseas Labor, enterprises must ensure a minimum basic wage of RM 21 per day (approximately VND 145,000) for workers in Malaysia (RM 1 equals approximately VND 6,900).
During recruitment and contract signing, enterprises converted the daily wage into a monthly salary with a minimum of RM 546 per worker and committed that workers would earn at least RM 750–800 per month, with an average actual income of RM 1,000–1,200 per month. This calculation led workers to believe that, even under unfavorable conditions, they would still receive at least the minimum income stated.
In reality, however, Malaysian law permits wages to be paid on a daily basis. Therefore, only workers who work the full 26 days per month can receive the basic salary of RM 546. Most Vietnamese workers are assigned work for only 15–20 days per month, and some work fewer than 10 days.
Currently, the average income of Vietnamese workers in Malaysia is only RM 700–800 per month, equivalent to approximately VND 4.8–5.5 million. After deducting food expenses (as most Malaysian employers do not provide meals), living costs, and transportation expenses, even the most frugal workers can save only about VND 2–3 million per month.
This income is not significantly higher than that of factory workers in Vietnam and is sometimes even lower than the earnings of casual laborers working as loaders or construction helpers.
Skilled Workers Should Be Prioritized
At a recent conference organized by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Hoa proposed promoting labor cooperation with Malaysia and making it the primary market for implementing the support program for poor districts. However, this proposal generated considerable debate.
If the objective is merely job creation and poverty reduction, even the intended beneficiaries—unemployed and low-income rural workers with limited qualifications—often show little interest in the Malaysian market. Instead, attention should be shifted toward exporting skilled labor, enabling workers to improve their living standards and acquire professional skills that can be applied when they return home.
Several enterprises are already actively pursuing this approach. For example, Chau Hung Company recently signed a contract to supply 30 information technology engineers to work for Idimension MSC SDN BHD in Malaysia, with monthly incomes ranging from VND 15 million to VND 25 million per person.
Similarly, Sovilaco Company is implementing a recruitment program to send 50 skilled technical workers and machinists to Malaysia, with monthly earnings ranging from VND 11 million to VND 20.5 million per person.