Social risks of Vietnamese labour migration across the China border: The case of the Lao Cai international border gate
Social risks of Vietnamese labour migration across the China border: The case of the Lao Cai international border gate
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1243/b8pwwz02Abstract
Labour migration across the Vietnam-China border brings many economic opportunities for workers and border regions, yet it simultaneously poses significant social risks. This article aims to analyse the social risks faced by migrant workers, while proposing protective policies from the Vietnamese side. The study is based on a quantitative survey with 85 migrant workers and in-depth interviews of 3 cases at the Lao Cai international border gate. The results show that Vietnamese migrant workers often face exploitation, unsafe working conditions, lack of labour contracts, and heavy dependence on brokers. This article provides micro-level evidence of this reality while suggesting policies such as strengthening the regulation of brokerage activities, enhancing workers’ awareness and skills, establishing appropriate insurance mechanisms, and promoting socio-economic development in border regions. These findings provide a basis for improving the policy framework aimed at protecting migrant workers in the context of integration.
References
Halegua, A. (2020). Where is the Belt and Road Initiative taking international labour rights? An examination of worker abuse by Chinese firms in Saipan.
Bélanger, D. (2014). Labor migration and trafficking among Vietnamese migrants in Asia. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
Bélanger, D., Ueno, K., Khuất, T. H., & Ochiai, E. (2011). From foreign trainees to unauthorized workers: Vietnamese migrant workers in Japan. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 20(1), 31–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/011719681102000102
Boufkhed, S., Thorogood, N., Ariti, C., & Durand, M. A. (2024). “They treat us like machines”: Migrant workers’ risks of exploitation. BMJ Global Health, 9(1), e013521. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2023-013521
Duong, L., Belanger, D., & Hong, K. T. (2007). Transnational migration, marriage and trafficking at the China–Vietnam border. Committee for International Cooperation in National Research in Demography.
Goss, J., & Lindquist, B. (1995). Conceptualizing international labor migration: A structuration perspective. International Migration Review, 29(2), 317–351. https://doi.org/10.2307/2546784
Gray, V., Valtorta, N. K., Hanratty, B., & Bellis, M. A. (2020). Migrant workers and their occupational health and safety experiences. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(20), 7434. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17207434
Alffram, H., Denney, L., Domingo, P., & Jesperson, S. (2023). Debt, exploitation and trafficking of labour migrants.
Ha, T., Givens, D., Nguyen, T., & Nguyen, N. (2022). Stigmatizing attitudes toward people living with HIV among young women migrant workers in Vietnam. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11), 6366. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19116366
Ha, T., Schensul, S. L., Schensul, J. J., Nguyen, T., & Nguyen, N. (2021). Sexual risk behaviors, HIV prevalence and access to reproductive health services among young women migrant workers in Vietnam. Frontiers in Reproductive Health, 3, 775375. https://doi.org/10.3389/frph.2021.775375
Ha, T., Shi, H., Su, T. W.-H., Shrestha, R., Baumann, S., Nguyen, T., Nguyen, N., Giang, L. M., & Schensul, S. L. (2023). The mediation effects of sexual self-efficacy in the relationship between psychosocial wellbeing and depressive symptoms among female migrant workers in Vietnam. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 69(8), 2068–2078. https://doi.org/10.1177/00207640231188033
Hoang, L. A., Lam, T., & Yeoh, B. S. A. (2015). Transnational migration, changing care arrangements and left-behind children’s responses in Southeast Asia. Children’s Geographies, 13(3), 263–277. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2015.972653
Hsieh, H.-C. (2015). Representations of familial intimacy across the Taiwan Strait. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/11619652
Shire, K., Heinrich, S., Imai, J., & Mottweiler, H. (2018). Private labour market intermediaries in cross-border labour markets in Europe and Asia.
Landsbergis, P. A., Grzywacz, J. G., & LaMontagne, A. D. (2012). Work organization, job insecurity, and occupational health disparities. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 55(6), 485–496. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.22005
Loc, N. T. P. (2018). The “One Belt One Road” initiative and immigration risks from the border. Society and Change, 12(3), 45–60.
Nguyen, T. T., Kato, S., & Yokomizo, D. (2024). Governance of low-skilled labor migration. Global Governance, 30(1), 149–173. https://doi.org/10.1163/19426720-03001007
Salami, B., Meherali, S., & Salami, A. (2015). The health of temporary foreign workers in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 106(8), e546–e554. https://doi.org/10.17269/cjph.106.4911
Tran, B. X., Vo, T., Dang, A. K., Nguyen, Q. N., Vu, G. T., Vu, L. G., Do, K. N., Latkin, C. A., Ho, C. S. H., & Ho, R. C. M. (2019). Characterizing unsafe sexual behavior among factory workers in Northern Vietnam. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(24), 5085. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16245085
Zhang, Q., & Axelsson, L. (2021). Channelling through bureaucracy: Migration intermediaries within state structures. Geoforum, 124, 116–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2021.04.016
Zhou, B., & Zhong, Y. (2022). Instability in the cross-border labor market. Sustainability, 14(12), 7447.
