VIENTIANE (XINHUA) – Lao authorities have issued a warning to stop illegal employment agencies sending Lao workers to other countries without permission from the government.
The Lao Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare issued a warning advising people not to trust companies advertising jobs in South Korea, saying they could fall victim to human traffickers or be exploited by brokers in another country, local state-run daily Vientiane Times reported yesterday.
The warning was issued on July 29 after the ministry learnt that some people had set up businesses that claimed to provide jobs in South Korea without seeking permission from the ministry.
“No one is allowed to arrange for Lao nationals to work abroad without permission from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare,” the daily quoted an article as stated in an official decree issued in 2019.
The Employment Department of the Lao Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and related bodies are working to resolve the issue and enforce the law in this respect, said the report.
Low salaries offered by employers in Laos is one reason that many undocumented Lao nationals did not register with the authorities before seeking work abroad, including Thailand and South Korea, where the wages are higher, the Employment Department said.
