Vietnam suspends labor export to KL

Vietnam suspends labor export to KL

HANOI, Vietnam: Vietnam has stopped sending construction
workers to Malaysia while that country's building industry
remains hit hard by rising steel prices, an official said on
Tuesday.

Malaysia is Vietnam's largest labor export market, with more
than 75,000 people working there - about a third of them in the
construction industry, a Labor Ministry official said on
condition of anonymity.

In recent months, around 700 Vietnamese construction workers
have lost their jobs and many more were expected to be laid off
as Malaysia suspends several major construction projects due to
the recent sharp increase in the price of steel, she said.

The official said the government expects a recovery in
Malaysia's construction industry. He said Vietnam was suspending
efforts to send construction workers there, but that it may be
able to resume as early as July.

Laborers working in factories were not affected, she added.

In 2003, Vietnam sent about 75,000 workers overseas, with more
than 40,000 of them to Malaysia. Other top labor export markets
are Taiwan, South Korea and the Middle East.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has shelved
some big projects tied to former leader Mahathir Mohamad as he
wages a campaign against cronyism and graft. -- AP