European Interest

Romania, Vietnam work out a labour deal

Flickr/J Stimp/CC BY 2.0
A construction worker in Centrul Vechi in Bucharest, Romania.

To deal with labour shortages, the Romanian government relies mainly on foreign workers, especially those from Vietnam.

This is why Vietnam’s labour minister is scheduled to visit Romania before the end of the year. The two countries are slated to sign a memorandum. The aim is to attract more Vietnamese workers to Romania.

Romania’s business, commerce and entrepreneurship minister, Stefan Radu Oprea, said Romania needs workers in the agriculture, construction and tourism fields. The workers are needed to make up for the lack of numbers in the local workforce.

As reported by Asia Times online, the Romanian minister also said the arrangement was part of a bigger strategy that would help locals find work and also attract overseas Romanians to come home.

A massive influx of non-EU foreign workers is evident, with an all-time high of 17,089 foreign workers recorded this July. Workers from Vietnam mainly work at shipyards, with about 450 of them at the Vard Tulcea shipyard.

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