Over 100 Vietnamese workers have lived without money and accommodation in Belarus for months, after their host company failed to arrange these necessities for them.

What makes the store even more tragic is that most of them had to sell their land and house in Vietnam in order to afford the VND100 million (US$4,800) needed for fees and guarantees for the overseas working trip.

Without money, 117 migrant workers have to beg for food and other help from overseas Vietnamese in the European nation.

Pawning passports for daily food in Belarus

Le Van Phong, 20, from Ky Anh District in the central Vietnamese province of Ha Tinh, is one of the abandoned migrant workers.

After his mother sold their house and land for $4,800, she had to borrow from her relatives so that Phong could fly back home.

He returned to his hometown on September 11, eight months after he left, and recalled his story and those of his fellow workers in Belarus.

“In Belarus, I worked for Mobile Center Company for US$500 a month,” said Phong.

“With the income, I reckoned that I could cover the cost of $4,800 after working there for a year, but finally I had to return after eight months with empty hands.”

Most Vietnamese workers in Belarus have never been paid enough to cover the fee, according to Phong.

He added that he started working for Mobile Center in late January this year. His February salary was kept for his return air ticket. He was only paid $365 in late March, which was just enough to buy cooking tools and other necessities.

“From April to June, I was given a small sum as a salary advance, but it was only enough for food for several days,” said one of Phong’s co-workers.

On July 12, the 117 Vietnamese stopped working for Mobile Center.

While waiting for the International Manpower and Service Company (Inmasco) – a branch of the Vietnamese construction corporation CIENCO 1 – to send representatives to settle the issue, the migrant workers had to visit markets where overseas Vietnamese live and work to beg for food and temporary jobs.

They were given rice and chicken bones to drag out miserable days in the strange land.

Just a couple of days after they ceased working for Mobile Center, the workers were kicked out of their motels because the firm had not paid for their rooms.

They then formed groups of 20 and shared small, 14-square-meter rooms.

“It was so miserable since we did not have enough food.

“Our rooms were overcrowded and electricity supply was so intermittent that we could not cook rice.

“Some had to pawn their mobile phones, others pawned their passports for food to survive,” Phong recalled.

Phong said he pawned his passport for the equivalent of VND6 million ($288).

On July 31, or 19 days after they had stopped working, Inmasco representatives arrived and ‘sponsored’ nearly a kilogram of rice and six eggs for each worker.

Inmasco also gave them two options – either moving to another company in Belarus, or terminating their contract and go home. Inmasco said that they would try to recover the salaries owed to the workers from Mobile Center.

Most of the workers had demanded that Mobile Center pay their salary debts.

Nine Vietnamese workers protested in front of the Vietnam Embassy in Belarus, and were detained and deported home.

It should be noted that being deported home means that the workers have violated their labor contract with Inmasco, thus their contract becomes invalid.

Phong opted to go home.

During the eight months he was away, his mother had to pay a bank interest rate of VND1 million ($48) a month on the $4,800 loan.

Another migrant worker named VVT, from Nghi Xuan District in Ha Tinh Province, added his colleagues and him were fined $100 each for being absent from work a day, but were paid nothing if they worked overtime.

“I was only able to send back home $1,300 to my family after working in Belarus for 15 months,” he complained.

Answer from Vietnamese partners

Inmasco, in collaboration with a partner named IDC, based in Hanoi, are the Vietnamese companies that sent the workers to Belarus to work for Mobile Center.

At present, Mobile Center still owes the Vietnamese workers two and a half months in salary, for May, June, and a part of April, according to Do Hai Phong – deputy manager of the Belarus market department of Inmasco.

Phong confirmed that Mobile Center had promised to pay off the debts on September 30.

The Migration Department of Belarus also said that Mobile Center owed salary to over 100 Vietnamese workers, meaning they have violated current laws in the European country.

Authorities will revoke Mobile Center’s license soon, according to the department.

Of the 117 workers, 13 have agreed to go home, nine were deported, 75 moved to other companies in Belarus via Inmasco, 19 are staying illegally in the European country, and one has died.