LABOUR MIGRATION AS A TOOL FOR POVERTY REDUCTION : A case study from a northern upland commune in Vietnam

Abstract: The government of Vietnam has recently launched policies concerning labour migration as a tool for poverty reduction. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which these policies contribute to poverty reduction by focusing on one commune in the northern uplands of Viet Nam, where people have been encouraged to go to Malaysia as contracted workers. This study is a contribution made from local people's experience and their own perspective concerning this matter. The empirical material, based on semi-structured interviews and group discussions with local people, both the migrant labourers themselves and their families, is analysed according to the "two social realities" approach in the context of labour migration. The findings of this study suggest that the policy of exporting labour should not be seen a good tool for poverty reduction in the context of Vietnamese society, where a lack of information, transparency and social security leaves contracted workers unprotected while overseas.