04 Mar Serbia ignores criticism from international institutions over the alleged exploitation of Vietnamese workers

BIRN’s analysis released on February 1, 2022 warns that despite a European Parliament resolution, a UN call and evidence collected by media and NGOs, Serbia is not probing allegations that Vietnamese workers were exploited at a Chinese-run construction site.

Three months after the public was alerted to claims of exploitation and human trafficking of Vietnamese workers hired by a Chinese investor, Serbian institutions have not investigated the case. Few institutions replied to NGO inquiries about the case, and none of them has conducted a proper investigation into claims of systematic labour exploitation, ranging from illegal contracts to misinformation prior to arrival, unclear financial penalties, dubious working permits and dismal living conditions. Allegations of human trafficking due to confiscated passports, limited freedom of movement, “entrapping” contracts and the systematic deception of workers have not been investigated by the Serbian state’s Centre for Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking.

“Employees of that institution, established to identify victims, whose staff receive salaries from the taxpayers’ budget, have not even conducted interviews with those [Vietnamese] workers in three months,” Tina Piskulidis from ASTRA, one of the organisations that alerted the public, complained.

The institutions of a country formally on the EU accession path were not moved by a European Parliament Resolution on the matter adopted in mid-December, or by recent UN human rights experts’ criticism, published on January 22.

A system of exploitation and human trafficking started in Vietnam and ended up in Serbia, a BIRN investigation has shown, based on contracts the workers signed with subcontractors for LingLong an also on so-called “commitment forms” they signed with intermediary recruitment agencies before travelling to Serbia. Bans on unions, “regular” working hours that exceed Serbian labour law maximums, penalties for sick leave and false warnings about punishments for committing crimes in Serbia are just some of the problematic matters imposed on the Vietnamese workers who crossed thousands of miles in search of decent pay in Europe.

UN human rights experts on January 21 raised serious concerns about the alleged forced labour of Vietnamese workers in Serbia, who were, they said, potential human trafficking victims. The UN experts urged the three governments of Serbia, Vietnam and China to ensure that businesses based in their territories or operating under their jurisdiction respect human rights.

BIRN’s own queries on the matter received no answers from Serbian institutions either. The question of the work permits for the Vietnamese workers has also remained unclear.

 While the Ministry of Labour said 402 Vietnamese were working for different companies on the LingLong site, Serbia’s National Employment Service, NZS, told one researcher in a written response that only 176 of the Vietnamese have work permits.

References from the website of the Balkan Insight