The development of capacity for labour inspection : a case study of Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in Vietnam

Abstract

This research is about capacity development for labour inspection. Within the scope of this study, the capacity of the labour inspection could include the capability of all individuals, their organizations and resources. A major reason leads to this research is that labour inspection in Vietnam has been facing many challenges but it seems not to have an effective solution to resolve its issues. Many countries have made great efforts to address the shortcomings of the labour inspectorate but the problem would seem not to be improved significantly. A specific policy on capacity development for labour inspection of Vietnam was chosen for analysis in this research. Although this policy has been undertaken for four years, its implementation is limited and likely to come to failure. The research aims to examine the theoretical framework of capacity development, theoretical as well practical rationales of the policy of capacity development of labour inspection in Vietnam; identify challenges in labour inspection, especially in the case of Vietnam; and seek sound solutions for better implementation of the capacity development of labour inspection. The qualitative method was used for data analyzing. Overall, this study provides three main findings. First, policy-makers did not identify the challenges of labour inspection of Vietnam adequately when building the policy on capacity development for labour inspection. Second, this policy was not established based on the theoretical framework of capacity development. The last but not least is the policy on capacity development for labour inspection was not guaranteed by a specific financial plan. This study then proposed three recommendations corresponding to the three findings. They include identifying and dealing properly with the identified challenges in labour inspection, developing a theoretical framework for the capacity development policy, and sufficient financial resources for the implementation of the policy.