The first eight workers are expected to return to Libya and resume work on a trial basis next week, nearly a year after their repatriation due to political chaos in the North African country.

The workers will be sent to Libya under a pilot project of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) which has been given a thumbs-up by the Prime Minister, director of the ministry's Department of Overseas Labourers Nguyen Ngoc Quynh said.

The PM directed the ministry to draw labour contracts with reliable partners and work closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other concerned agencies.

The first workers will come from the International Manpower Supply and Trade Company (Sona) which is entrusted by MoLISA to carry out the pilot contract.

The workers will work for Germany's Man Corporation in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, which specialises in oil exploitation and river excavation.

"The workers, who worked in Libya for four or five years, will work in the fields of administration, laundry and cooking, with a monthly salary of more than 10 million VND (480 USD)," said Sona chairman Doan Dai Thanh.

"They will work under a contract of between 2-3 years, which can be extended," he said.

Thanh said that if the labour market in Libya reopens, it will need an estimated 10,000 Vietnamese workers.

Depending on this trial contract and the situation in Libya, MoLISA will report to the Government and consider expanding labour exports to Libya.

Doan Luan from Ung Hoa District, who worked in Libya, expressed his delight at hearing that workers like himself may return to Libya to work in the near future.

"It was a pity returning home ahead of time last year, in fact working in Libya gave us a stable income. Unskilled workers get a monthly salary of over 5 million VND (240 USD)," Luan told Tien Phong (Pioneer) newspaper.

In preparation for sending Vietnamese workers back to Libya, MoLISA has sent a mission to Turkey, the biggest partner of Vietnam's worker programme in Libya, to work with the Turkish Ministry of Labour and Social Security on the possibility of sending Vietnamese workers back to Libya.

A mission from MoLISA and representatives from the foreign ministry plan to visit Libya next week to assess the demand for workers.

To ensure Vietnamese guest workers' safety, Quynh said MoLISA carefully checked labour contracts which completed with an intermediary company to ensure worker safety in Libya.

The ministry sent letters to foreign partners asking them to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese workers in Libya.

Deputy Minister for Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thanh Hoa told Nguoi Lao Dong (The Labourer) newspaper that the political situation in Libya is currently stable and many foreign investors has begun returning to Libya.

Many projects began implementation, leading to an increased demand for workers, Hoa said, adding that a number of investors in Libya who seek Vietnamese workers, has committed to policies for workers such as salaries and employment guarantees.

Vietnamese workers in Libya often work in construction, with an average salary of between 600-800 USD per month.

Early in 2011, MoLISA worked with related agencies to evacuate over 10,000 Vietnamese workers from Libya as a political crisis gripped the country./.