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VIETNAM 45 <br />vegetables; raising poultry, fish, and other livestock; and shelling cashews or other <br />nuts), manufacturing (producing bicycle tires, mosquito nets, false eye- lashes, <br />pottery, bamboo or rattan products, and shoes and apparel), and construction work. <br />In September an international human rights organization reported that authorities <br />forced individuals in the detention centers for drug users to engage in unpaid or <br />underpaid work as part of their treatment. In response, MOLISA officials <br />confirmed that "therapeutic labor" was one part of the treatment for individuals in <br />these centers but asserted that it was not required of all individuals and was <br />remunerated. The officials also reported providing orders to provincial officials to <br />halt construction of any new drug detention centers and cease all actions that <br />violated labor regulations. <br />Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at <br />www . s tate . � ov /� /tip . <br />c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment <br />The law prohibits most child labor but allows exceptions for certain types of work. <br />The law sets the minimum age for employment at 18 years, but enterprises may <br />hire children between ages 15 and 18 if the firm obtains permission from parents <br />and MOLISA. Enterprises hiring young labor (ages 15 -18) have to provide them <br />with special considerations concerning working hours, annual leave, and working <br />environment. Children ages 15 -18 may work a maximum of seven hours per day <br />and 42 hours per week and must receive special health care. <br />The law permits children to register at trade training centers, a form of vocational <br />training, from age 13. By law an employer must ensure that workers under age 18 <br />do not undertake hazardous work or work that would harm their physical or mental <br />development. Prohibited occupations are specified in law and include those <br />requiring compressed working posture, direct contact with harmful chemicals, <br />contact with radioactive substances, work with various types of furnaces or hot <br />metal, driving motor vehicles, operating stone grinding machines, and operating <br />machines for starching cloth and cotton yarns, among others. <br />MOLISA is responsible for enforcing child labor laws and policies. Government <br />officials may fine and, in cases of criminal violations, prosecute employers who <br />violate child labor laws. Generally the government committed insufficient <br />resources to enforce effectively laws providing for children's safety, especially for <br />children working in mines and as domestic servants. However, there were several <br />